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The Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP) is a USDA grant program that pays for education, outreach and technical assistance aimed at new farmers and ranchers. The most important thing to know before planning an application is that it does not fund individual farmers: applicants must be collaborative networks or partnerships. Everything below is as described on the official NIFA program page on 2026-10-29, plus the Grants.gov opportunity record for the same program.
What it is and who runs it
BFRDP is run by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). The official page says the aim is to help beginning farmers and ranchers in the United States and its territories “enter and/or improve” their successes in farming, ranching and management of nonindustrial private forest lands, through education, outreach and technical assistance projects.
The program is easy to confuse with other NIFA offerings, so these identifiers help you find the right record:
- Assistance Listing number: 10.311 (the federal catalogue number for the program)
- Funding opportunity number on the page checked: USDA-NIFA-BFR-011336
- Where applications go: Grants.gov, from the opportunity linked on the NIFA page
For how NIFA fits among the other USDA research and education funders, see CASRAI’s overview of USDA NIFA grants.
Who can apply: networks, not individuals
This is where the program differs most from what the acronym suggests. The NIFA page states that the applicant “must be a collaborative state, tribal, local, or regionally based network or partnership” of qualified public and/or private entities. The Grants.gov record for the same opportunity adds that applications submitted by individuals are excluded from review.
The NIFA page lists these types of eligible entity that can make up a partnership:
- 1862, 1890 and 1994 Land-grant Institutions
- Hispanic-Serving Institutions
- Other junior and four-year colleges or universities, or foundations maintained by a college or university
- State Cooperative Extension Services
- Federal, State, Municipal or Tribal agencies
- Community-based organizations
- Nongovernmental organizations
- Private for-profit organizations
The Grants.gov record also says collaboratives led by Extension or government members receive funding priority. For the full eligibility rules, the current Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), not a summary, is the final word.
What it funds or requires
As described on the page for the cycle checked:
- Estimated total program funding: $44,443,140
- Range of awards: $49,999 to $750,000
- Percent of applications funded: 25%, as stated on the page
- Matching: “Matching is Required – See Waiver Exceptions.” The page gives no match percentage; the Grants.gov record also lists cost share as required. Read the NOFO for the exact rate and the waiver conditions.
If you are new to the concept, CASRAI’s definition of mandatory cost share explains what a required match means for budgeting.
Application steps
- Open the NOFO. The NIFA page links the NOFO and the Grants.gov listing. The term is covered in CASRAI’s entry on the funding opportunity announcement.
- Form the partnership. Because individuals are excluded, settle which entities are in the network and who leads before anything else.
- Check your institution’s registrations. Submission runs through Grants.gov; CASRAI’s entries on Grants.gov registration and SAM.gov cover the registration side.
- Submit through Grants.gov using “Apply For Grant” on the opportunity.
Typical timeline phases
The page shows the pattern of a single annual cycle without promising future dates:
- Posting. The opportunity is published on Grants.gov and the NIFA page. For the cycle described here, the page showed a posted date of May 13, 2026.
- Open window. Applicants prepare and submit. The same page showed a closing date of June 16, 2026 and cautions “Dates may vary. Please see NOFO for exact details.”
- Closed and archived. The Grants.gov record for this cycle was listed as archived as of July 16, 2026.
- Next cycle. A later announcement would appear on Grants.gov and the NIFA page. Do not assume it will repeat the same dates.
Because the cycle described above has closed, the practical work now is building the partnership and a draft ahead of the next announcement, and reading the previous NOFO for structure.
Restrictions that trip applicants
The Grants.gov record for the FY2026 opportunity lists limits worth checking before any team commits to a role. These are cycle-specific and may differ in the next announcement:
- A project may not duplicate a current beginning-farmer project.
- The same organization, institution or Project Director cannot receive multiple awards in one calendar year.
- FY2024 regular standard and education team awardees were ineligible.
- Project Directors of active awards could apply only in the final year of project work.
- Simplified standard grants were meant for new trainers; prior simplified awardees were told not to apply.
- Subcontracting to ineligible organizations was allowed if necessary.
- If an applicant submitted duplicate applications, the most recent accepted submission was used.
Common mistakes
- Applying as an individual farmer. Individual submissions are excluded from review; the eligible applicant is the partnership.
- Treating the program page as the rulebook. The NOFO holds the full requirements.
- Overlooking the repeat-award limits above when listing the Project Director or lead institution.
- Leaving the match until last. Matching is required unless a waiver exception applies, so plan it with your sponsored programs office from the start.
- Copying dates from an old cycle. The page itself says dates may vary.
Related programs
| Program | Run by | What distinguishes it |
|---|---|---|
| BFRDP (Assistance Listing 10.311) | USDA NIFA | Education, outreach and technical assistance for beginning farmers and ranchers; applicants are collaborative networks, not individuals |
| Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) | USDA NIFA | NIFA’s flagship competitive research, education and extension grants; see AFRI program areas |
| USDA SBIR | USDA NIFA | Small-business innovation research funding; see USDA SBIR program |
Confirm current terms for the other programs on NIFA’s site.
FAQ
What does BFRDP stand for?
Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program. It is the same program as the “USDA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program,” Assistance Listing 10.311.
Can an individual farmer apply for a BFRDP grant?
No. The applicant must be a collaborative network or partnership, and individual applications are excluded from review.
Is matching funding required?
Yes. The NIFA page says matching is required, with waiver exceptions described in the NOFO.
How large are awards?
For the cycle checked, the page listed awards from $49,999 to $750,000 from an estimated $44,443,140 in total funding.
Is the application window open now?
The cycle described on the page (closing June 16, 2026) has closed, and its Grants.gov record is archived. Watch Grants.gov and the NIFA page for the next announcement.
Sources
- USDA NIFA, Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP), checked 2026-10-29.
- Grants.gov, opportunity 362376 (FY2026 BFRDP), checked 2026-10-29.
