Agriculture Risk Management Education Partnerships Competitive Grants Program

The Agriculture Risk Management Education Partnerships Competitive Grants Program is a federal competitive grant program administered by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The program is authorized under Section 133 of the Agriculture Risk Protection Act of 2000 and was reauthorized and merged with the Risk Management Agency Crop Insurance Education in Targeted States Program through the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018. For this funding opportunity, NIFA anticipates approximately $9,052,800 in total program funding. The program is intended to provide U.S. agricultural producers with the knowledge, skills, and tools needed to make informed risk management decisions that enhance the profitability of their operations and to deliver risk management education to farmers, ranchers, and producers. ARME supports education concerning the full range of agricultural risk management activities, including futures, options, agricultural trade options, crop insurance, cash forward contracting, debt reduction, production diversification, marketing plans and tactics, farm resource risk reduction, and other appropriate strategies. Special emphasis is placed on farm viability and risk management strategies such as farm financial benchmarking, business planning and technical assistance, market assessment, transfer and succession planning, and crop insurance participation. The program will fund four Regional Risk Management Education Centers covering the Northeast, North Central, Southern, and Western regions and one Risk Management Education Electronic Support Center. Regional centers must address production, market, financial, legal, and human risk and conduct regional and multi-regional competitive subaward programs supporting risk management education and outreach. Four regional center awards are anticipated, with up to $2,121,750 available for each regional center, and one Electronic Support Center award is anticipated for up to $565,800. Each award has a 36-month duration. Regional centers must designate at least 50 percent of their total award for competitive subaward funding supporting results- or outcome-based risk management education and training for farmers, ranchers, and producers. The Electronic Support Center is expected to provide technical assistance to the four regional centers, manage the online grants application and project portal, support progress and final reporting for subaward recipients, facilitate national communications and multi-regional or national events, and maintain archival access to program materials and curricula. Indirect costs for the overall award may not exceed 30 percent of Total Federal Funds Awarded, subject to the detailed indirect cost rules in the NOFO. No matching contribution is required, although voluntary cost sharing is encouraged. Applications may be submitted by qualified public and private entities, including Land-grant institutions, Cooperative Extension Services, colleges and universities, Federal, State, and local agencies, nonprofit organizations, for-profit private organizations or corporations, and other qualified entities. Award recipients may subcontract with organizations that are not independently eligible to apply when those organizations are necessary to conduct the project. Duplicate or multiple submissions are prohibited and NIFA will disqualify both applications when an applicant submits duplicate or multiple submissions. Applications for dangerous gain-of-function research as defined by the cited Executive Order will not be accepted. Applications must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov under funding opportunity number USDA-NIFA-ARPA-012381. The application deadline is 5:00 P.M. Eastern Time on September 21, 2026. Required materials include the SF 424 R&R Cover Sheet, Project/Performance Site Location form, R&R Other Project Information Form, Senior/Key Person Profile, R&R Budget, Supplemental Information Form, Conflict of Interest List, and other materials required by the application package. The Project Summary must be no more than 250 words and identify the project, center type, geographic area served, and requested funding. The Project Narrative is limited to 10 pages and must address the introduction, rationale and significance, goals and intended outcomes, activities, evaluation and communication plans, roles and responsibilities, and project timeline. A Data Management Plan of no more than two pages is required. Collaborative arrangements, commitment letters, appendices, bibliography and references, and related supporting materials must follow the specific requirements in the NOFO. Applicants are instructed not to submit unrequested attachments because doing so may result in disqualification. NIFA first screens applications for compliance with administrative requirements and then uses a scientific peer-review process for applications that pass administrative review. Regional Center and Electronic Support Center applications are evaluated under five equally weighted criteria: potential for development and delivery of relevant risk management education programs, project implementation, evaluation, key persons and organization support, and fiscal oversight and budget. Review considerations include demonstrated understanding of producer needs and the Extension Risk Management Education framework, achievable goals and outcomes, implementation and collaboration strategies, appropriate performance measurement and evaluation, qualified personnel, institutional capacity, cost effectiveness, and an adequate project timeline and Data Management Plan. NIFA may negotiate project scope, funding level, period, or method of support before recommending an application for funding. Applicants should plan for a tentative project start date of November 1, 2026 and an end date of October 31, 2029. Programmatic questions may be directed to SM.ARMEManagement@USDA.gov. Questions concerning the NOFO or application may be sent to grantapplicationquestions@usda.gov, and questions concerning awards may be sent to awards@usda.gov. Grants.gov technical assistance is available at support@grants.gov, 800-518-4726, or 606-545-5035. The NOFO does not state that this funding opportunity recurs annually or on another regular application cycle, so no recurrence is assumed from the FY 2026 solicitation.

Align the proposal directly with ARME purposes and producer risk management needs. Demonstrate knowledge of the Extension Risk Management Education framework and make goals and outcomes specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely. Regional center applicants should clearly describe advisory council engagement and the complete competitive subaward process. Explain evaluation methods, data collection, outcome measurement, collaboration, institutional capacity, fiscal oversight, and key milestones. Ensure the Data Management Plan is descriptive and the budget is appropriate and cost-effective. Follow formatting and attachment requirements exactly because unrequested attachments may result in disqualification.