FY28 Requirements and Outreach Opportunities for Eligible Entities

Identify the project site(s) within the Eligible Entity’s jurisdiction, as well as the soil health-related resource concerns the Eligible Entity’s project will address at the site(s).

Selecting the Project Site(s)

Project site selection should be guided by one more of the following factors:

• the land with the greatest potential for soil health improvement
• the greatest potential number of local land managers benefited *
• the greatest potential number of plant communities and animal populations benefited
• the highest visibility to local land managers, as well as the general public including students
• the nearest proximity to the Eligible Entity's headquarters, making the site easily accessible for those implementing the project’s day-to-day activities.

* Projects involving only one (1) private land manager qualify as Individual Applicant projects, which follow a different application process.

Identifying Soil Health-Related Resource Concerns

The Eligible Entity must identify clearly the soil health-related resource concerns its project will focus on. For help identifying the soil health-related resource concerns at the project site(s), contact the nearest office of USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

NOTE: If your Eligible Entity intends to apply for Healthy Soil Program grant funding for bale grazing, you must submit NMDA’s bale grazing template completed in cooperation with NRCS by the conservation planning deadline (to be announced; typically 30+ days before the application deadline).

➜ Bale Grazing Projects: Download and print NMDA's bale grazing template, then work with your NRCS conservation planner to complete it by the conservation planning deadline of Friday, February 19, 2027. Save the completed bale grazing template so you can upload it later as part of your online application. 

Use the Eligible Entity’s knowledge of the land, as well as the knowledge of local land managers, to develop the project idea. Consult our Project Development Guidance Document (coming soon) to develop the technical aspects of the project.

Asking yourself the following questions can also help you develop the Eligible Entity's project idea:

• Which soil health-related natural resource concerns will the Eligible Entity's project focus on?
• Which soil health principles will best address those resource concerns?
• Which agricultural/conservation practices best puts those soil health principles into action?
• Which of those agricultural/conservation practices can be implemented between mid-July 2027 and late September 2028 (the FY28 grant term for NMDA’s Healthy Soil Program)?
• What goods and services are needed to implement those agricultural/conservation practices?
• From which companies will the Eligible Entity source those goods and services?
• What are the actual costs of those goods and services?

Work on the online grant application, as well as the timeline and budget.

Online Application

➜ The online grant application for NMDA’s Healthy Soil Program (and other grant programs at NMDA) will be available at https://grants.nmda.nmsu.edu. First-time users must create a free account (login ID + password).

Timeline and Budget Template

As part of the online application, Eligible Entities must upload several documents. One critical document is the timeline and budget template. Use the template to:

• detail the timeline of activities for your eligible project; and
• document the specific goods and services associated with those activities, as well as their actual costs.

➜ Download NMDA’s FY27 timeline and budget template to your computer, then work to complete it. Save the completed template so you can upload it later as part of your online application.

Deadline to submit your online application: 12 p.m. (noon) Mountain Time on Friday, March 19, 2027.

Take time to review your Eligible Entity's application. Re-read each application question and your Eligible Entity's answer to it. Ensure that you have uploaded all required documents where noted in the Eligible Entity grant application at https://grants.nmda.nmsu.edu/. Late, incomplete, and paper applications will not be accepted.