National Bison Production & Marketing Grant: An initiative to strengthen the U.S. bison industry

READ Request for Applications

National Bison Production & Marketing Grant

For ten thousand years, bison shaped the grasslands of North America, building soil, sustaining watersheds, and holding together the ecological fabric that agriculture still depends on. The National Bison Production & Market Grant is a $3.38 million national initiative led by Mad Agriculture, Flower Hill Institute, and the National Bison Association, supported by the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service Bison Production and Marketing Grant Program. It is designed to address the real barriers facing bison producers today: varied production capacity, gaps in business and technical support, and the persistent challenge of accessing reliable markets. Selected projects receive subaward funding of $30,000 to $150,000 to put directly toward that work.

Every subaward is paired with support based on their needs including possible hands-on technical assistance from the program’s partner organizations over a multi-year engagement. The depth of that support ranges from light-touch guidance and peer connections to intensive on-farm planning, enterprise development, and market access work. It takes the shape of what each producer and project actually needs.

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Why This Program Exists

Before European settlement, an estimated 30 to 60 million bison grazed the Great Plains in patterns that were unpredictable, intense, and constantly moving. That movement (the press of hooves, the crop of grass, the disturbance and release) built some of the deepest, most carbon-rich soils on the planet. It sustained hundreds of interdependent species. It fed the watershed.

Today, fewer than 500,000 bison remain. Meanwhile, the grasslands they once shaped are among the most threatened ecosystems on earth, degraded by fragmentation, tillage, and the steady drain of extractive agriculture.
Restoring bison to working lands is about reintroducing a process the land is still waiting for. And it is about building an agriculture and an economy that can sustain itself on that foundation. The National Bison Production & Market Grant exists to make that viable, pairing producers with subaward funding of $50,000 to $150,000 and direct technical assistance so the work of restoration can also be the work of building a lasting business.

Who should apply

The National Bison Production & Market Program funds practical, on-the-ground work that improves the viability of bison operations and strengthens the broader industry. Eligible projects may include:

  • Grazing and herd management improvements

  • Business planning and operational expansion

  • Production-support infrastructure

  • Market access and supply chain development

  • Tribal and community-based food system initiatives


If you are working on something that doesn’t fit neatly into these categories but addresses a real gap in your bison operation or the broader industry, we encourage you to apply and describe your project in your own terms.

Read the official RFA here.

projects we fund

Each selected project is paired with direct technical assistance from the program’s partner organizations, along with subaward funding of $30,000 to $150,000. Support is matched to your project and your needs. Sub-awards will be administered through three partner organizations, each with a distinct focus:

  • Mad Agriculture will administer awards ranging from $30,000 to $65,000, focused on regenerative bison management, business development, and production infrastructure. All Mad Agriculture awardees receive direct technical assistance as part of their award.

  • Flower Hill Institute will administer approximately  awards of up to $150,000, focused on processing, product innovation, market access, and industry education. FHI is a Native-owned nonprofit based in Jemez Pueblo, New Mexico.

  • The National Bison Association will administer awards of up to $150,000, focused on deliverable-driven industry-wide projects: producer education resources, market valuation analysis, consumer outreach, and data infrastructure tools.

APPLICATIONS ARE NOW OPEN

READ OFFICIAL RFA

The application process will occur in two stages:

stage 1:

Open Call for Letters of Interest (LOI):

Applications close: May 31st, 2026


Open to all eligible applicants. Submissions should briefly describe the applicant’s operation, project idea, and intended impact. 


The Letter of Intent (LOI) is a prerequisite for the submission of an application to the Request for Applications (RFA) for the USDA Bison Production and Marketing Grant. The LOI is considered an initial screening document to ensure that all proposals align with the priorities outlined in the RFA, and is also used to estimate the review workload and plan the review process. Principal investigators will be notified about the status of their LOI, and those with an acceptable LOI will be invited to submit a full proposal.  The LOI is not included in the formal review process with the full proposal.

Projects should address the individual goals and objectives of the project partners listed in the RFA, including bison grazing management education, technical assistance, infrastructure development, meat marketing and processing, industry data and analysis, educational resource development, consumer outreach and education, and data tracking/dissemination.  A project can be up to two years in duration, but will be monitored throughout the project period.  The project budget should not exceed $150,000. Eligible applicants include businesses, cooperatives, nonprofit organizations, tribal governments, producer networks/associations, and economic development corporations. Project deliverables and data gathered will be under the sole proprietorship of the respective project partner and made available to the public, per grant requirements.




stage 2:

Invitation to Apply (Full Application):

Selected applicants will be notified by June 15th, 2026.

Selected applicants will be invited to submit a full subaward application and matched with the partner organization best suited to support their project.



Read the official RFA here.

FAQ’s

The application uses a two-step process:

Step 1 — Letter of Intent (LOI): All applicants submit an LOI by June 15, 2026, 11:59 PM CST. The LOI is an eligibility and alignment screen,  it is not scored or ranked. You’ll select which of the three partner organizations best fits your project at this stage. Submitting an LOI does not guarantee an invitation to apply.

Step 2 — Full Application (by invitation only): Applicants whose LOIs pass the eligibility screen will be invited to submit a full application, due July 27, 2026 (Flower Hill Institute and National Bison Association) or August 10, 2026 (Mad Agriculture). Full applications include a project narrative, line-item budget, and budget narrative. Award notifications begin September 8, 2026.

It depends on which partner you apply to. Mad Agriculture subawards are designed for active bison producers seeking to improve, expand, or transition their operation, so active engagement in bison production is important for MA applicants. However, Flower Hill Institute and the National Bison Association fund organizations focused on processing, market development, product innovation, industry education, and deliverable-driven projects and those partners welcome applicants who are not bison producers themselves, such as research organizations, marketing firms, technology developers, or educational institutions.

Eligible applicants include agricultural businesses or cooperatives, economic development corporations, local governments, nonprofit corporations, producer networks or associations, Federally Chartered Tribal Organizations, and Tribal Governments. For-profit entities are eligible if they are primarily engaged in bison production, processing, or marketing. Individuals applying in a personal capacity are not eligible. All applicants must be based in the 50 states or U.S. territories and must have a valid UEI number at the time of LOI submission.

The USDA AMS Bison Production and Marketing Grant Program (BPMGP) is a national initiative funded through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to strengthen the economic viability, ecological performance, and market access of bison producers across the United States. The program pairs competitive grant funding with hands-on technical assistance from three administering partners (Flower Hill Institute, the National Bison Association, and Mad Agriculture) to support activities across the bison value chain, including production, regenerative grazing, processing, business development, and marketing.

Yes, in many cases. Mad Agriculture subawards can fund handling equipment (chutes, corral panels, scales), portable water systems, herd management technology, pasture seeding, and some fencing and infrastructure investments. However, certain physical activities, such as the installation of new permanent fencing, water pipelines requiring ground disturbance, or new wells, require federal environmental review under NEPA before work can begin. New buildings or permanently enclosed structures are not eligible under any partner. Applicants proposing physical activities should carefully review Sections 3C and 4F of the RFA before applying.

No. There is no minimum operation size or acreage requirement. Mad Agriculture explicitly welcomes beginning, intermediate, and advanced producers. What matters most is that you have a clear, specific project scope tied to program goals and that you are ready to implement activities within the project period.

Three organizations administer subawards under this program, each with a distinct focus:

  • Flower Hill Institute (FHI) — A Native-owned nonprofit based in Jemez Pueblo, NM. FHI administers approximately 6 awards (up to $150,000 each) focused on bison processing, product innovation, market access, and industry education, with an Indigenous-centered lens.

  • National Bison Association (NBA) — The primary national membership organization for the bison industry, based in Westminster, CO. The NBA administers approximately 7 awards (up to $150,000 each) focused on deliverable-driven, industry-wide projects: producer education resources, market valuation research, consumer outreach campaigns, and data infrastructure tools.

  • Mad Agriculture (MA) — A Boulder, CO-based nonprofit. Mad Ag administers up to 20 awards (up to $100,000 each) focused on regenerative bison management, production infrastructure, and business support for working bison producers, paired with direct technical assistance.

For questions, you can reach out to the partner organization you plan to apply to:

Flower Hill Institute: Harleigh Moore Wilson, Director of Agriculture — info@flowerhill.institute

National Bison Association: Lydia Whitman, Program Manager — info@nationalbison.org

Mad Agriculture: Rayle Heinzig, Land & Business Project Manager — rayle@madagriculture.org

  • Mad Agriculture will administer approximately 28 awards ranging from $30,000 to $65,000, focused on regenerative bison management, business development, and production infrastructure. 

  • Flower Hill Institute will administer approximately 6 awards of up to $150,000, focused on processing, product innovation, market access, and industry education.

  • The National Bison Association will administer approximately 7 awards of up to $150,000, focused on deliverable-driven industry-wide projects: producer education resources, market valuation analysis, consumer outreach, and data infrastructure tools.

OUR PARTNERS

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