Issue 47 · Week of August 7, 2026 Grant Harvester Weekly funding alerts for the rural entrepreneur |  |
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| Federal Grants & Programs | |
Assistance for Specialty Crop Farmers (ASCF)
$1.625B bridge program · Up to $250,000 per producer · Eligible 2025 specialty-crop acres · Do not assume a system will rescue a late submission Strengthening Cooperative Action for Resilient Ecosystems & Supply-chains (SCALE)
Up to $500,000 · Supply-chain operations, technical assistance, logistics and market access · 20 expected awards Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network (FRSAN)
$1.0M–$2.15M per award · Regional farm and ranch stress-support networks · No match required Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (SDRP)
2023/2024 crop, tree, bush and vine losses · Stage 1 and Stage 2 · Stage 2 reaches non-indemnified, uninsured and quality losses Program for Investment in Microentrepreneurs (PRIME)Aug 12
$75,000–$400,000 · Nonprofit and eligible public/tribal microenterprise assistance and training · Match required FIELDS — Fertilizer Investment & Expansion for Long-term Domestic SupplyNew · Aug 17
$15M–$150M · New or expanded U.S. fertilizer plants, terminals and transport infrastructure · Match required Specialty Crop Multi-State Program (SCMP)New
$250K–$1M · 3-year multi-state specialty-crop projects · 25% cost share · Partner-to-state deadline Aug 31; federal deadline Oct 16 Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) — FY 2026New
$445.2M available · Research, education and extension priorities · Award size and eligibility vary by area · Final FY 2026 deadline Dec 31 |
"Open" means active or rolling. "Program Cycles" means timing varies. Every linked page points to the administering organization, not an aggregator. Iowa Urban Forestry Development Grant Program · New · Due Aug 17 · $10,000–$50,000 · No match · Community forestry plans, food forests, education and workforce development
Rural BOOST Program · New · Due Aug 26 · $10,000 reimbursement grant ($5,000 cash match required) · Expert assistance for eligible rural communities
Rural Innovation Grant Program · New · Due Aug 26 · Up to $50,000 reimbursement · Innovative rural housing solutions · $0.50 cash match per $1 grant |
Minnesota Electric Farm Equipment Grant · Closing Soon · Due Aug 11 at 4:00 p.m. CT · $1,500–$150,000 · ~$6.6M available · 25% cash match required
Down Payment Assistance Grant · New · Due Aug 31 · Up to $20,000 toward a qualified first farm purchase · $1.64M total · Lottery with priority criteria
Beginning Farmer Tax Credit · Changed · 2026 cap removed · Lease applications closed; qualifying asset-sale applications due Nov 1, 2026 |
South Dakota Beginning Farmer Bond Program · Still Open · Tax-exempt financing up to $600,000 · Real estate, depreciable property and breeding livestock
Rural Development Ag Loan Participation · Still Open · State participation up to 80% of total loan, up to $500,000 · Value-added production or processing facilities, equipment and land
Livestock Loan Participation · Still Open · Finances 50% of eligible livestock purchases, up to $200,000 · Lower stated rate for small or beginning farmers |
| Private & Foundation Opportunities | |
Expanding Agroforestry Incentive Payment ProgramCloses Aug 11
Up to $8,000/acre & $450,000/operation · Alley cropping, silvopasture and windbreak projects across participating states · The Nature Conservancy-led program Horizon Farm Credit Young, Beginning & Small Farmer GrantNew
Ten $20,000 grants · Due Aug 21 at 4:00 p.m. · Eligible young, beginning or small farmers in Horizon territory Beginning with Compeer Grant
Still Open · Up to $1,500 based on lending relationship + up to $500 for qualifying multi-year training · Reimburses business-management, legal, training and similar costs for beginning farmers in Compeer territory Farm Credit Services of America Working Here Fund
Still Open · Up to $5,000 due Sep 30; up to $25,000 due Dec 31 · Eligible nonprofits for ag education, hunger relief, rural disaster and rural health in IA, NE, SD, WY |
Section 179 Expensing — 2026
$2.56M maximum deduction · Phaseout begins when qualifying property exceeds $4.09M · Business-income and property rules still apply; coordinate with a tax professional 100% Bonus Depreciation
100% first-year depreciation for qualifying property acquired after Jan 19, 2025 · Do not assume the same result as Section 179; coordinate asset classification with a tax professional Fuel Tax Credit for Farm Use — Form 4136
Qualifying nontaxable fuel use may generate a refundable federal credit · Maintain fuel-use records; easy to miss because it lives in the tax return, not a grant portal FCSAmerica Young and Beginning Producer Financing
Still Open · Specialized financing and Development Fund up to $250,000 · Startup, livestock, working capital and down-payment support in IA, NE, SD, WY |
| 1. | If you are eligible for ASCF or SCALE, today is the deadline. Do not assume a county office or online system will rescue a late submission. | | 2. | Minnesota electric-equipment applicants and New York tariff-relief applicants both have August 11 deadlines. Finish the application before the weekend. | | 3. | Any producer with 2023 or 2024 disaster losses should confirm SDRP Stage 1 and Stage 2 status with FSA before August 12. | | 4. | Pennsylvania farmers planning conservation equipment or BMP purchases should review the newly opened 2026-27 REAP rules before buying. First-come tax credits reward good timing. | | 5. | Rural communities should use August to sort Iowa rural-development and Illinois water-quality applications before harvest and fall schedules crowd the calendar. |
ARC/PLC Base Acres — Review by August 31 Eligible landowners can review and request base-acre increases by August 31, 2026. USDA says up to 30 million new base acres can be added nationwide — the first broad opportunity of this kind in more than two decades. USDA FSA details |
Entity Rules Changed for 2026 — Operating Plans Due Sep 15 Certain LLCs, S-corporations and similar pass-through entities can receive expanded payment-limitation treatment for 2026 if members meet actively-engaged requirements. Updated farm operating plans are due September 15 for affected entities. ARC/PLC payment limits also increased to $155,000 beginning with crop year 2025. USDA FSA details |
Three Near-Term FSA Dates USDA is emphasizing: ASCF on August 7, SDRP on August 12, and ARC/PLC base-allocation review on August 31. All three deserve producer attention this week. FSA national deadlines |
Farmer Trivia — Answer | C) About 45%. USDA Economic Research Service reports that wind and water erosion on cultivated U.S. cropland fell from about 2.9 billion tons in 1982 to 1.6 billion tons in 2012. Conservation practices such as conservation tillage played a major role, though some of the decline also reflects less land being cropped. That is a 45% reduction in annual soil loss from cultivated cropland in three decades. The question: How much did wind and water erosion from cultivated U.S. cropland fall between 1982 and 2012? A) About 10% B) About 25% C) About 45% |
| Watch List / Looking Ahead | |
| Soil and Water Outcomes Fund (SWOF) | 2027 enrollment open for returning farmers; new farmers currently routed to a waitlist | | Federal REAP Grants | Guaranteed-loan support remains active; do not treat a new grant round as open until USDA publishes a current notice | | Texas Ag Water Conservation Grants | FY 2026 grant solicitation closed; program is annual — watch for next RFA | | Pennsylvania Agricultural Innovation Grant | 2026 period closed April 18; state funded a second $10M round — watch for next opening |
Funding windows are unusually compressed this week. The best move is simple: act on the August deadlines now, then build a second queue for late-August, September and October opportunities. Grant Harvester will keep watching official sources for new rounds, reopened programs and material changes. Forward this issue to a farmer, rural business owner or community leader who could use it. |
Programs change quickly. Confirm eligibility, funding availability and current deadlines with the administering agency before applying. Grant Harvester · Issue 47 · Week of August 7, 2026
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