Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network | USDA NIFA OP 006778

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NIFA OP 006778

The Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network (FRSAN) program is a discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, administered through the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA). Its core aim is to build or strengthen coordinated networks that connect people working in farming, ranching, and other agriculture-related jobs with stress assistance resources. The program is designed around the idea that agriculture is a high-pressure occupation and that a well-organized, easy-to-access network can make it more likely that producers, workers, and family members find timely support before stress escalates into more serious behavioral health crises. In practical terms, the funding supports efforts that improve behavioral health awareness and literacy within agricultural communities, while also improving real-world outcomes by making help easier to locate, navigate, and use.

A key feature of this opportunity is that applications cannot be submitted by a single standalone organization acting alone. Proposals must come from a collaborative state, tribal, local, or regionally based network, or from a formal partnership of qualified public and/or private entities that the Secretary determines to be qualified. This structure reflects the program's emphasis on building a functioning network rather than funding isolated services. The collaborations can include Indian tribes (as defined in Section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, 25 U.S.C. 5304), state departments of agriculture, state cooperative extension services, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). The intention is to pull together organizations that already have trusted relationships with agricultural communities and pair that trust with coordinated referral pathways and outreach so that mental and behavioral health support becomes more visible, culturally relevant, and accessible.

The opportunity is listed under CFDA 10.500 and uses the grant funding instrument type within the agriculture activity category. The funding opportunity title is "Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network," with the opportunity number USDA NIFA OP 006778. The agency issuing the opportunity is USDA NIFA. The original closing date for applications was July 25, 2019, and the posting (creation) date was June 25, 2019. The maximum award amount (award ceiling) was $488,000. The notice also indicates that awards were expected to be made, though the exact number of expected awards is not provided in the source information included.

Overall, this grant opportunity is best understood as capacity-building for coordinated, regional or community-rooted systems that help agricultural producers and workers reach stress assistance programs. Rather than focusing only on direct clinical care, it emphasizes networking, coordination, and improving behavioral health awareness and literacy across the agricultural sector, with the broader goal of strengthening support for producers, workers, and their families during periods of heightened stress.

• The National Institute of Food and Agriculture in the agriculture sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.500.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2019-06-25.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2019-07-25. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $488,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for USDA NIFA OP 006778

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