Farm Business Management and Benchmarking (FBMB) Competitive Grant Program | Apply Online

Farm Business Management and Benchmarking (FBMB) Competitive Grant Program FAQs

1) What is the Farm Business Management and Benchmarking (FBMB) Competitive Grant Program?

The Farm Business Management and Benchmarking (FBMB) Competitive Grant Program is a discretionary grant opportunity administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA). It funds projects that strengthen agricultural producers' business and financial decision-making and that build infrastructure for a national, publicly available farm financial management benchmarking database.

2) What are the main goals of the FBMB program?

The program has two major goals: (1) education and capacity-building to improve farm business management outcomes (for example, training, decision tools, and technical assistance related to farm financial management), and (2) creation and long-term support of a national, publicly accessible farm financial management database for benchmarking.

3) Who is this program intended to benefit?

FBMB is designed to benefit agricultural producers (farmers and ranchers) by improving management knowledge and financial decision-making. It also supports a broader set of users who rely on benchmarking information, including educators, researchers, and advisors.

4) What kinds of projects does FBMB support?

Based on the announcement description, supported projects can include efforts such as developing or improving farm management education programs, expanding access to training and decision tools, providing technical assistance on farm financial management, strengthening benchmarking services, standardizing data collection methods, and enhancing the quality and usability of farm-level financial information.

5) What does "benchmarking" mean in the context of this grant?

Benchmarking refers to creating and using consistent farm financial management data so that producers and other users can compare performance, understand costs and returns, and make more informed operational decisions. The program emphasizes building consistent data and making it available for real-world management use.

6) Is the FBMB database supposed to be publicly available?

Yes. A stated emphasis of the opportunity is building and sustaining a national farm financial management database that is publicly accessible and useful for benchmarking.

7) What federal agency administers the FBMB program?

The program is administered by USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA).

8) What is the opportunity identifier for this announcement?

The opportunity is identified as USDA NIFA FBMB 005115.

9) What is the CFDA number for this program?

The announcement lists CFDA number 10.319 for the Farm Business Management and Benchmarking Competitive Grants Program.

10) What type of funding instrument is used?

The funding instrument is a grant.

11) What is the activity category for this opportunity?

The activity category is agriculture.

12) How much total funding was estimated for this opportunity?

The total estimated funding listed is $1,350,000.

13) What is the maximum award amount (award ceiling)?

The maximum amount available per award (the award ceiling) is $500,000.

14) Is there a cost-sharing or matching requirement?

Yes. The program includes a cost-sharing or matching requirement, meaning applicants are expected to document and commit eligible matching resources as part of the proposed budget and project plan.

15) Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is broad and defined in statute (7 U.S.C. 450i(b)(7)). Eligible applicants include: state agricultural experiment stations; colleges and universities; university research foundations; other research institutions and organizations; federal agencies; national laboratories; private organizations or corporations; individuals; and partnerships or groups consisting of two or more of those entity types.

16) Can partnerships or groups apply?

Yes. Partnerships or groups consisting of two or more eligible entity types are included in the eligibility list.

17) Why does the program allow such broad eligibility?

The announcement ties broad eligibility to the program's dual goals: producer-facing education and technical assistance, and large-scale data development and benchmarking infrastructure, which often benefit from collaborations among universities, extension-type programs, nonprofit or private service providers, and other research or technical organizations.

18) When was this grant opportunity posted and when did it close?

The announcement states it was posted on April 27, 2015, with a closing date of May 27, 2015.

19) When was the opportunity archived?

The archive date listed is June 26, 2015.

20) Where could applicants get help accessing the full announcement?

Applicants needing help accessing the full announcement were directed to the NIFA Help Desk at 202-401-5048 during standard weekday business hours (Eastern Time), excluding federal holidays.

21) Did the announcement indicate there was guidance available for preparing application content?

Yes. The announcement notes that additional guidance was available for questions related to preparing application content, and it indicates proposals were expected to follow NIFA requirements for items such as narrative content, budget presentation, matching documentation, and other common federal competitive grant submission elements.

22) What outcomes is FBMB trying to achieve?

The program is described as aiming to improve farm-level profitability and resilience through better management skills and better data. It supports producer-ready education and tools, while also investing in the national benchmarking backbone needed to compare financial performance across farms and regions and identify practices associated with stronger business outcomes.