The Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program (FSMIP) offers grants with a one-to-one dollar match to assist in exploring new market opportunities for U.S. food and agricultural products, and to encourage research and innovation aimed at improving the efficiency and performance of the marketing system.
Donor Name: Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources
State: Massachusetts
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 03/28/2025
Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000
Grant Duration: 3 Years
Details:
To explore and identify new market opportunities for U.S. food and agricultural products, FSMIP funds a wide range of applied research projects that address barriers, challenges, and opportunities in marketing, transportation, and distribution of U.S. food and agricultural products domestically and internationally.
Funding Information
- AMS anticipates that approximately $1 million will be available for support for this program in fiscal year (FY) 2025. The final amount available is subject to Congressional action
- The minimum award amount is $50,000, the maximum award is $250,000 per project.
Grant Period
FSMIP projects must be completed within 36 months (3 years).
Eligible Project Activities
FSMIP projects can:
- Determine the best methods for processing, preparing for market, packing, handling, transporting, storing, distributing, and marketing agricultural products
- Determine the costs of marketing agricultural products in their various forms and through various channels
- Assist in the development of more efficient marketing methods, practices, and facilities to bring about more efficient and orderly marketing, and reduce the price spread between the producer and the consumer
- Develop and improve standards of quality, condition, quantity, grade, and packaging in order to encourage uniformity and consistency in commercial practices
- Eliminate artificial barriers to the free movement of agricultural products in commercial channels
- Foster new/expanded domestic and foreign markets and new/expanded uses of agricultural products
- Collect and disseminate marketing information to anticipate and meet consumer requirements, maintain farm income, and balance production and use.
Eligibility Criteria
In accordance with authorizing legislation, FSMIP funds can be allotted to State Departments of Agriculture, State Agricultural Experiment Stations, and other appropriate Agencies. State agencies under the authorizing legislation should assume the lead role in FSMIP projects, and use cooperative or contractual linkages to fund participants such as other agencies, universities, institutions, and producer, industry or community-based organizations, as appropriate.
- Partners and collaborators may be private or public, for-profit, or nonprofit entities, including but not limited to:
- New and beginning farmers and ranchers (individuals or entities that have not operated a farm or ranch for more than 10 years and substantially participate in the operation)
- Rural enterprises (small and emerging private businesses in rural areas that have fewer than 50 employees and less than $1 million in gross revenue)
- Agri-businesses
- Local government entities
- Applicants are required to show evidence of existing community or industry support and engagement
- Applications should demonstrate a commitment to engage potential project beneficiaries as active participants.
For more information, visit MDAR.
