Terms and Conditions – 2016/2019

Agriculture Opportunity Fund (AOF) Grant Program

Purpose

The AOF is provided to eligible agriculture extension organizations to enhance or maintain their human resource and extension capacity to promote the long term sustainability of the agriculture industryand rural communities in Alberta. These organizations will use a collaborative approach and sound extension methodology to promote production practices that enhance competitiveness while maintaining responsible stewardship of the natural resources for the public good.

There arethree program areas for the AOF:

  1. Manpower Program
  2. Agriculture Extension Program
  3. Environmental Stewardship Extension ActivitiesProgram

The overall outcomes of the AOF are:

  1. Enhanced competitiveness at the farm gate through: cost reduction, increased revenue and increased productivity.
  2. Supporting technology adoption by the development of applied research based information and demonstration through effective extension delivery.
  3. Producers understand how environmentally beneficial agricultural practices help the industry meet consumer expectation for responsible stewardship of land, air, water and biodiversity. Producers use these practices to maintain their operation’s sustainability.

1)Definitions In these AOF Program Terms and Conditions, the following terms have the following meanings:

a)AOF: means Agriculture Opportunity Fund.

b)AOF Program: means the AOF Grant Program.

c)AOF Program Terms and Conditions: means the terms and conditions for the AOF Program set out in this document, as may be amended.

d)Applicant: means the organization that submits a completed and signed AOFProgram application form and meets the eligibility criteria in s. 2(a).

e)Application: means the AOF Program application form and all documents required to be submitted pursuant to that form and the AOF Program Terms and Conditions.

f)AF: means Alberta Agriculture and Forestry.

g)Eligible Expenses: means the expenses listed in s. 2(b).

h)Fiscal Year: means the AOF programming year which is April 1st to March 31st.

i)Minister: means the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry (AF) and authorized representative(s).

j)Term: means the AF fiscal time period for the AOF Program, being April 1st, 2016 to March 31st, 2019.

k)Provincial Crown means Her Majesty the Queen in right of Alberta, as represented by the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry.

2)Eligibility

a)Eligible Applicants – To be eligible to apply to the AOF Program, an organization must:

i)be a community-based agriculture related organization;

ii)be incorporated as a society; and

iii)have a focus on agriculture applied research and extension

b)Eligible Expenses – The following non-capital expenses are eligible under the AOF Program,as approved by the Minister:

i)Manpower Program:

(1)Salary and wages

(2)Benefits

(3)Professional development

ii)Agriculture Extension Program:

(1)Extension Expenses:

(a)Mileage to and from extension activities

(b)Hospitality expenses for extension events

(c)Consulting service fees for extension activities

(d)Hall rental

(e)Promotion of extension activities

(2)Administration Expenses:

(a)Operational expenses for vehicles and equipment

(b)Office operations

(c)Office supplies

iii)Environmental Stewardship Extension ActivitiesProgram:

(1)Manpower:

(a)Salary and wages

(b)Benefits

(c)Professional development of staff

(2)Extension and education related activities:

(a)Promotion

(b)Hall rental

(c)Contracted services

(3)Administration Expenses:

(a)Operating expenses for vehicles and equipment

(b)Office operations

(c)Materials and supplies

(d)Contracted services

c)Ineligible Expenses – Expenses that are not eligible under the AOF Program include:

i)Goods and Services Tax (GST);

ii)Alcohol;

iii)Expenses funded through any other federal or provincial government grants, programs or projects;

iv)Capital items (items $5000.00 and over);

v)In-kind costs for:

(1)Speaker fees from any government employee (includes all levels of government);

(2)Producer contributions of any kind such as land, labour, mileage etc.; and

(3)Livestock arrangements of any kind;

vi)Expenses incurred by the Applicant outside of the Term and

vii)Any other expense deemed by the Minister not to be an Eligible Expense.

3)Applications

a)Applications for the Term must be received by AFon or before January 8,2016.

b)Signed applications must be submitted in a PDF electronic version to the AOF Program Manager, at .

c)Applications will be considered for approval on a case-by-case basis, subject to AOF Program assessment criteria and AOF Program funding constraints. AOF Program assessment criteria by which Applications will be assessed include the extent to which the:

i)proposed extension programs meet the outcomes of the AOF; and

ii)level of extension activities are appropriate for the funding requested in the extension programs.

d)Submission of an Application does not entitle the Applicant to a grant under the AOF Program.

e)The Minister may reject any Application that is ineligible, inaccurate or incomplete in the sole discretion of the Minister.

4)Funding Level

a)The AOF Program provides grants on a 90% grant and 10% Applicant cost-shared basisfor Eligible Expenses, subject to the requirements in s. 4(b) and the following maximums:

i)The maximum grant amount under the Manpower Program is $100,000 per year; and

ii)The maximum grant amount under the Agriculture Extension Program is $40,000 per year.

There is no annual maximum grant amount for the Environmental Stewardship Extension Activities Program.

b)The Applicant’s matching dollars are subject to the following requirements:

i)Matching dollars must not include:

(1)funding received directly or indirectly from the provincial government; or

(2)municipal agriculture service board environmental stream grant contribution; and

ii)in-kind shall only be a maximum of 30% of the matching required (30% of 10%)

c)There are limited funds within the AOF Program. Notwithstanding an Applicant being approved for funding, funding in each Fiscal Year is subject to the availability of funds for the AOF Program.

d)In the event that provincial funding levels are changed, to the extent that the money available to the Minister to make the grant is reduced or eliminated, the Minister may, in his sole discretion, cancel or reduce the amount of the grant.

5)Payments

a)If an Applicant’s Application is approved by the Minister, the Applicant will be required to enter into a three year term grant agreement with the Provincial Crown prior to any payment being made to the Applicant.

b)Subject to the terms and conditions of the grant agreement, and subject to Ministerial approval and to the availability of funds for the AOF Program in each Fiscal Year of the Term, the Minister expects to pay the grant funding to approve Applicants as follows:

i)Payment for the 2016/2017 Fiscal Year programming following execution of the grant agreement

ii)Payment for the 2017/2018 Fiscal Year programming following electronic receipt of the following, to the satisfaction of the Minister:

(1)a signed copy of the Applicant’s yearend report on the AOF Extension Plan for the 2016/2017 Fiscal Year submitted no later than April 30, 2017. The AOFExtension Plan must contain updated performance measures and include a certified statement of the 2016/2017 Fiscal Year program income and expenses.

iii)Payment for the 2018/2019 Fiscal Year programming following electronic receipt of the following, to the satisfaction of the Minister:

(1)a signed copy of the Applicant’s yearend report on the AOF Extension Plan for the 2017/2018 Fiscal Year submitted no later than April 30, 2018. The AOFExtension Plan must contain updated performance measures and include a certified statement of the 2017/2018 Fiscal Year program income and expenses.

c)Applicants cannot assign or defer any payment under the AOF Program.

6)AOF Program Reporting Requirements

a)Performance Measures: All organizations receiving grant funding will be required to report in writing on the following by the dates specified by the Minister:

i)Collaboration with Agriculture and Forestry staff on projects;

ii)Number of extension activities;

iii)Number of producers attending per activity;

iv)Number of research and demonstration plots/projects and contact information for the contracting or collaborating organizations on the project;

v)Demonstrate how projects and activities tie back to the organizations strategic plan;

vi)Number of producers directly assisted in the development of their stewardship self-assessment and/or record keeping tools (example EFP);

vii)Number of producers receiving assistance with stewardship self-assessmentoutside of direct help with the tools. (E.g. informal conversations, referrals, etc.);

viii)Number of producers assisted with the applicationsassociated with a Growing Forward 2;

ix)Number of producers receiving assistance with Growing Forward 2 outside of direct help with applications. (E.g. informal conversations, referrals, etc.);

x)Numberof people accessing written materials (E.g. Newsletters, web pages, articles etc.); and

xi)Any other performance measures identified in Schedule 2

b)The Applicant shall provide the Minister with the following written reporting, to the Minister’s satisfaction and on dates specified by the Minister:

i)A copy of the Applicant’s annual financial statements, in the form of an audit report or a review engagement report, due30 days after the AGM for each year of the Term

ii)Yearend report on the AOF Extension Plan for the current Fiscal Yeardue no later than April 30th of each year during the Term;

iii)copies of Annual General Meeting (AGM) minutes, a list of names and email addresses of board members, shall be provided 30 days after AGM;

iv)a report on any material events, developments or circumstances arising in relation to the approved activities; and

v)any other reports requested by the Minister

7)Ministerial Discretion

The Minister has the absolute discretion to determine the eligibility of any Applicant and any payments due under theAOF Program. The decision of the Minister is final.

8)Verification

In this section, “Minister” includes any agent appointed by the Minister to assist with audit and verification under the AOF Program. The Applicant agrees:

i)to provide additional information and records as the Minister may require to verify the Applicant’s eligibility for payment underthe AOF Program;

ii)authorizes the Minister to obtain information from and release information to any government department, agency, or other body to verify the Applicant’s eligibility for payment under the AOF Program; and

iii)agrees to give the Minister access to examine their business operation for the sole purpose of verifying submitted information. The Applicant agrees to make available to the Minister all records and books of account necessary to verify their eligibility for payment under the AOF Program. If the Applicant fails to provide records within a reasonable time on reasonable notice, as determined by the Minister, the Applicant may be required to refund any payments received under the AOF Program, as well as forfeit any future payments under the AOF Program.

9)AOF Program Changes and Termination

a)The Minister may change or terminate the AOF Program, or revise the AOF Program Terms and Conditions by posting revised AOF Program Terms and Conditions on the AF website (

b)An Application shall be administered by, and the grant provided by the Minister to the Applicant shall be governed by, the AOF Program Terms and Conditions that were posted on the AF website as of the date the Application was received.

10)False or Misleading Information

An Applicant who provides false or misleading information on any Application under the AOF Program foregoes all rights to benefit from the AOF Program.

11)Collection of Information

The Applicant acknowledges that the information provided to the Minister regarding this Application is subject to both the access and privacy provisions of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (Alberta).

12)Grant Disclosure

The Applicant acknowledges that AF publicly discloses the following information for all grant recipients: the grant recipient name, the amount of the grant, the program the grant is paid under, and the payment date.

Draft - AOF Terms and Conditions.revised by Justice.27nov2015.docx

Page 1