Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA AMS TM FSMIP G 20 0004
The Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program (FSMIP) is a competitive, matching-fund grant program run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). Its purpose is to help eligible public entities explore new market opportunities and support research and innovation that improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and overall performance of the U.S. agricultural marketing system. In practical terms, the program is designed to fund applied work that helps agricultural producers and agribusinesses sell, move, position, and compete in markets more successfully, whether those markets are local, regional, or national.
For the 2020 funding cycle, the total allocation available for FSMIP grants was approximately $1 million, with individual awards capped at $250,000 (the award ceiling). AMS anticipated making around 30 awards. Funding is provided as grants (a discretionary grant program), and applicants should expect a competitive selection process where proposals are judged against program priorities and the strength of the research and marketing approach. Because the program uses matching funds, applicants are expected to contribute non-federal resources to match the requested federal amount, which reinforces the idea that projects should have real stakeholder investment and practical relevance.
Projects can address barriers, challenges, and opportunities at any point in the marketing chain. That includes direct marketing (such as farm-to-consumer or direct-to-institution channels), wholesale systems (aggregation, distribution, logistics, supply chain coordination), and retail markets (packaging, merchandising, consumer access, product differentiation, and other market-facing improvements). While project topics can vary widely, the common requirement is that proposals must be marketing-centered and research-based. The program is not intended for general production agriculture research; it is specifically oriented toward marketing system performance, market access, and marketing efficiency improvements.
A key requirement is that the work must involve research, and the primary beneficiaries must be agricultural producers and agribusinesses. This means the project should be structured to generate evidence, analysis, or tested methods that improve marketing outcomes, rather than simply providing services. If a proposal includes training or education, it cannot be training-only; it must include a research component that evaluates the program and tests whether the training actually advances the stated marketing goals. In other words, FSMIP favors projects that measure results and can demonstrate what worked, what did not, and why, so that findings can be used more broadly.
FSMIP also emphasizes broad benefit rather than private gain. Proposals may involve small, medium, or large-scale agricultural entities, but they should deliver benefits to multiple producers or agribusinesses, not just a single business or individual. Applications that primarily advantage one company or one person are explicitly not considered. This pushes applicants toward projects with replicable outcomes, shared tools, sector-wide insights, or multi-stakeholder impacts, such as improving market transparency, reducing transaction costs, expanding access to higher-value channels, strengthening supply chain coordination, or developing and testing innovations that can be adopted across a region or industry segment.
Eligibility for the 2020 opportunity was limited to specific entity types: state governments, public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, and federally recognized Native American tribal governments. The funding opportunity was issued by USDA AMS, with the opportunity number USDA AMS TM FSMIP G 20 0004 and CFDA number 10.156. The posting date was March 9, 2020, and the original application closing date was May 11, 2020. AMS also indicated it would host an applicant webinar, with details to be posted on the program page and a recording made available afterward, which can be helpful for understanding current requirements, expectations, and common proposal pitfalls.
More information and program materials are available on the AMS FSMIP page: https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/grants/fsmip.Apply for USDA AMS TM FSMIP G 20 0004
- The Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service in the agriculture sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program (FSMIP)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.156.
- This funding opportunity was created on Mar 09, 2020.
- Applicants must submit their applications by May 11, 2020. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $250,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 30 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: State governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized).
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