USDA 2015 Farmers Market Promotion Program Grants

State Departments of Agriculture are eligible to if the State’s regulatory statutes identify the specific State Department of Agriculture as a regional farmers’ market authority.
Eligible applicants include:

1. Agricultural Businesses: Business entities that provide, hold, deliver, transport, offer, process or sell agricultural products or services.2. Agricultural Cooperatives: Group-owned or member-owned entities or businesses that provide, offer, or sell agricultural products or services for the mutual benefit of their members. 3. Producer Networks: Producer group- or member-owned organizations or businesses that provide, offer, or sell agricultural products or services through a common distribution system for the mutual benefit of their members.4. Producer Associations: Organizations or other businesses that assist, represent, or serve producers or producer networks. 5. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Networks: Formal groups of farms that work collectively to offer consumers regular (usually weekly) deliveries of locally-grown farm products during one or more harvest season(s) often on a subscription or membership basis. Customers have access to a selected share or range of farm products offered by the group of farmers based on partial or total advance payment of a subscription or membership fee.6. CSA Associations: Organizations or other businesses that assist, serve, or represent CSAs or CSA networks.7. Local Governments: Any unit of government within a state, including a county; borough; municipality; city; town; township; parish; local public authority, including any public housing agency under the United States Housing Act of 1937; special district; school district; intrastate district; council of governments, whether or not incorporated as a nonprofit corporation under state law; and any other agency or instrumentality of a multi-, regional, or intra-state or local government.8. Nonprofit Corporations: Any corporation, trust, association, cooperative, or other organization, not including IHEs, that: (a) is operated primarily for scientific, educational, service, charitable, or similar purposes in the public interest; (b) is not organized primarily for profit; and (c) uses net proceeds to maintain, improve, or expand the operations of the organization.9. Public Benefit Corporations: Corporations organized to construct or operate a public improvement, the profits from which inure to the benefit of a State(s) or to the people thereof. 10. Economic Development Corporations: Organizations whose missions are to improve, maintain, develop and/or market or promote a specific geographic area. 11. Regional Farmers Market Authorities: Entities that establish and enforce regional, State, or county policies and jurisdiction over State, regional, or county farmers markets.12. Tribal Governments: Governing bodies or governmental agencies of any Indian tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or community (including any native village as defined in Section 3 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, 85 Stat. 688 (43 U.S.C. § 1602)) certified by the Secretary of the Interior as eligible for the special programs and services provided through the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

The goals of FMPP grants are to increase domestic consumption of and access to locally and regionally produced agricultural products, and to develop new market opportunities for farm and ranch operations serving local markets by developing, improving, expanding, and providing 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.

All projects must benefit two or more farmers, producers, or farm vendors who produce and sell directly to consumers.

The minimum FY2015 FMPP award per grant is $15,000 and the maximum is $100,000. An applicant is limited to no more than one grant in a grant-funding year. FMPP funding will be available for use beginning on October 1, 2015. Project work should begin in September 30, 2015 and end not later than September 29, 2017. Matching funds are not required.

FMPP will host a webinar to introduce FMPP on March 25. For more information about FMPP including program background and webinar information, visit the AMS grants website: http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSgrants.

The goals of FMPP grants are to increase domestic consumption of and access to locally and regionally produced agricultural products, and to develop new market opportunities for farm and ranch operations serving local markets by developing, improving, expanding, and providing 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.

All projects must benefit two or more farmers, producers, or farm vendors who produce and sell directly to consumers.

The minimum FY2015 FMPP award per grant is $15,000 and the maximum is $100,000. An applicant is limited to no more than one grant in a grant-funding year. FMPP funding will be available for use beginning on October 1, 2015. Project work should begin in September 30, 2015 and end not later than September 29, 2017. Matching funds are not required.

FMPP will host a webinar to introduce FMPP on March 25. For more information about FMPP including program background and webinar information, visit the AMS grants website: http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSgrants.