Farm Business Management and Benchmarking Competitive Grants Program (FBMB) | USDA NIFA FBMB 007472

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NIFA FBMB 007472

The Farm Business Management and Benchmarking Competitive Grants Program (FBMB) is a discretionary grant opportunity run by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under CFDA 10.319. Its main purpose is to strengthen the business and financial management capabilities 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 improving how farmers and ranchers make decisions by ensuring they have access to reliable benchmarking and financial management information that can be used to compare performance, identify strengths and weaknesses, and adopt better management practices over time.

The core focus of the funding is not simply data collection for its own sake, but building and improving an accessible national resource that translates farm financial records into useful benchmarking insights. By expanding and maintaining this database, the program supports better on-farm management knowledge and skills, which can help producers evaluate costs and profitability, understand financial risk, and make more informed operational and strategic decisions. Because the database is described as "national" and "publicly available," the funded work is expected to benefit the broader agricultural community, not just a single region or a narrow set of participants.

Eligibility is broad and is defined in statute (7 U.S.C. 450i(b)(7)). Applications may be submitted by a wide range of entities, including state agricultural experiment stations; colleges and universities; university research foundations; other research institutions and organizations; federal agencies; national laboratories; private organizations or corporations; and even individuals. The opportunity also allows applications from groups or partnerships made up of two or more eligible entity types. This broad eligibility structure supports collaboration across academia, government, and private-sector organizations that may have complementary expertise in farm management education, agricultural finance, data systems, and producer outreach.

The program also allows award recipients to subcontract to organizations that are not themselves eligible applicants, as long as those partners are necessary to carry out the proposed project. This creates flexibility for grantees to bring in specialized vendors or partner organizations (for example, for technical development, data platform support, or targeted outreach) while still keeping the primary award relationship with an eligible lead applicant.

A key compliance point is that duplicate or multiple submissions are not allowed. If an applicant submits more than one application, NIFA will disqualify both submissions, so applicants need to ensure they submit a single, final application package by the deadline. The notice also emphasizes that all eligibility requirements described in the RFA must be met by the application deadline; failing to meet them can result in the application being excluded from consideration or prevent NIFA from making an award.

From the opportunity listing details, the funding opportunity number is USDA NIFA FBMB 007472, and the instrument type is a grant. The award ceiling is listed as $500,000. The original closing date shown is 2020-06-05, and the posting was created on 2020-04-29. NIFA also points newer applicants to its Grants Overview resources to help them understand the federal financial assistance process and expectations, which can be especially useful for organizations or individuals unfamiliar with federal grant compliance, application structure, and award administration.

• The National Institute of Food and Agriculture in the agriculture sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Farm Business Management and Benchmarking Competitive Grants Program (FBMB)" 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 2020-04-29.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-06-05. (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.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for USDA NIFA FBMB 007472

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