1. Environmental & Conservation Grants
- Restore Grant at Zero Foodprint
- Funding: Up to $25,000
- Purpose: Supports conservation practices in Colorado and a few other states.
- Deadline: Open now (next grant round starts January 15, 2025).
- Focus: Strong effort to engage with San Miguel County.
- Aquatic Resource Management – BLM
- Funding: $500,000 total, 4 awards
- Purpose: Supports restoration, protection, and management of aquatic habitats and water resources on public lands.
- Deadline: February 14, 2025
- Eligible Activities: Habitat restoration, water quality enhancement, combating fragmentation, and public education.
- Threatened and Endangered Species Program – BLM
- Funding: $500,000 total, 3 awards, $10,000–$250,000 per award
- Purpose: Protect federally-listed and rare species, support national conservation priorities, and engage underserved communities.
- Deadline: February 14, 2025
- Eligible Activities: Habitat protection and public education.
2. Agricultural & Food Business Grants
- Diverse Markets Business Builder Grant
- Funding: $3,000 to $50,000
- Purpose: Supports businesses focused on climate-resilient grains, pulses, and pseudocereals within local and regional value chains.
- Eligibility: Businesses involved in growing, producing, processing, aggregating, distributing, or marketing grains, pulses, and/or pseudocereals. Must be operational for at least 2 years.
- Deadline: March 1, 2025
- Enhancing Local and Regional Meat Supply Chain Business Builder Grant
- Funding: $3,000 to $50,000
- Purpose: Expands capacity for meat, seafood, and poultry businesses serving small to mid-scale producers.
- Eligibility: Applicants could include meat brands, cooperatives, processors, cold storage facilities, local/regional distributors, or retail meat shops.
- Deadline: March 7, 2025
- Connecting and Scaling Food Entrepreneurs Business Builder Grant
- Funding: $20,000 to $35,000
- Purpose: Expands capacity of facilities supporting small, value-added food businesses by providing access to commercial kitchen space, business development support, and food manufacturing services.
- Deadline: April 1, 2025
3. Rural & Tribal Development Grants
- Rural Energy for America Program (REAP)
- Funding: Up to 75% of project costs (grant + loan guarantee)
- Purpose: Loan and grant funding for renewable energy systems or energy efficiency improvements for agricultural producers and rural small businesses.
- Eligibility: Must be located in rural areas with populations of 50,000 or less.
- Deadline: March 31, 2025 (FY26 deadline: September 30, 2025+)
- Rural and Tribal Assistance Pilot Program
- Funding:
- Single Project Grants: $10M total, with awards between $200K and $750K
- Multi-Community Grants: $17M total, with awards between $500K and $2.25M
- Purpose: Supports planning and design activities for transportation projects in rural or tribal communities, with technical, legal, or financial assistance.
- Eligibility: Projects must be outside of urban areas or within urban areas with populations of 150,000 or less.
- Application Period: March 4–April 3, 2025 (first-come, first-served)
- Webinar: January 14, 2025, 1 PM MT (Register Here)
- Funding:
4. USDA NIFA Programs –
- Small Business Innovation Research / Small Business Technology Transfer Programs Phase II
- Funding: Phase II grants for research & commercialization
- Eligibility: Must have previously completed a successful Phase I project.
- Deadline: March 18, 2025
- Purpose: Focuses on continuing R&D and commercialization.
- Tribal Colleges Research Grants Program
- Funding: Competitive grants for Tribal Colleges
- Purpose: Builds research capacity for 1994 Land-grant Institutions (Tribal Colleges) to address community, reservation, or regional challenges.
- Deadline: December 31, 2025
- Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program
- Funding: Nutrition incentive funding for SNAP participants
- Purpose: Increases fruit and vegetable purchases among low-income consumers through SNAP.
- Deadline: April 15, 2025
- Agriculture and Food Research Initiative – Sustainable Agricultural Systems
- Funding: For research and education in sustainable agricultural systems
- Purpose: Transforms the U.S. food system to increase production while reducing environmental impact.
- Deadline: May 15, 2025
- Women and Minorities in STEM Fields Program
- Funding: Supports women and minorities in agricultural STEM
- Purpose: Encourages participation in food and agricultural science fields.
- Deadline: February 27, 2025
- Youth Farm Safety Education and Certification Program
- Funding: Supports safety education for youth in agriculture
- Purpose: Develops educational resources to mitigate farm hazards for young workers.
- Deadline: March 20, 2025
- Potato Breeding Research
- Funding: Focuses on potato varietal development
- Purpose: Supports integrated research to develop superior commercial potato varieties.
- Deadline: March 20, 2025
- 1890 Institution Teaching, Research and Extension Capacity Building Grants
- Funding: Strengthens capacity at 1890 Land-grant institutions
- Purpose: Supports projects addressing sustainable bioenergy, food security, and other NIFA strategic goals.
- Deadline: May 8, 2025
- Higher Education Challenge Grants Program
- Funding: Enhances university programs in agriculture and related fields
- Purpose: Addresses educational needs in the food and agricultural sciences.
- Deadline: March 11, 2025
- Distance Education Grants for Institutions of Higher Education in Insular Areas
- Funding: Supports distance education in agricultural disciplines
- Purpose: Provides educational support to institutions in insular areas.
- Deadline: To be determined.
