Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program | USDA AMS TM FSMIP G 17 0004

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA AMS TM FSMIP G 17 0004

The Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program (FSMIP) is a competitive grant opportunity run by the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service that offers matching funds to support research-driven projects focused on strengthening how agricultural products are marketed in the United States. The program is aimed at helping eligible applicants explore new market opportunities and promote research and innovation that improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and overall performance of the U.S. agricultural marketing system. In practical terms, FSMIP is looking for projects that solve real marketing problems, remove barriers, and test new approaches that can help producers and agribusinesses compete, reach buyers, and move products through the marketplace more successfully.

For the 2017 funding cycle, the total grant allocation is approximately $1 million, with an expected 10 awards. Individual awards can be as high as $200,000. Funding is provided as grants under a discretionary program (CFDA 10.156). Because the funds are matching, applicants should be prepared to show how they will provide a cost share or equivalent match as part of the project plan, reinforcing the idea that FSMIP is designed to leverage federal dollars alongside state, institutional, or partner resources.

Projects can target any stage of the marketing chain, including direct-to-consumer channels, wholesale markets, and retail pathways. That flexibility means proposals might address topics such as market access, distribution challenges, supply chain coordination, pricing and market information, marketing strategies, product differentiation, or other marketing-related constraints and opportunities. Regardless of the specific topic, proposals must maintain a strong marketing focus and must involve research. If a project includes training or education, FSMIP requires that it still include a research component that evaluates whether the training actually advances the project’s marketing goals, rather than being training for its own sake.

A key requirement is that the primary beneficiaries must be agricultural producers and agribusinesses, and the benefits must extend beyond a single company or individual operation. FSMIP is explicitly not intended to fund projects that mainly help one agribusiness or one person. Instead, projects should be designed to generate findings, tools, methods, or models that can be used by multiple producers or businesses, whether they are small, medium, or large. Proposals addressing issues at the state, multi-state, or national level are considered appropriate, especially when the work has broader relevance and can inform decision-making or improve marketing performance across regions.

Collaboration is strongly encouraged. FSMIP places particular value on proposals that bring together partners such as state agencies, universities, the farm sector, and other relevant stakeholders. At the same time, the program is open to smaller or more unique concepts when they function as pilot projects or case studies that others could replicate. For these smaller-scale efforts, applicants are expected to include an objective that analyzes the broader opportunity and produces recommendations for scaling the work to other regions or expanding it beyond the initial project footprint.

The opportunity was published under Funding Opportunity Number USDA AMS TM FSMIP G 17 0004, with an original closing date of March 27, 2017, and a creation date of January 11, 2017. Eligible applicants are listed as public and state-controlled institutions of higher education. To help applicants understand the Request for Applications, FSMIP scheduled a teleconference for January 19, 2017 at 2:30 pm Eastern Time, with participation available by contacting the agency point of contact for instructions.

• The Agricultural Marketing Service in the agriculture sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program" 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 2017-01-11.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2017-03-27. (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 $200,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 10 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education.

Apply for USDA AMS TM FSMIP G 17 0004

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: