Farm Service Agency August 27, 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is requesting applications for competitive cooperative agreement funds for Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 for the credit outreach initiative targeted to American Indian farmers, ranchers, and youth residing primarily on Indian reservations within the contiguous United States. Subject to the availability of appropriations, FSA anticipates the availability of up to $1,135,000 in funding and the award to one successful applicant through a Cooperative Agreement. This request for applications is being made prior to passage of an FY 2010 appropriations bill to allow applicants sufficient time to submit proposals, give the Agency maximum time to process applications, and permit continuity of this program. There is no certainty that there will be appropriated funds to fund these applications, so applicants submitting applications prior to the availability of appropriated funds do so at the risk that there may be no funding. FSA requests proposals from eligible nonprofit organizations, land-grant institutions, and federally-recognized Indian tribal governments interested in a competitively-awarded cooperative agreement to create and implement a mechanism that will provide credit outreach and promotion, pre-loan education, and one-on-one loan application preparation assistance to American Indian farmers, ranchers, and youth. Successful proposals may include other innovative services intended to enhance participation by American Indians in specific FSA Agricultural Credit Programs.