2016-01-21: Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program
Funding Opportunity Number: USDA-NIFA-BFR-005436
Opportunity Category: Mandatory
Funding Instrument Type: Grant
Category of Funding Activity: Agriculture
Eligible Applicants: Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)
Agency Name: USDA-NIFA
Closing Date: 2016-01-21

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.
Link: www.grants.gov/view-opportunity.html?opp…