Risk Management Education & Partnership Grants Program

Program Basics

Risk management education and partnership programs fund projects to inform farmers about crop insurance, futures, options, forward contracts, as well as broader risk management topics such as crop and enterprise diversification, conservation planning, new and value-added markets, debt reduction, and asset building strategies. There are several distinct grant programs funded under this general heading, including:

Most Recent CSREES RME Funding Info – FY 08

Estimated Total Funding

$5,000,000

Range of Awards

$1,000 – $75,000

% of Applications Funded

approximately 25%

Cost Sharing Requirements

None

Most Recent RMA COAP Funding Info – FY 08

Estimated Total Funding

$2,752,507

Range of Awards

$20,000 to $175,000

% of Applications Funded

36%

Average Grant Amount

$56,174

Cost Sharing Requirements

None

2008 Farm Bill Changes

The only farm bill change to the CSREES-administered regional Risk Management Education program was the addition of a special emphasis for awarding grants to risk management education projects that assist:

The mandatory funding was continued at $5 million a year.

The major change to the RMA-run programs was a cut in funding. Prior to the 2008 Farm Bill, RMA received $20 million a year in mandatory funding which was used for both contracting with schools and firms to do research and development for new crop insurance products and risk management strategies for underserved commodities and areas, and for the partnership education and outreach programs. In addition, $5 million a year in mandatory funding was available for Targeted States Education. That $5 million for the 15 most underserved states (the northeastern states plus WY, UT, and NV; and the 2008 bill adds HI as the new 16th state) is continued in the new bill, but the $20 million amount for the R&D contracting and the partnership programs was cut to $12.5 million a year in mandatory funding.

The new bill also directed RMA to enter into contracts, paid for out of the same $12.5 million a year, for research and development of 6 new or revised insurance productions: crop insurance for organic production, energy crops, aquaculture, and bees, plus revenue insurance for contract poultry producers and for beginning farmers.

In addition, RMA was given the discretionary authority to transfer up to $5 million a year from this same $12.5 million line item to improve its computer systems.

As a result of the overall cut, the new mandated contracts, and the transfer authority, significantly less money will be available each year for the partnership education and outreach programs.

Legislative Authority

Section 12026 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act (FCEA) of 2008 amends Section 524(a) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act to add the special beginning farmer emphasis to the CSREES Risk Management Education Program. The program and this change are codified at 7 U.S.C. 1524(a).

Section 12024 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act (FCEA) of 2008 amends Section 522(e) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act to reduce mandatory funding for R&D contracting and partnership programs. The funding change will be codified at 7 U.S.C. 1522(e).

Section 522(d) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act authorizes the Risk Management Partnership Programs.

Section 524(a)(2) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act authorizes the Education for Underserved States program.

Funding

Risk Management Education and Outreach Funding

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

CSREES RME

$5 M

$5 M

$5M

$5 M

$5 M

RMA Targeted States Education

$5 M

$5 M

$5 M

$5 M

$5 M

RMA Partnership and Outreach Programs; R&D Contracting

$12.5 M

$12.5 M

$12.5 M

$12.5 M

$12.5 M

Please note: The funding levels in the chart above show the amount of mandatory funding reserved by the 2008 Farm Bill for this program to be provided through USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation. However, Congress does at times pass subsequent appropriations legislation that caps the funding level for a particular year for a particular program at less than provided by the farm bill in order to use the resulting savings to fund a different program. Therefore, despite its “mandatory” status, the funding level for a given year could be less than the farm bill dictates should the Appropriations Committee decide to raid the farm bill to fund other programs under its jurisdiction.

Implementation Basics – RME

Four regional centers administer the funding opportunities annually with input from producers and other stakeholders knowledgeable and interested in agricultural risk management:

Application is a two–step process. Applicants first submit a short, online Pre-Proposal and, if they are selected, a more detailed Full Proposal. Grant awards normally do not exceed $50,000 per project. The range of awards is generally from $5,000–$50,000; however, there is no absolute upper or lower limit on the funds provided to a project; awards reflect a mix of project sizes to meet a center’s investment goal of a balanced portfolio. CSREES has stated that awards go projects that clearly identify risk management results and have a well-thought-out approach to achieve those results.

Implementation Basics – RMA

RMA announces the availability of funds for its partnership and cooperative agreements each year via the Federal Register and the RMA website (www.rma.usda.gov/aboutrma/agreements/). Partners conduct risk management and crop insurance education, community outreach and assistance, and research and development activities. Information about eligibility criteria is outlined in each Federal Register Request for Applications (see 2006 outreach notice for an example).

The Request for Applications for the Community Outreach and Assistance Partnership Program for 2009 was published on December 15, 2008.  About $3.4 million will be available for collaborative outreach, assistance, and training projects on risk management solutions for socially disadvantaged, limited resource, or traditionally underserved farmers and ranchers who produce priority commodities.  Applications will be given higher points if they demonstrate that their projects will: specifically incorporate training on the benefits and implementation of the Adjusted Gross Revenue Lite insurance coverage plan, promote energy alternatives for small farmers and ranchers, or partner with organizations that can meet the needs of limited resources, minority, or beginning farmers and ranchers.  Applications for this competitive awards program are due by February 13, 2009 and all awards and partnership agreements will be completed by September 30, 2009.  For complete information, go to http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdf/E8-29549.pdf.

Applicants interested in RMA funding can go to the RMA website for an application checklist, instructions, samples, templates, and all required forms needed to prepare an application. Applicants should pay close attention to the closing date and time for receipt of an application as applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

Applications may be transmitted electronically via Grants.gov prior to the application date or time deadline. Go to http://www.grants.gov, click on “Find Grant Opportunities,” select “Search Grant Opportunities,” and enter the CFDA number (beginning of the RFA) to search by CFDA number. From the search results, select the item that correlates to the title of the RFA.You can find instructions for using Grants.gov to apply electronically here: PDF | Word

Examples of Past Grant Recipients for the Community Outreach and Assistance Partnership Program

A full list of project funded under this program can be found at the Digital Center for Risk Management Education at the University of Minnesota http://www.agrisk.umn.edu/

Examples include:

California FarmLink

California FarmLink received $105,000 in 2007 for a project entitled “Empowering Underserved Farmers to Manage Risk through Business Planning and Farm Financing” to offer trainings on business planning, farm financing, crop insurance, and land tenure to minority and young farmers, as well as succession planning.

Land Stewardship Project

Land Stewardship Project received $93,940 in 2007 for a New Forsenic Ag Project to help beginning farmers who want to raise alternative crops and livestock find strategies to mitigate risk.

Michael Fields Ag Institute

Michael Fields Ag Institute received $150,000 in 2007 to assist immigrant and other underserved farmers and ranchers increase the number of successful applications to RMA and other USDA programs by assuring that language and culture are not a barrier in completing an application.

Michigan Land Use Institute

The Michigan Land Use Institute received $88,744 in 2007 to help increase the number and success of small scale farmers in the region by providing targeted risk management and outreach planning, promotion, and delivery of information addressing production, marketing and financial risks.

USDA Contact Information

Janie Hipp, CSREES, RME National Program Leader, jhipp@csrees.usda.gov, 202-720-3605

CSREES Regional Centers are at:

http://srrme.tamu.edu/regionalcenters.html

RMA:

http://www.rma.usda.gov/aboutrma/agreements/

David Wiggins, USDA National Outreach Program Manager, David.wiggins@rma.usda.gov

(202) 690-2686

Michelle Fuller
Commodity Partnerships for Risk Management Education and the Crop Insurance Education in Targeted States
Phone (202) 720-6356; Fax (202) 690-3605
E-mail: michelle.fuller@wdc.usda.gov