The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Risk Management Agency announced $8.7 million in cooperative agreements for risk management education and training programs.
The funding would give organizations needed resources to develop training and education tools to help farmers and ranchers, especially those traditionally underserved or with limited resources, learn how to effectively managing long-term risks and challenges.
Through these partnerships, producers will receive assistance in understanding and using crop insurance programs and other tools so they can make the best risk management decisions for their agricultural operations. Past award recipients have included universities, county cooperative extension offices and nonprofit organizations.
Available funding includes $4.4 million for the Crop Insurance in Targeted States Program. The program backs development of crop insurance education programs where there is a low level of federal crop insurance participation and availability. The targeted states are Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Additionally, $4.3 million in funding is available for the Risk Management Education Partnerships Program, which provides money for the development of general nationwide crop insurance education as well as other risk management training programs for producers.
The request for applications is available through Grants.gov at www.grants.gov. Visitors can search by catalog of federal domestic assistance (CFDA) number 10.460, Risk Management Partnership program, or CFDA number 10.458, Crop Insurance in Targeted States.
Applications for the Crop Insurance in Targeted States Program and Risk Management Education Partnerships Program are due by 11:59 p.m. EST on July 3, 2016. All applications must be submitted electronically through the Results Verification System website at http://rvs.umn.edu and received by the deadline.