Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access Program
Active
- Assistance listing
- 10.968
- Agency
-
Farm Service Agency
Department of Agriculture
- Grant awards
- 51 $287,020,759 in federal obligations
Program facts
- Also known as
- Increasing Land Access
- Assistance types
-
- Project Grant
- Cooperative Agreement
- Treasury account
-
- 12-0115-0-1-999
- 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 Farm Service Agency administers the Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access Program (CFDA 10.968), which has not posted a new solicitation since November 18, 2022, though grant awards continued through May 31, 2024. Program activity has slowed sharply: 50 awards were distributed in 2023, but only one award was made in 2024, with no grant opportunities currently open.
The program funds organizations to develop and operate initiatives that help underserved farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners address barriers to land acquisition, capital access, and market participation. Recent awards focus on purchasing land and providing technical assistance to farmers to increase capital and market access, or providing technical assistance and financial or business support to strengthen market access. Typical projects operate for up to five years. One representative 2024 award to an unnamed recipient provided $7.67 million to purchase land and deliver technical assistance. A 2023 award of $20 million funded technical assistance and financial support to farmers, while another 2023 award obligated $19.6 million for land purchase and technical assistance.
Funding is concentrated entirely within the Farm Service Agency Washington Office, which has obligated $287 million across 51 awards since March 2023. The assistance-type mix is predominantly Project Grants, which account for 92 percent of awards, with Cooperative Agreements comprising the remaining 8 percent. Award sizes typically range from approximately $500 thousand to $20 million. One administrative Cooperative Agreement awarded in March 2023 for $3 million supported a Results Verification System to manage application paneling and reporting for the program.
Eligibility is limited to organizations; individuals and non-domestic entities are not eligible as primary applicants, though subrecipients are not required to meet these eligibility criteria. The most recent grant opportunity closed on November 18, 2022, and solicited proposals across four tiers: large national land access projects, mid-sized national innovation tests, regional innovation pilots, and local or community projects. No current NOFO is posted on Grants.gov.
Objective and description
- Objective
USDA launched the Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access (Increasing Land Access or ILA) Program to help underserved producers by increasing land, capital, and market access. Grants and cooperative agreements with organizations will develop and
- Description
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is making $300,000,000 available for the Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access Program. USDA is committed to funding projects that support a diverse set of farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners and operators (producers) on the edge, moving them from surviving to thriving as they address core barriers to attain land, capital, and market access.
Eligibility
- Applicant eligibility
Individuals and non-domestic entities are not eligible. Subrecipients need not meet the eligibility requirements listed above. However, individuals who are non-domestic entities are not eligible for subawards.
- Beneficiary eligibility
This program will benefit farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners and operators.
- Uses of assistance
Assistance may be used by recipient organizations to develop and run programs that are designed to align with and respond to land, capital, and market access needs of the target audience while concurrently providing wraparound technical assistance to ensure that program participants have the information, training, and customized support they require.
- Use restrictions
The funding must be used to project activities that assist farmers, ranchers, and agriculture producers.
- Length and time phasing of assistance
The length of funding for award recipients is up to five years.
How to apply
- Criteria for selecting proposals
The agency will delineate selection criteria in the NOFO posted on Grants.gov.
- Award procedure
The agency will conduct merit and risk reviews for all applications submitted in accordance with the NOFO and will provide recommendations to the selection official. The selection official will make final award determinations. The agency reserves the option to negotiate with applicants tentatively selected for award but may issue awards without negotiations. The agency will provide award documents to selected applicants for execution, including a Notice of Grant and Agreement Award (ADS-093). When fully executed, the ADS-93 and attachments will constitute the final award.
- Deadlines
Applicants must submit their applications via Grants.gov in accordance with deadlines set out in the applicable NOFO.
Grant opportunities
| Opportunity | Status | Posted | Applications due |
|---|---|---|---|
| Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access Program | Closed |
Grant awards
Latest 10 of 51 listed here. See the rest on GovTribe.
Top recipients by federal obligations
| Rank | Recipient | Federal obligations | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Intertribal Agriculture Council, Inc. | $20,000,000 | 7% |
| 2 | The American Farmland Trust | $19,635,732 | 7% |
| 3 | The Trust For Public Land | $13,500,000 | 5% |
| 4 | 2020 Farmers Cooperative Inc. | $13,310,200 | 5% |
| 5 | Agrarian Land Trust | $12,966,593 | 5% |
| 6 | Four Bands Community Fund, Incorporated | $8,500,000 | 3% |
| 7 | Tallgrass Legacy Alliance Inc. | $8,500,000 | 3% |
| 8 | Indian Land Tenure Foundation | $8,500,000 | 3% |
| 9 | Alabama A & M University | $8,500,000 | 3% |
| 10 | Center For Heirs Property Preservation | $8,500,000 | 3% |
10 of 51 recipients listed here. See the rest on GovTribe.
Federal obligations by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Federal obligations |
|---|---|
| FY2024 | $284,020,759 |
| FY2023 | $3,000,000 |
Quick answers
What is Assistance Listing 10.968?
Assistance Listing 10.968 is Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access Program, a federal grant program run by Farm Service Agency (Department of Agriculture).
What is the CFDA number for Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access Program?
Its CFDA number is 10.968: Assistance Listing numbers were called CFDA numbers before 2018.
How much funding has Assistance Listing 10.968 awarded?
51 grant awards under 10.968 have obligated $287,020,759 in federal funds to 51 recipients.
Who receives the most funding from 10.968?
The recipients obligated the most under Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access Program are Intertribal Agriculture Council, Inc. ($20,000,000), The American Farmland Trust ($19,635,732) and The Trust For Public Land ($13,500,000).
Are there open grant opportunities under 10.968?
No opportunity listed under 10.968 is open now. The latest, Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access Program, was posted on August 24, 2022.
On GovTribe
See this program's full record
- Every grant award and opportunity under it
- Funding by recipient, agency and assistance type
- Alerts for new opportunities
- Ask GovTribe AI about this program