Current Funding Opportunities
APRIL
Dairy Food Safety & Certification Grant | Deadline: April 24th
Goals: This grant will provide funds for dairy farmers, processors, dairy brands, and/or producer associations to take actionable steps to improve the safety of dairy products and improve dairy farm biosecurity.
Eligibility Factors: Eligible applicants include Northeast dairy farmers and processors, dairy brands that market Northeast dairy products, and producer associations that represent, support, or promote dairy products originating from the Northeast.
Funding Limitations: Awards will range from $10,000 – $75,000, requiring a 25% match. Approximately $525,000 in total funds are available.
Anticipated Timeline: Applicants notified of award status June 2025. Final report due February-August 2026 depending on project.
American Farmland Trust Emergency Resilience Grant | Deadline: April 26th
Goals: The intent of this grant is to offset financial disruption caused by the government funding freeze for farmers and ranchers through the implementation and improvement of business and financial resilience. Applicants experiencing hardship due to other disruptive events such as natural disasters, loss of markets, or avian flu will also be considered. Funding will be prioritized for small to mid-size farms who have previously faced challenges accessing traditional funding opportunities to enhance financial resilience, support business technical assistance, invest in business building, and/or foster soil health and environmentally beneficial agricultural practices. Funds may be used for professional services, infrastructure, or equipment purchase.
Eligibility Factors: Eligible farms or ranches must be for-profit and be able to provide proof of income (or similar, if the operation engages in barter, exchange, or community supply). Operations must be producing food or agricultural products for their community for sale, or barter or exchange. Applicants must be based in the US.
Funding Limitations: Grants will be awarded in amounts up to $10,000 per project.
Anticipated Timeline: Applicants notified of award status May 16th, 2025. Funds will be dispersed by July 31st, 2025. All projects must be completed by July 1st, 2026.
MAY
MDAR Food Security Infrastructure Grant (FSIG) | Deadline: May 5th
Goals: Funds will support infrastructure projects that improve local food production and distribution, strengthen the middle of the food supply chain, expand food access and nutrition security, and support emergency preparedness.
Eligibility Factors: Eligible applicants are Massachusetts agricultural and seafood producers, processors, and distributors. Municipalities, tribes, non-profits, and other food system entities are also able to apply.
Funding Limitations: Awards will range from $10,000 – $1,000,000. Applicants selected for funding are provided with reimbursement grants and are required to contribute a 20% cash match.
Anticipated Timeline: Applicants notified of award status September 2025. Projects must be completed by June 30th, 2026.
Dairy Marketing & Branding Services Grant | Deadline: May 8th
Goals: This grant will provide funds to help established value-added dairy processors, producer associations, and dairy brands strengthen their brand and expand market reach. This funding supports hiring professional marketing or branding experts to develop strategies that increase consumer awareness, improve product positioning, and drive sales of value-added dairy products.
Eligibility Factors: Licensed dairy processors, producer associations, and dairy brands located in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Maryland may apply.
Funding Limitations: Awards will range from $10,000 – $50,000 with a 25% cash or in-kind match requirement. Total funds available: $200,000.
Anticipated Timeline: Applicants notified of award status June 2025. Final report due March-August 2026 depending on project.
MDAR Urban Agriculture Program | Deadline: May 19th
Goals: The purpose of this program is to advance Commonwealth goals and objectives, leverage collective resources, and support commercial projects designed to increase the production, processing, and marketing of produce grown and sold in urban centers across the Commonwealth. Expenditures will promote strategies to address food insecurity and to increase access of fresh, local produce in urban neighborhoods with a high concentration of low-moderate income residents.
Eligibility Factors: Eligible applicants are Massachusetts municipalities, nonprofit organizations, public or non-profit educational or public health institutions, and established urban farmer with more than three (3) years of commercial urban farming experience.
Funding Limitations: Funding is anticipated to be awarded in amounts up to $50,000. Applicants are required to demonstrate a cash match of 25% of total project costs for projects over $15,000.
Anticipated Timeline: Estimate award date August 2025. Projects must be completed by June 30th, 2026.
JANUARY
Ocean Hour Grant | Deadline: January 31st
Goals: To support transition to regenerative land or sea management practices and projects that could benefit a thriving local food and fiber shed.
Eligibility Factors: Local producers who serve the 100 mile radius surrounding Newport, RI. Producers outside of the radius will be considered if your project benefits the area directly or as a learning opportunity for the region.
Funding Limitations: Typical grant awards range from $10000-$75000, with average grant size of $25000.
Anticipated Timeline: Applicants will be notified about funding decisions May 31st.
MAY
New England Food Vision Prize | Deadline: May 31st
Goals: To support innovative ideas and collaborations that result in increased regional food sourcing by New England’s educational institutions.
Eligibility Factors: The lead applicant must be a nonprofit organization, government entity, or municipality, though partnerships across the food system are required for successful applications. Farms, fisheries, food hubs, and processors are highly encouraged to be members of the application team.
Funding Limitations: Awards of $25,000 to $200,000 are available. Funding may not be used for food purchases.
Anticipated Timeline: Letters of interest should be submitted by May 31st. In July, you may receive an invitation to apply, and a full application will be due by August 9th. Recipients will be notified by October 25th and projects should be completed within two years.
ROLLING APPLICATIONS, NO DEADLINE
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)
Goals: To address natural resource concerns by planning and/or installing conservation practices that benefit soil, water, plants, air, and animals.
Eligibility Factors: Agricultural or aquacultural producers across the state are welcome to apply. Additional eligibility requirements may be found by contacting your local NRCS field office. Must complete a conservation plan in conjunction with NRCS before submitting an application.
Funding Limitations: Funding possibilities vary based on project. Get in touch with NRCS to learn more.
Farm Credit East FarmStart Program
Goals: To invest in new Northeast agricultural ventures showing promise of success with limited financial resources.
Eligibility Factors: Farmers, forestry producers, fishermen, farm-related service businesses and cooperatives may be eligible if they are in their first three years of business. Candidates are expected to be rural entrepreneurs or cooperatives with very little accumulated net worth and few financial resources. The applicant also must be an independent enterprise and cannot be affiliated with an established operation.
Funding Limitations: This is NOT a grant. This program offers up to $75,000 in credit for agricultural startups who are not generally eligible for conventional lending programs. Access to advisors, business plan services, and financial management software may also be available to participants at free or discounted rates.
Next Steps: Contact your local Farm Credit East office (probably Middleboro) or email farmstart@farmcrediteast.com.
APRIL
Creative Experiences Mass Cultural Council Deadline: April 30, 2025
Goals: To fund festivals, projects, residencies, and other cultural activities in the arts, humanities, and sciences.
Eligibility Factors: Eligible organizations include nonprofit and for-profit orgs, government entities, pre-K – 12 schools and unincorporated organizations located in Massachusetts. Experience must in corporate the arts, humanities, or sciences. 50% or more of experience’s programmatic activity taking place between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026. Experience must take place in Massachusetts, either in person or virtually.
Funding Limitations: The program provides one-year grants of $2,500 or $5,000 to fund activities taking place between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026.
ROLLING APPLICATIONS, NO DEADLINE
Massachusetts Food Trust Program (MFTP)
Goals: To increase access to healthy, affordable food in low-income, underserved areas through grants, loans, and business assistance.
Eligibility Factors: Eligible businesses include farm stands, grocery & corner stores, farmers’ markets, food hubs, and more. Must expand food access in underserved areas and align with community needs. Eligible applicants likely accept SNAP, HIP, or WIC. For-profits, non-profits, and cooperatives are all eligible. Preference will be given to applicants who have 3 years of operating experience and who have not previously received state funding.
Funding Limitations: Grants available from $5,000 to $25,ooo. Loans available from $15,000 to $300,000. Funds may be used for capital expenses, real estate, and more.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has recently launched a more comprehensive webpage for federal food systems grant programs. Grants are available at every stage from production & processing to distribution & markets. Find it HERE.
If you represent a funding organization or have knowledge of funding opportunities for farmers and food producers that are not listed here, please contact shickey@semaponline.org.
Additional Assistance & Resources
SEMAP can assist you in your grant application process in several ways. We can review your application once you are ready to submit, we can walk you through it from start-to-finish, and/or we can write a letter of support for your project. If you would like in-depth, start-to-finish assistance, please use this form. If you would like a review or letter of support, please email info@semaponline.org. Keep in mind that, as a small organization, SEMAP will require at least 5 business days of notice ahead of any application deadlines.
We hosted a virtual workshop on grant-writing in Fall 2021. While we specifically looked at the Food Security Infrastructure Grant, some of the lessons learned can be applied to grant-writing broadly, especially for state grant programs. You can view the recording and read our notes.
The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) hosted a virtual walk-through of most of their recurring grant programs in March 2023. This covers CSAP, AFSIP, FVEP, MEGA, AIP, and more. Watch the recording and read more about all MDAR grant programs. They also provided a short general tips video here.
The list at the top of this page includes only grant programs currently accepting applications, but you can prepare for any grant, any time. Check out our anticipated agricultural grant calendar to plan for the coming year. Then use previous years’ RFRs (linked in the calendar) in combination with our grant funding worksheet to prepare your responses to upcoming grants. Note that you should write applications specifically towards each grant purpose, but can use this as a tool to organize your general thoughts.