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Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program
- Currently Closed
Open Date:
Close Date:
Upcoming Milestones:
Eligible Recipients:
- Cooperatives
- Educational Institutions
- Local Governments
- Native/Tribal Entities
- Non-profits
- Private Sector
- Small Businesses
- State Governments
Program Purpose:
- Agriculture
Reserved for Energy
Communities?
Bureau/Office
Funded by:
Overview
Beginning farmer education for adult and young audiences in the United States can generally be traced back to the advent of the 1862 and 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 as follows: 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.
The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (aka the 2018 Farm Bill) reauthorized the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program and provides mandatory funds for which supports education, mentoring, and technical assistance initiatives for beginning farmers and ranchers.
Related Resources
Additional information is available on the Resources page.Funding Details
Funding Source:
- Annual Appropriation
Funding Type:
Total Amount Available:
Limit per Applicant:
Estimated Awards:
Applicant Guidance
Visit the program webpage here.
Please Note the following for eligibility: 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, municipal 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; and private for-profit organizations. Application submission of a project effort that is a duplicate of a current beginning farmer project will not be accepted for review under this program. Inclusions 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 and will be excluded from review.
Contact Information
You mail email questions about the application to the National Institute of Food and Agriculture here.