- Author: Kathleen P Nolan
Dear Colleagues,
USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has announced $27 million in funding to support innovative projects designed to strengthen market opportunities for local and regional food producers and businesses. The grants available include the Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP) and Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP) grants, and the Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program (FSMIP).
“These grants will continue USDA's support for the local food sector as an important strategy for keeping wealth in rural communities,” said AMS Administrator Elanor Starmer. “Entrepreneurs around the country are creating jobs and new economic opportunities in response to growing consumer demand for local food. AMS is excited to partner with local food stakeholders to strengthen local economies and improve access to fresh, healthy food for their communities.”
FMPP supports direct farmer-to-consumer marketing projects. LFPP supports projects focused on intermediary supply chain activities for local food businesses. The FMPP and LFPP initiatives seek to:
- Increase domestic consumption of, and access to, locally and regionally produced agricultural products
- Develop new market opportunities for farm and ranch operations serving local markets by developing, improving, expanding
- Provide outreach, training, and technical assistance to, or assisting in the development, improvement, and expansion of, domestic farmers markets, roadside stands, community-supported agriculture programs, agritourism activities, and other direct producer-to-consumer market opportunities.
FSMIP supports applied research to explore new market opportunities and efficiency for U.S. food and agricultural producers. The program provides funding to state departments of agriculture, state colleges and universities, and other appropriate state agencies. Funds will support research projects to address challenges and opportunities in marketing, transporting, and distributing U.S. agricultural products domestically and internationally. Eligible agricultural categories include poultry, livestock, dairy, food, feed and fiber crops, fish and shellfish, horticulture, viticulture, apiary, and forest products, and processed or manufactured products derived from such commodities. Reflecting the growing diversity of U.S. agriculture, FSMIP accepts proposals dealing with nutraceuticals, bioenergy, compost, agroforestry products, and products made from agricultural residue.
UC ANR is eligible as a nonprofit corporation, any organization or institution, including accredited institutions of higher education, where no part of the net earnings of which inure to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual. For FSMIP funding, UC ANR is eligible as a State agricultural experiment station.
The application deadline for all three programs (FMPP, LFPP, FSMIP) is March 27, 2017. See the OCG Calendar for an overview or the AMS request for proposals for complete details. If you are interested in applying to these opportunities, please contact the Office of Contracts and Grants to request proposal development assistance.
For those not applying for FY2017 FMLFPP or FSMIP grant funding, please consider serving as a grant reviewer for the program. Serving as a grant reviewer allows prospective applicants the opportunity to become better familiar with the agency's culture, program's objectives, review process, and build relationships with reviewers and program officers alike. This is also one of the best ways to improve your own grant writing, providing key insight into how to craft a successful proposal to the program as well as lessons learned for what makes a proposal unsuccessful. All interested agricultural professionals are invited to apply to become a grant reviewer.
FMPP and LFPP reviewers are expected to have operational knowledge of local food direct-to-consumer marketing and background in agriculture, retail, or farm-to-table marketing. Reviewers serve in 3-member teams and follow a pre-set scoring system, with each person reviewing 15 to 20 proposals. The review period is approximately six weeks from late April to mid-June, 2017.
FSMIP reviewers can include individuals from the federal government, state universities and colleges, state departments of agriculture and other appropriate state agencies. Reviewers are expected to have general knowledge of agricultural marketing, applied economics or marketing experience for farmers and ranchers. FSMIP reviewers should have specialized knowledge on topics such as food safety, consumer economics, foreign market development, labeling, post-harvest handling and/or transportation. FSMIP reviewers will have 4 to 5 weeks beginning in early May to review up to 10 applications, each consisting of a 10-page narrative plus supporting materials. Reviewers serve in 3-member teams to evaluate proposals grouped together by a common topic or theme.
Non-federal reviewers for both programs will be compensated for their service. The deadline to apply to become a reviewer is March 20, 2017.
Thank you.
Kathleen Nolan, Director, ANR Office of Contracts & Grants (OCG)