Farm Business Management and Benchmarking Competitive Grants Program

 

To establish a competitive research and extension grants program for the purpose of: (1) improving the farm management knowledge and skills of agricultural producers; and (2) establishing and maintaining a national, publicly available farm financial management database to support improved farm management.

Active 10.319 National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Department of Agriculture B - Project Grants Fiscal Year 2016 For FY 2016: NIFA announced the availability of grant funds and requested applications for the Farm Business Management and Benchmarking (FBMB) Competitive Grants Program for fiscal year (FY) 2016 to improve the farm management knowledge and skills of agricultural producers; and maintain a national, publicly available farm financial management database to support improved farm management. The amount available for support of this program in FY 2016 was approximately $1.35 million. Grant deadline was April 11, 2016. Seven (7) proposals were submitted; however, two (2) were declined. Five (5) proposals were reviewed by a panel of reviewers on May 4, 2016. Four (4) proposals were recommended for funding and one (1) recommended as “do not fund”. The amount available for support of this program in Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 was $1,349,565 after legislatively mandated set-asides. Four (4) proposals were submitted and accepted. Four (4) proposals were reviewed and ranked by four (4) panel reviewers. The Panel accepted and recommended four (4) proposals to receive funding to deliver the Farm Business Management and Benchmarking (FBMB) grant. Amount of funds awarded to the four (4) institutions throughout the United States are: Location #1 Amount: $ 482,168; Location #2 Amount: $ 443,561; Location #3 Amount: $ 209,915; and Location #4 Amount: $ 213,921.
Fiscal Year 2017 The amount available for support of this program in Fiscal Year 2017 was $1,346,556, after legislatively mandated set-asides. Fifteen (15) proposals were submitted; however four (4) were declined; therefore, eleven (11) proposals were accepted and reviewed. Eleven (11) proposals were reviewed and ranked by a panel of four (4). The panel recommended three (3) proposals to receive funding to deliver the Farm Business Management and Benchmarking grant. Amount funds awarded to the three institutions throughout the United States are: Location #1: $451,749 Location #2: $450,227 Location #3: $444,580
Fiscal Year 2018 The amount available for support of this program in Fiscal Year 2018 was $1,918,875 after legislatively mandated set-asides. Nine (9) proposals were submitted; however two (2) were declined; therefore, seven (7) proposals were accepted and reviewed. These proposals were reviewed and ranked by a panel of five (5). The panel recommended five (5) proposals to receive funding to deliver the Farm Business Management and Benchmarking grant. Amount funds awarded to the three institutions throughout the United States are: Location #1 : $388,693 Location #2: $428,272 Location #3: $452,330 Location #4: $250,474 Location #5: $399,106
Fiscal Year 2019 NIFA announced the availability of grant funds and requested applications for the Farm Business Management and Benchmarking (FBMB) Competitive Grants Program for fiscal year (FY) 2019 to improve the farm management knowledge and skills of agricultural producers; and maintain a national, publicly available farm financial management database to support improved farm management. The amount available for support of this program in FY 2019 was $1,843,435. Grant deadline was April 9, 2019. Ten proposals were submitted; however, four (4) of the submitted proposals were declined for duplication and/or non-compliance with the requirements within the Request for Applications. Six (6) proposals were reviewed by a panel of four (4) reviewers on May 8, 2019. Four (4) proposals were recommended for funding.
Fiscal Year 2020 This program is subject to congressional budget approval for FY 2020. At this time, the projected funding level is Zero ($0). However, if funding is provided, it is anticipated that similar projects will be awarded. Section 1672D of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5925f), 7 U.S.C. 5925f Applications may be submitted by qualified public and private entities. Pursuant to 7 U.S.C. 450i(7), this includes: (A) State agricultural experiment stations; (B) colleges and universities; (C) university research foundations; (D) other research institutions and organizations; (E) Federal agencies; (F) national laboratories; (G) private organizations or corporations; (H) individuals; or (I) any group consisting of 2 or more of the entities described in subparagraphs (A) through (H). Award recipients may subcontract to organizations not eligible to apply provided such organizations are necessary for the conduct of the project. An applicant's failure to meet an eligibility criterion by the time of an application deadline may result in the application being excluded from consideration or, even though an application may be reviewed, will preclude NIFA from making an award. Applications may be submitted by qualified public and private entities. Pursuant to 7 U.S.C. 450i(7), this includes: (A) State agricultural experiment stations; (B) colleges and universities; (C) university research foundations; (D) other research institutions and organizations; (E) Federal agencies; (F) national laboratories; (G) private organizations or corporations; (H) individuals; or (I) any group consisting of 2 or more of the entities described in subparagraphs (A) through (H). Award recipients may subcontract to organizations not eligible to apply provided such organizations are necessary for the conduct of the project. An applicant's failure to meet an eligibility criterion by the time of an application deadline may result in the application being excluded from consideration or, even though an application may be reviewed, will preclude NIFA from making an award. The System for Award Management (SAM) combines eight federal procurement systems, including CCR, and the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance into one new system. CCR activities are conducted through SAM (the CCR website will redirect users to SAM). Dun and Bradstreet Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Number and System for Award Management (SAM): Each applicant (unless excepted under 2 CFR SS 25.110(b) or (c), or has an exception approved by the Federal awarding agency under 2 CFR SS 25.110(d)) is required to: (i) Be registered in SAM before submitting its application; (ii) Provide a valid DUNS number in its application; and (iii) Continue to maintain an active SAM registration with current information at all times during which it has an active Federal award or an application or plan under consideration by a Federal awarding agency. It also must state that the Federal awarding agency may not make a Federal award to an applicant until the applicant has complied with all applicable DUNS and SAM requirements and, if an applicant has not fully complied with the requirements by the time the Federal awarding agency is ready to make a Federal award, the Federal awarding agency may determine that the applicant is not qualified to receive a Federal award and use that determination as a basis for making a Federal award to another applicant. Applicants must furnish the information required in the Competitive Request for Applications (RFAs). Successful applicants recommended for funding must furnish the information and assurances requested during the award documentation process. These include, but are not limited to the following: Organizational Management Information - Specific management information relating to an applicant shall be submitted on a one time basis, with updates on an as needed basis, as part of the responsibility determination prior to the award of a grant identified under this RFA, if such information has not been provided previously under this or another NIFA program. NIFA will provide copies of forms recommended for use in fulfilling these requirements as part of the preaward process. Although an applicant may be eligible based on its status as one of these entities, there are factors which may exclude an applicant from receiving Federal financial and nonfinancial assistance and benefits under this program (e.g., debarment or suspension of an individual involved or a determination that an applicant is not responsible based on submitted organizational management information). This information collection is approved under OMB Circular Control No. 0524-0026, "Assurance of Compliance with the Department of Agriculture Regulations Assuring Civil Rights, Compliance and Organization Information." SPECIAL NOTE: Please refer to the Competitive Request for Applications (RFAs) for further specific and pertinent details. The most current RFAs are available as follows: https://nifa.usda.gov/funding-opportunity/farm-business-management-and-benchmarking-fbmb-competitive-grants-program RFAs are generally released annually. Hence, the RFAs provide the most current and accurate information available. Any specific instructions in the Competitive RFAs supersede the general information provided in the CFDA database. Preapplication coordination is not applicable. 2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) only accepts electronic applications which are submitted via Grants.gov in response to specific Requests for Applications (RFA). Applicants must complete the Grants.gov registration process. For information about the pre-award phase of the grant lifecycle application processes see: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/learn-grants/grants-101/pre-award-phase.html. Further, applicants must follow the instructions provided in the NIFA Grants.gov Application Guide, which can be assessed as follows: Adobe NIFA Applications. 2 CFR part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards and 2 CFR part 400 USDA's Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards apply to this program. SPECIAL NOTE: Please refer to the Competitive Request for Applications (RFAs) for further specific and pertinent details. The most current RFAs are available via: https://nifa.usda.gov/funding-opportunity/farm-business-management-and-benchmarking-fbmb-competitive-grants-program RFAs are generally released annually. Hence, the RFAs provide the most current and accurate information available. Any specific instructions in the Competitive RFAs supersede the general information provided in the CFDA database. Applications are subjected to a system of peer and merit review in accordance with section 103 of the Agricultural Research, Extension and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7613) by a panel of qualified scientists and other appropriate persons who are specialists in the field covered by the proposal. Within the limit of funds available for such purpose, the NIFA Authorized Departmental Officer (ADO) shall make grants to those responsible, eligible applicants whose applications are judged most meritorious under the procedures set forth in the RFA. Reviewers will be selected based upon training and experience in relevant scientific, extension, or education fields, taking into account the following factors: (a) The level of relevant formal scientific, technical education, or extension experience of the individual, as well as the extent to which an individual is engaged in relevant research, education, or extension activities; (b) the need to include as reviewers experts from various areas of specialization within relevant scientific, education, or extension fields; (c) the need to include as reviewers other experts (e.g., producers, range or forest managers/operators, and consumers) who can assess relevance of the applications to targeted audiences and to program needs; (d) the need to include as reviewers experts from a variety of organizational types (e.g., colleges, universities, industry, state and Federal agencies, private profit and non-profit organizations) and geographic locations; (e) the need to maintain a balanced composition of reviewers with regard to minority and female representation and an equitable age distribution; and (f) the need to include reviewers who can judge the effective usefulness to producers and the general public of each application. Evaluation Criteria will be delineated in the Competitive Request for Applications (RFA). 2 CFR 200 - Subpart C and Appendix I and 2 CFR part 400 apply to this Program. SPECIAL NOTE: Please refer to the Competitive Request for Applications (RFAs) for further specific and pertinent details. The most current RFAs are available via: https://nifa.usda.gov/funding-opportunity/farm-business-management-and-benchmarking-fbmb-competitive-grants-program RFAs are generally released annually. Hence, the RFAs provide the most current and accurate information available. Any specific instructions in the Competitive RFAs supersede the general information provided in the CFDA database. Contact the headquarters or regional location, as appropriate for application deadlines From 30 to 60 days. Contact the National Program Leader (NPL), as indicated per CFDA Section # 152 - Headquarters Office regarding dates for specific deadlines, start and end dates, and range of approval/disapproval time. Information is also available via our website and may be obtained via the Grants.gov website. NIFA's respective links regarding general information are provided below: http://nifa.usda.gov/ http://www.grants.gov. RFAs are generally released annually. Hence, the RFAs provide the most current and accurate information available. Any specific instructions in the Competitive RFAs supersede the general information provided in the CFDA database. SPECIAL NOTE: Please refer to the Competitive Request for Applications (RFAs) for further specific and pertinent details. The most current RFA is available via: https://nifa.usda.gov/funding-opportunity/farm-business-management-and-benchmarking-fbmb-competitive-grants-program Not applicable. 2 CFR Part 200 - Subparts D & E apply to this program. Specific details are provided in the Request for Applications (RFA), which are generally published annually. The most current RFA is available via: https://nifa.usda.gov/funding-opportunity/farm-business-management-and-benchmarking-fbmb-competitive-grants-program 2 CFR part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards and 2 CFR part 400 USDA's Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards apply to this program. Within guidelines established for the program as described in the Competitive Request for Application (RFA). The most current RFAs are available via: https://nifa.usda.gov/funding-opportunity/farm-business-management-and-benchmarking-fbmb-competitive-grants-program In general: The Secretary may make competitive research and extension grants for the purpose of: (1) improving the farm management knowledge and skills of agricultural producers; and (2) establishing and maintaining a national, publicly available farm financial management database to support improved farm management. Selection criteria: In allocating funds made available to carry out this section, the Secretary may give priority to grants that: (1) demonstrate an ability to work directly with agricultural producers; (2) collaborate with farm management and producer associations; (3) address the farm management needs of a variety of crops and regions of the United States; and (4) use and support the national farm financial management database. Administration: Paragraphs (4), (7), (8), and (11)(B) of subsection (b) of section 450i of this title shall apply with respect to the making of grants under this section. Authorization of appropriations: There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this section. Performance Reports: PERFORMANCE MONITORING: See above for pertinent and specific details. Relation to other audit requirements, but records must be available for review or audit by appropriate officials of the Federal agency, pass-through entity, and Government Accountability Office (GAO). This program is also subject to audit by the cognizant Federal audit agency and the USDA Office of Inspector General. In accordance with 2 CFR Part 400 - Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, SS 200.333 Retention requirements for records. Grantees shall maintain separate records for each grant to ensure that funds are used for authorized purposes. Grant-related records are subject to inspection during the life of the grant and must be retained at least three (3) years. Records must be retained beyond the three (3) year period if litigation is pending or audit findings have not been resolved. 2 CFR 200 Subpart D applies to this program. Statutory formula is not applicable to this assistance listing.

Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. In accordance with statutory time limits, project periods, including no-cost extensions of time, for competitive project grants and/or cooperative agreements may not to exceed five (5) years. Further details are provided in the Award document Form NIFA-2009 and the NIFA General Terms and Conditions Grants and Cooperative Agreements (dated October 2016) at: https://nifa.usda.gov/resource/nifa-general-terms-and-conditions-grants-and-cooperative-agreements-october-2016. SPECIAL NOTE: Please refer to the Competitive Request for Applications (RFAs) for specific and pertinent details. The most current RFAs are available via: https://nifa.usda.gov/funding-opportunity/farm-business-management-and-benchmarking-fbmb-competitive-grants-program RFAs are generally released annually. Hence, the RFAs provide the most current and accurate information available. Any specific instructions in the Competitive RFAs supersede the general information provided in the CFDA database. Method of awarding/releasing assistance: Letter. NIFA is transitioning to a new location for Fiscal Year 2020. NIFA's New Mailing Address AFTER September 30, 2019 follows: National Institute of Food and Agriculture 6501 Beacon Drive Kansas City, MO 64133 USDA, NIFA, National Program Leader,
Institute of Youth, Family, and Community, Division of Family and Consumer Sciences, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., STOP 2250
Washington, DC 20250-2250 US
Policy@nifa.usda.gov
Phone: (202) 720-4795
Fax: (202) 720-9366 http://nifa.usda.gov/funding-opportunity/farm-business-management-and-benchmarking-fbmb-competitive-grants-program 12-1500-0-1-352 (Project Grants (Cooperative Agreements)) FY 18$1,918,875.00; FY 19 est $1,857,660.00; FY 20 est $0.00; FY 17$1,346,556.00; FY 16$1,349,565.00; - SPECIAL NOTES: (1) The difference between the appropriation and obligation numbers reflects legislative authorized set-asides deducted as appropriate, and in some cases the availability of obligational authority from prior years. If minimum or maximum amounts of funding per competitive and/or capacity project grant, or cooperative agreement are established, these amounts will be announced in the annual Competitive Request for Application (RFA). The most current RFA is available via: https://nifa.usda.gov/funding-opportunity/farm-business-management-and-benchmarking-fbmb-competitive-grants-program As an administrator of U.S. government support, NIFA works in partnership with grantees to ensure responsible stewardship of federal funds. Our grantees and partners are required to comply with all relevant rules and regulations. The following resources are provided to NIFA's partners and award recipients to support their adherence to federal regulations governing program performance: NIFA's primary (main) website: https://nifa.usda.gov/regulations-and-guidelines The following represent specific documents and direct links: POLICY GUIDE NIFA's Federal Assistance Policy Guide describes agency policies and procedures. https://nifa.usda.gov/policy-guide CERTIFICATIONS AND REPRESENTATIONS Certifications and representations provided through the NIFA application process. https://nifa.usda.gov/certifications-and-representations ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF USDA SUPPORT BY NIFA When acknowledging USDA support in accordance with 2 CFR Part 415, grantees must use the following acknowledgement for all projects or initiatives supported by NIFA. https://nifa.usda.gov/acknowledgment-usda-support-nifa FEDERAL REGULATIONS The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) lists all regulations published in the Federal Register. https://nifa.usda.gov/federal-regulations FOIA The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) provides that any person has the right to request access to federal documents and information such as research data. https://nifa.usda.gov/foia NEPA POLICY AND GUIDANCE The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Policy and Guidance set the standard for identifying potential environmental impacts. https://nifa.usda.gov/nepa-policy-and-guidance OGFM ISSUED CORRESPONDENCE The Office of Grants and Financial Management occasionally issues correspondence to applicants, grantees, and/or the general public for informational or clarification purposes. https://nifa.usda.gov/ogfm-issued-correspondence RESEARCH MISCONDUCT NIFA requires that all its awardees adhere to the USDA Scientific Integrity Policy and the Federal Policy on Research Misconduct. https://nifa.usda.gov/research-misconduct NIFA'S GENERAL AWARD TERMS AND CONDITIONS Award terms and conditions are determined by statutory, regulatory, and agency requirements, as well as each grant's circumstances. Terms and conditions dictate important items related to your grant, including method of payment, reporting frequency and content, and prior approval requirements. References to the terms and conditions of awards are located on the NIFA 2009 Award Fact Sheet. NIFA's general award terms and conditions (see link below) is applicable to this program, for awards with an award date on December 26, 2014 and thereafter. https://nifa.usda.gov/resource/nifa-general-terms-and-conditions-grants-and-cooperative-agreements-october-2016. Fiscal Year 2016 FBMB Review Panel recommended four awards; these will not be announced until the Awards Management Division makes awards. Pertinent details to be provided by Program at a future date Examples of funded projects are: (1) Initiate innovative pilot projects to create new approaches to expanding farm financial benchmarking, help educational programs seeking to start benchmarking efforts, develop a file repository that will allow real-time uploading of the files to the database and improve data security; revise financial analysis tools to meet the unique needs of direct marketing farmers; provide additional research access to the database; provided training on enhancing data integrity and developing greater efficiencies delivering farm financial analysis to producers; and create training resources to help producers manage during this era of heightened financial stress. (2) Partnerships between farm business management associations and land grant universities focusing on improving the knowledge of U.S. farmers and ranchers, improving long-term profitability and producer risk management decision through the use and development of the national database. The overarching project goals are: improved the quality, quantity, and diversity of the National Farm Financial Benchmarking Database through enhanced producer association partnerships in each of the five (5) states; and use resulting project data to link farm financial indicators to other farm decision-making tools in order to improve the probability of farm success and survival, particularly for small-and medium-sized and beginning farms. (3) Expand the well-established, national recognized, and publicly available farm financial management database FINBIN to support improved profitability and competitiveness of producers of a wide variety of crops and livestock in Tennessee by leveraging the established relationships of the farm management specialist have with producers across the state along with their years of experiences using FINPACK software to expand the FINBIN starting with 2016 records. (4) Establish a farm financial management benchmarking system by combining efforts of three (3) long-standing programs at the University of Wisconsin, Cornell University, and Michigan State University with particular emphasis on dairy farms. It will populate the benchmarking system with national farm financial records from USDA - FAS. This project will help improve the profitability and competitiveness of U.S. dairy producers; particularly small and mid-size producers by providing benchmarking opportunities for informed decision-making. It will empower producers in the financial stewardship of their farm businesses’ resources.
Fiscal Year 2017 Examples of funded projects are: 1. Maintain and expand the existing national farm financial database with specific focus on collecting information from more diverse producer groups; establishing new partnerships and approaches for data collection; and creating resources and opportunities to facilitate data use and interpretation to a broader farming and research audience. Specific goals of this project include: increasing the diversity of the existing database; expanding collaborations with farm financial management programs; developing additional tools to improve overall database efficiency and collaborative efforts; enable more research opportunities using the database; provide training to emerging benchmarking programs in order to ensure consistency and integrity of collection processes; directly assist small and mid-sized producers with benchmarking efforts; and create training resources to help producers, educators, and lenders to interpret and apply benchmarking principals in ways that are most beneficial to operational management. 2. Continuation of a partnership between farm business management associations and two land-grant universities focused on improving the knowledge of U.S. farmers and ranchers. The intention of our project is to improve long-term profitability and producer risk management decisions through the use and development of the National Farm Financial Benchmarking Database. These collaborating partners are committed to expanding their organizations by increasing the number of participants (especially beginning and small- and medium-sized farms), increasing the quality of financial records, and creating a comprehensive annual report to be used in the national database. The collaborating associations will support research efforts related to farm profitability, improved risk management decision-making under financial stress, efficiency indicators, and cost of production. This project will also develop a high quality research program through the two universities that will focus on improving producer profitability and risk management decision-making. 3. Increase the number of New York and Ohio crop and livestock farms completing regular farm business analysis using FINPACK. With these analyses in hand we will hold introductory and advanced producer workshops. The goal of these workshops is to reduce risk in today's volatile market through the provision of regional benchmarks and ratios by which farms can compare their data to identify areas of improvement.
Fiscal Year 2018 Examples of funded projects are: 1. This project will enhance the national farm financial benchmarking database by improving research opportunities using the data, expanding diversity of the type of farm activities in the database, and by increasing the number of farms represented in the database. Specific goals of this project include: expanding research opportunities using the database; increasing the diversity of the existing database; expanding collaborations with farm financial management programs; developing additional tools to improve overall database efficiency and collaborative efforts; provide training to emerging benchmarking programs in order to ensure consistency and integrity of collection processes; and create training resources to help producers, educators, and lenders interpret and apply benchmarking principals in ways that are most beneficial to operational management. 2. The purpose of this project is to broaden the collection of farm level financial and production data to assist in the dearth of information presently available in the state of South Carolina. This project will not only assist in increasing the national database but through this process but will advance the teams data gathering and research capabilities on cost of production, develop a base for cases to test agricultural and farm policy and to be used in the teaching of farm business management courses, provide more precise information for Extension outreach educational programming initiatives, and improve the farm financial management knowledge and skills of South Carolina agricultural producers. 3. The purpose of the proposed project is to expand the FINBIN database to include uniform data from western beef cow-calf and backgrounding operations, support improved ranch management knowledge, and advance rancher risk management decision making. The goals of this project are to 1) enhance western beef producers’ ranch financial literacy and record keeping skills; 2) improve beef producers ability to successfully manage though periods of high stress; and 3) maintain and expand beef producer relationships to further enhance the FBMB and Colorado SPA databases. 4. We propose the continuation of a partnership between farm business management associations and two land-grant universities focused on improving the knowledge of U.S. farmers and ranchers. The intention of our project is to improve long-term profitability and producer risk management decisions through the use and development of the National Farm Financial Benchmarking Database. The project will be conducted through the efforts of five farm business management associations in Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Utah, and Wisconsin and two land-grant universities: the University of Nebraska’s Lincoln campus and Utah State University. 5. Our project will empower agricultural educators to collect and upload data in FINPACK, specifically FINAN/FINBIN, software programs for a whole farm, enterprise, and market channel analyses of at least 35 produce and/or maple operations in six states. FINBIN is the largest online farm financial database in the U.S. FINAN software analyzes farm financial data at the enterprise, market channel, and whole farm levels. Utilizing these tools, farmers and agricultural educators will learn to analyze the financial health and profitability of farm operations and selected enterprises. They will also be able to compare their operations to similar farms within and across MA, ME, NH, NY, RI, and VT. FINAN and FINBIN outputs are robust and include profitability, liquidity, solvency, and labor measures. These and other benchmarks that will be used to compare annual changes in a farm's own operation and with similar operations in the region. These outputs will enable producers to identify opportunities for management decisions, which will improve financial health and farm profits.
Fiscal Year 2019 FBMB Review Panel recommended four (4) awards; these will not be announced until the Awards Management Division makes the official award.