Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NIFA FBMB 006694
Apply for USDA NIFA FBMB 006694
- The Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture in the agriculture sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Farm Business Management and Benchmarking RFA" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.319.
- This funding opportunity was created on Feb 07, 2019.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 09, 2019. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $500,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 6 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
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Opportunity Summary:
The Farm Business Management and Benchmarking (FBMB) Request for Applications is a discretionary grant opportunity run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) through the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). It falls under the agriculture funding activity category and is associated with CFDA (now commonly referenced as Assistance Listing) 10.319. The core purpose of the program is to strengthen the business and financial management capacity of agricultural producers by supporting the maintenance and expansion of a national, publicly available farm financial management database. In practical terms, the program is aimed at making better farm-level financial data available and usable so producers, educators, and advisors can benchmark performance, compare financial outcomes across comparable farms, and make more informed management decisions.
This opportunity uses a competitive grant mechanism. The funding is designed to improve farm management knowledge and skills not through one-off trainings alone, but by supporting a durable national data resource that can underpin education, technical assistance, and decision-making over time. By emphasizing a publicly available database, the program signals an interest in broad access and sector-wide benefits, such as enabling producers to evaluate their cost structures, profitability, liquidity, solvency, and risk exposure against aggregated benchmarks. The database focus also implies attention to consistent data collection practices, standardization of financial measures, and the ability to expand coverage in terms of geography, farm types, and production systems.
The announced maximum award amount (award ceiling) is $500,000 per award, and the agency anticipated making about 6 awards under this solicitation. The opportunity number is USDA NIFA FBMB 006694, and it was posted (creation date) on February 7, 2019, with an original application deadline of April 9, 2019. Because it is a time-bound competitive program, applicants would generally be expected to present a clear work plan, a sound approach to maintaining and growing the database, and a credible strategy for translating database improvements into real-world gains in producer management capacity and benchmarking utility.
Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others," with a note to consult the full announcement for the specific eligibility language and any clarifications. In NIFA programs, this kind of eligibility label often indicates that eligible entities may extend beyond a narrow set of institutions and could include certain organizations, partnerships, or other qualified groups as defined in the full RFA text. Applicants would typically need to demonstrate relevant capability in farm financial data systems, farm management education, benchmarking methods, privacy protection, and stakeholder engagement, since building a nationally useful database depends on both technical infrastructure and strong relationships with data contributors and end users.
Overall, the FBMB Competitive Grants Program is centered on improving how farmers and ranchers manage their businesses by strengthening the national benchmarking backbone: collecting, organizing, and publishing farm financial management information in a way that supports comparisons, learning, and better decision-making across the agricultural sector.
Farm Business Management and Benchmarking (FBMB) Grant - FAQs
What is the Farm Business Management and Benchmarking (FBMB) Request for Applications?
The Farm Business Management and Benchmarking (FBMB) Request for Applications is a discretionary, competitive grant opportunity administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) through the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). It supports work that strengthens farm business and financial management capacity by maintaining and expanding a national, publicly available farm financial management database.
Which federal agency runs this grant program?
The program is run by USDA, specifically through NIFA (National Institute of Food and Agriculture).
Is this a competitive grant or a formula/non-competitive grant?
This opportunity uses a competitive grant mechanism, meaning applications are evaluated against one another under the solicitation.
What is the main purpose of the FBMB program?
The core purpose is to strengthen the business and financial management capacity of agricultural producers by supporting the maintenance and expansion of a national, publicly available farm financial management database. The intent is to make farm-level financial data more available and usable for benchmarking, comparison across similar farms, and improved management decision-making.
What funding activity category does this opportunity fall under?
It falls under the agriculture funding activity category.
What is the Assistance Listing (CFDA) number for this program?
The program is associated with CFDA (now commonly referenced as Assistance Listing) 10.319.
What is the opportunity number for this solicitation?
The opportunity number is USDA NIFA FBMB 006694.
When was the opportunity posted?
The posting (creation) date provided is February 7, 2019.
What was the application deadline?
The original application deadline listed is April 9, 2019.
How much funding is available per award?
The maximum award amount (award ceiling) announced is $500,000 per award.
How many awards were expected to be made?
The agency anticipated making about 6 awards under this solicitation.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others," with a note indicating applicants should consult the full announcement for the specific eligibility language and any clarifications.
What does it mean that eligibility is listed as "Others"?
Based on the description provided, this label suggests eligibility may extend beyond a narrow set of institutions and could include certain organizations, partnerships, or other qualified groups as defined in the full Request for Applications (RFA). Specific eligible entity types are not detailed in the provided summary.
What types of activities does FBMB funding emphasize?
The funding emphasizes maintaining and expanding a durable national data resource (a publicly available farm financial management database) rather than focusing only on one-off trainings. The database is intended to underpin education, technical assistance, benchmarking, and improved decision-making over time.
What is meant by a "national, publicly available farm financial management database"?
It refers to a national-level database of farm financial management information that is made publicly available. The focus implies broad access and sector-wide benefits, enabling benchmarking and comparisons using aggregated financial measures.
How is benchmarking expected to help producers?
Benchmarking is intended to help producers compare financial outcomes across comparable farms and make more informed management decisions. The description highlights the ability to evaluate cost structures, profitability, liquidity, solvency, and risk exposure against aggregated benchmarks.
What kinds of farm financial measures are referenced in the opportunity description?
The description references measures such as cost structures, profitability, liquidity, solvency, and risk exposure as examples of areas where benchmarking against aggregated data can be useful.
What does the program mean by improving farm management capacity?
In this context, improving farm management capacity means strengthening producers' business and financial management knowledge and skills through better access to usable, comparable financial data and benchmarks supported by the national database.
What kinds of database improvements are implied by the solicitation?
The database focus implies attention to consistent data collection practices, standardization of financial measures, and the ability to expand coverage by geography, farm types, and production systems.
What would a strong application generally be expected to include?
Based on the description provided, applicants would generally be expected to present a clear work plan, a sound approach to maintaining and growing the database, and a credible strategy for translating database improvements into real-world gains in producer management capacity and benchmarking utility.
What capabilities are implied as important for applicants?
The summary indicates that applicants would typically need to demonstrate relevant capability in farm financial data systems, farm management education, benchmarking methods, privacy protection, and stakeholder engagement, since a nationally useful database depends on both technical infrastructure and strong relationships with data contributors and end users.
Does the program focus only on training events and workshops?
No. The description emphasizes that the funding is designed to improve farm management knowledge and skills not through one-off trainings alone, but by supporting a durable national data resource that can support education, technical assistance, and decision-making over time.
Why does the program emphasize public availability of the database?
Emphasizing a publicly available database signals an interest in broad access and sector-wide benefits, including enabling more producers, educators, and advisors to use aggregated benchmarks to support comparisons, learning, and decision-making.
Is this program intended to benefit only farmers, or others as well?
While the core aim is to strengthen agricultural producers' business and financial management capacity, the description also notes that producers, educators, and advisors can use the database to benchmark performance and compare outcomes.
Where can applicants find the specific eligibility wording and other details?
The summary notes that applicants should consult the full announcement (the RFA) for the specific eligibility language and any clarifications.
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