The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) makes competitively awarded grants to qualified small businesses to support advanced research related to scientific problems and opportunities in agriculture that could lead to significant public benefit. The SBIR Program for Small and Mid-Size Farms provides grant funding for research to develop new technologies and information that will help improve the viability and profitability of small and mid-size farms and ranches. Emphasis is placed on developing new agricultural enterprises that are focused on specialty farm products, including both plants and animals, and how to market these products; developing new management tools to enhance the efficiency and profitability of small farms; developing farming methods appropriately scaled to small farms that are directed at more efficient use of natural resources; and developing new educational tools to ensure that small farmers have the information they need to operate their farms on a sustainable and profitable basis.
All for-profit small U.S. businesses interested in agricultural research and development.
