Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program

Post Date

October 29th 2015

Application Due Date

January 21st 2016

Funding Opportunity Number

USDA-NIFA-BFR-005436

CFDA Number(s)

10.311

Funding Instrument Type(s)

Grant

Funding Activity Categories

Agriculture

Eligibility Categories

Other

Applications may only be submitted by a collaborative state, tribal, local, or regionally-based network or partnership of qualified public and/or private entities. These collaborations may include the following entities: State Cooperative Extension Services; Federal, State, or tribal agencies; community based organizations (CBOs); nongovernmental organizations (NGOs); junior and four-year colleges or universities or foundations maintained by a college or university; private for-profit organizations. Inclusion of beginning and/or non-beginning farmers and ranchers as part of the collaborative group is strongly encouraged. Applications submitted by individuals, or by organizations that do not involve other entities in a network or partnership, are not eligible for consideration under any category applicable to the BFRDP.

Funding

• Estimated Total Funding:

  $18000000

• Award Range:

  $None - $None

Grant Description

Beginning farmer education for adult and young audiences in the United States can be generally traced back to the advent of the 1862 and the 1890 Morrill Land Grant Acts. But for the first time, the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Pub .L. No. 110-234, Section 7410), appropriated $75 million for FY 2009 to FY 2012 to develop and offer education, training, outreach and mentoring programs to enhance the sustainability of the next generation of farmers. The Agriculture Act of 2014 provided an additional $20 million per year for 2014 through 2018. The reasons for the renewed interest in beginning farmer and rancher programs are: the rising average age of U.S. farmers, the 8% projected decrease in the number of farmers and ranchers between 2008 and 2018, and the growing recognition that new programs are needed to address the needs of the next generation of beginning farmers and ranchers.

Contact Information

• Agency

  Department of Agriculture

• Office:

  National Institute of Food and Agriculture

• Agency Contact:

  NIFA Help Desk
  Phone: 202-401-5048
  Business hours are M-F, 7:00 am -5:00 pm ET, excluding Federal holidays
  

• Agency Mailing Address:

  If you have any questions related to preparing application content

• Agency Email Address:

  electronic@nifa.usda.gov

• More Information:

  Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program