Beginning farmer education for adult and young audiences in the United States can generally be traced back to the advent of the 1862 and 1890 Morrill Land-Grant Acts. But, for the first time, the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Pub .L. No. 110-234, Section 7410) appropriated $75 million for FY 2009 to FY 2012 to develop and offer education, training, outreach and mentoring programs to enhance the sustainability of the next generation of farmers.

The Agriculture Act of 2014 provided an additional $20 million per year for 2014 through 2018. The reasons for the renewed interest in beginning farmer and rancher programs are as follows: the rising average age of U.S. farmers; the 8% projected decrease in the number of farmers and ranchers between 2008 and 2018; and the growing recognition that new programs are needed to address the needs of the next generation of beginning farmers and ranchers.

The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (aka the 2018 Farm Bill) reauthorized the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program and provides mandatory funds for which supports education, mentoring, and technical assistance initiatives for beginning farmers and ranchers.

This request for applications request applications for the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP) for two funding cycles, fiscal years (FY) 2021 and 2022 to support delivery of education, mentoring, and technical assistance programs to help beginning farmers and ranchers in the United States and its territories with entering, establishing, building and managing successful farm and ranch enterprises. Applicants considering applying to the second year should check the BFRDP Funding Opportunity Web Page at: https://nifa.usda.gov/funding-opportunity/beginning-farmer-and-rancher-development-program-bfrdp

The anticipated amount available for Standard and Educational Team ( ET) grants in FY 2021 and FY 2022 is approximately $16.5 million and approximately $19 million, respectively.  Up to approximately $200,000 per year for three years for a maximum total of approximately $600,000 will be available for the Curriculum and Training Clearinghouse in FY 2022 ONLY. The Curriculum and Training Clearinghouse is competed once every three years.