Enhancing Agricultural Opportunities for Military Veterans Competitive Grants Program
Active
- Assistance listing
- 10.334
- Agency
-
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Department of Agriculture
- Grant awards
- 58 $38,441,431 in federal obligations
Program facts
- Also known as
- AgVets
- Assistance type
-
- Project Grant
- Treasury account
-
- 12-0502-0-1-352
- More information
Program details come from SAM.gov Assistance Listings. Updated . Grant award figures come from USAspending.gov.
About this program
The Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA) is funding nonprofit organizations to establish and enhance farming and ranching opportunities for military veterans through comprehensive, hands-on agricultural training programs, with the most recent grant award issued on September 30, 2025 (CFDA 10.334).
The program funds immersive, model farm and ranch training delivered regionally that equips veterans with production knowledge, business management skills, and pathways to agricultural careers or farm ownership. Recent awards reflect a consistent focus on hands-on apprenticeships, classroom-based curricula, mentorship networks, and wrap-around support services addressing barriers to participation. Funded projects span diverse commodities and geographies—from dairy grazing and vegetable production to beekeeping and livestock processing—and increasingly emphasize service-disabled veterans, women veterans, and Native American veterans. Several recent awards incorporate mental health and therapeutic components alongside agricultural training (addressing PTSD and reintegration challenges), farm incubator models providing access to land and capital, and connections to USDA financing programs.
The program is exclusively Project Grant in structure, with 58 awards totaling $38.4 million in combined federal dollars obligated since 2018. Award cadence has fluctuated, ranging from 2 to 9 grants annually over the past five years (2025: 2 awards; 2024: 6 awards; 2023: 9 awards; 2022: 4 awards; 2021: 8 awards). Recent awards cluster around $750 thousand to $889 thousand in federal obligation, with outliers ranging from $130 thousand to just under $1 million. NIFA funds the program entirely; no secondary federal funders appear in the portfolio.
Representative recent awards include Virginia-based Vet First Inc.'s Veteran Farm to Table Agriculture Education and Training Continuum ($616,428), addressing agricultural labor shortages through veteran training; the Land at Home Project in Arizona ($889,371), emphasizing regenerative agriculture and business resilience; and the Tennessee AgVets Opportunities on Farmland program ($889,322), targeting transitioning service members and disabled veterans across 1,000 participants over three years.
An open solicitation (USDA-NIFA-OP-011940) was posted July 9, 2026 with a due date of July 31, 2026. The program has posted opportunities annually or biannually since at least 2017. Applicants must be nonprofit organizations; institutions of higher education are explicitly excluded as direct applicants, though they frequently partner as subcontractors or collaborators.
Objective and description
- Objective
The Enhancing Agricultural Opportunities for Military Veterans Program provides grants to nonprofits to increase the number of military veterans gaining knowledge and skills through comprehensive, hands-on and immersive model farm and ranch programs
- Description
The purpose of the Enhancing Agricultural Opportunities for Military Veterans Program is to provide funding to nonprofit organizations for programs and services to establish and enhance farming opportunities for military veterans.
Eligibility
- Beneficiary eligibility
Specialized group (e.g. health professionals, students, veterans) Veteran/Service person/Reservist (including dependents
- Uses of assistance
Funds may be used to provide grants to nonprofit organizations for programs and services to establish and enhance farming and ranching opportunities for military veterans.
- Use restrictions
Section 713 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017 (Pub. L. 115-31) limits indirect costs to 30 percent of the total federal funds awarded.
- Length and time phasing of assistance
In accordance with statutory time limits, project periods, including no-cost extensions of time, are not to exceed five (5) years. Further details are provided in the Award document Form NIFA-2009 and the NIFA General Terms and Conditions Grants and Cooperative Agreements. SPECIAL NOTE: Please refer to the Competitive Request for Applications (RFAs) for specific and pertinent details. The most current RFAs are available via: https://nifa.usda.gov/funding-opportunity/enhancing-agricultural-opportunities-military-veterans
How to apply
- Application procedure
General application instructions are listed in the NIFA Grants Application Guide. Program-specific instructions are listed in the NOFO. The NOFO overrides the Application Guide if there is a discrepancy between the two documents. Applicants must apply electronically through Grants.gov; no other method or response is accepted. The application forms package for this funding opportunity must be accessed through Grants.gov. Part III of the NIFA Grants Application Guide explains how to access a specific application forms package. Parts II and III of the NIFA Grants Application Guide contain resources to assist grant applicants and detailed information regarding the Grants.gov registration process. Applications must be signed by the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR). Contact your AOR prior to starting an application to assess the organization's readiness to submit an electronic application.
- Criteria for selecting proposals
NIFA evaluates each application in a two-part process. First, each application is reviewed to ensure that it meets the administrative requirements set forth in the NOFO. Second, a peer-review process (https://www.nifa.usda.gov/nifa-peer-review-process-competitive-grant-applications) will be used to evaluate the scientific and technical merit of applications that have meet the administrative requirements. After each peer review panel has completed deliberations, the responsible NIFA program staff will either recommend an application for support from available funds or decline an application due to insufficient funds or unfavorable review.
- Award procedure
Within the limit of funds authorized, the NIFA awarding official will make grants to eligible applicants whose applications are judged most meritorious under the procedures set forth in this NOFO. After the award is finalized, a formal notification in the form of a Notice of Award (NoA), signed by the Authorized Departmental Officer, will be provided to the applicant organization for successful applications. The NoA is the authorizing document and will be sent via email to the recipient's Authorized Representative. The NoA will provide pertinent instructions and information including, at a minimum, the information described in 2 CFR 200.211 (see NIFA's Terms and Conditions).
- Deadlines
Contact the headquarters or regional location, as appropriate, for application deadlines
- Time to approval or disapproval
From 30 to 60 days. Contact the National Program Leader (NPL) regarding dates for specific deadlines, start and end dates, and range of approval/disapproval time. Information is also available via our website and may be obtained via the Grants.gov website. NIFA's respective links regarding general information are provided below: http://nifa.usda.gov/ http://www.grants.gov. SPECIAL NOTE: Please refer to the Competitive Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs) for further specific and pertinent details. The most current NOFO is available via: https://nifa.usda.gov/funding-opportunity/enhancing-agricultural-opportunities-military-veterans
Grant opportunities
Grant awards
Latest 10 of 58 listed here. See the rest on GovTribe.
Top recipients by federal obligations
| Rank | Recipient | Federal obligations | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North South Institute, Inc. | $1,944,031 | 5% |
| 2 | Hoosier Uplands Economic Dev Corp | $1,776,053 | 5% |
| 3 | Farmer Veteran Coalition | $1,652,842 | 4% |
| 4 | Florida IS For Veterans, Inc. | $1,634,023 | 4% |
| 5 | Painted Desert Demonstration Projects, Inc. | $1,579,555 | 4% |
| 6 | Hoola Veteran Services | $1,553,268 | 4% |
| 7 | The National Center For Appropriate Technology Inc. | $1,515,324 | 4% |
| 8 | Not Forgotten Outreach Inc. | $1,495,390 | 4% |
| 9 | Servicemember Agricultural Vocation Education Corp | $1,358,940 | 4% |
| 10 | Center For Rural Affairs | $1,175,178 | 3% |
10 of 46 recipients listed here. See the rest on GovTribe.
Federal obligations by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Federal obligations |
|---|---|
| FY2026 | -$48,029 |
| FY2025 | $2,443,448 |
| FY2024 | $4,169,421 |
| FY2023 | $4,999,246 |
| FY2022 | $2,507,456 |
| FY2021 | $5,200,000 |
| FY2020 | $9,593,332 |
| FY2019 | $4,776,556 |
| FY2018 | $4,800,000 |
Quick answers
What is Assistance Listing 10.334?
Assistance Listing 10.334 is Enhancing Agricultural Opportunities for Military Veterans Competitive Grants Program, a federal grant program run by National Institute of Food and Agriculture (Department of Agriculture).
What is the CFDA number for Enhancing Agricultural Opportunities for Military Veterans Competitive Grants Program?
Its CFDA number is 10.334: Assistance Listing numbers were called CFDA numbers before 2018.
How much funding has Assistance Listing 10.334 awarded?
58 grant awards under 10.334 have obligated $38,441,431 in federal funds to 46 recipients.
Who receives the most funding from 10.334?
The recipients obligated the most under Enhancing Agricultural Opportunities for Military Veterans Competitive Grants Program are North South Institute, Inc. ($1,944,031), Hoosier Uplands Economic Dev Corp ($1,776,053) and Farmer Veteran Coalition ($1,652,842).
How much did 10.334 obligate in fiscal year 2025?
Grants under 10.334 obligated $2,443,448 in federal funds in fiscal year 2025.
Are there open grant opportunities under 10.334?
No opportunity listed under 10.334 is open now. The latest, Enhancing Agricultural Opportunities for Military Veterans Competitive Grants Program, was posted on July 9, 2026.
On GovTribe
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