The National Center For Appropriate Technology Inc.

The National Center For Appropriate Technology Inc., doing business as NCAT, is a Montana-based tax-exempt nonprofit that operates as a federal grant recipient and prime contractor, delivering sustainable agriculture technical assistance, farmer training, and rural development services to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and related agencies. NCAT competes predominantly in full-and-open federal grant competitions rather than set-aside contracting; it carries no SBA designations.

NCAT's federal capability footprint centers on sustainable agriculture education, farm business training, and technical assistance delivered through grants and cooperative agreements. Recent representative work includes a $29.999 million, five-year Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities grant (CFDA 10.937) awarded March 2023 by the Farm Service Agency to expand markets for climate-smart wool and cotton across nine states and support farmer adoption of climate-smart practices; a $3.0 million Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas grant (CFDA 10.782) awarded May 2026 by Rural Business Cooperative Services to deliver sustainable agriculture information and technical assistance nationwide through publications, direct assistance, and training programs; an "Armed to Farm" veteran farmer training initiative receiving $741,752 through the Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged and Veteran Farmers program (CFDA 10.443) awarded September 2025 to provide farm business management, financial literacy, conservation planning, and USDA program facilitation to military veteran farmers and ranchers through September 2028; and a $990,712 Farm to School Grant Program (CFDA 10.575) award from the Child Nutrition Division in December 2023 to implement farm-to-school procurement and educational activities in high-need districts. NCAT has trained more than 3,500 military veteran farmers through the Armed to Farm program across workshops, training events, and one-on-one technical assistance.

NCAT's customer concentration sits entirely within USDA. The top five funding agencies account for 49% of recent award count, with Rural Business Cooperative Services (25 awards), Risk Management Agency (18 awards), National Resources Conservation Service (10 awards), National Institute of Food and Agriculture (8 awards), and Department of Energy (8 awards) anchoring the active portfolio. However, when measured by potential dollar value, the top two customers by count (USDA Rural Business Cooperative Services and USDA Risk Management Agency) do not appear in the potential-value ranking — instead, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Administration for Children and Families rank first and second with $4.7 million and $1.4 million combined potential value across 12 awards, likely reflecting the smaller dollar magnitudes of HHS work relative to USDA grant work. This divergence signals that USDA awards carry significantly higher individual grant values than HHS awards in NCAT's portfolio.

NCAT operates on the GSA Multiple Award Schedule as its sole named parent vehicle, with one task order on that vehicle. The vast majority of activity flows through direct USDA grant awards rather than through contract vehicles or IDIQs.

Award activity shows a recent decline trajectory: four awards in 2022, eight in 2023, eight in 2024, six in 2025, and two awards through mid-2026. Only three awards carry ultimate completion dates within the next twenty-four months, indicating limited near-term recompete exposure relative to the total portfolio. The combined obligated value across all awards ($104.9 million) substantially exceeds the combined potential value ($6.4 million), reflecting the maturity and execution stage of NCAT's grant portfolio.

NCAT operates as a prime recipient on 89% of its awards (124 of 140 total) and as a sub-recipient on 11% (16 awards). Named sub-recipient relationships include technical assistance and farmer-to-farmer mentorship work under Florida Certified Organic Growers' Southeast Regional Center for Organic Transition, conservation and water management work under the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, beginning pastured poultry farmer training under University of California Davis, and armed-to-farm veteran training delivery under Washington State University. Service Contract Inventory reporting shows negligible SCI-captured invoicing as a prime (zero dollars reported in FY2022) and 4.9 FTEs as a named subcontractor in FY2024, confirming that NCAT's federal work is predominantly grant-funded rather than service-contract-based and that sub-engagement operates at minimal scale on SCI-reportable work.

NCAT maintains a named subsidiary, New Horizon Technologies, Inc., a for-profit organization whose role in the federal footprint is not detailed in the source.