Executive Summary

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has awarded $1,100,000 to Flower Hill Institute (FHI) as one of three Prime Grant Recipients (PGR) to administer a portion of the Bison Production and Marketing Grant Program (BPMGP). This program is authorized under Division B, Title VII, Section 764 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024 (Public Law 118-42).

The purpose of the National Bison Production and Marketing Grant is to support projects that strengthen the economic viability and market access of bison producers across the United States. The U.S. bison industry faces significant barriers, including limited processing and market access, insufficient coordinated technical and business support for producers, and varying levels of production capacity. This program aims to address those barriers by pairing targeted financial support with hands-on technical guidance from industry experts. FHI provides grants that help producers improve business operations, develop products, strengthen processing skills, and expand educational opportunities across the bison industry.

This grant integrates on-the-ground production support, business and operational development, and market access and industry coordination. By aligning financial resources with technical assistance and market development expertise, the program will strengthen production systems, improve business performance, expand market participation, and generate actionable insights for the broader bison industry.

Flower Hill Institute will make approximately six sub awards of up to $150,000 each for projects that focus on such things as improving business operations, creating or improving bison products, strengthening processing or production skills, or sharing knowledge across the industry.

Applicants may request up to $150,000 for their project. The Award Notification Commencement Period begins September 21, 2026. The project period of performance begins upon full execution of the subaward agreement and must end by January 31, 2028.

This RFA covers Flower Hill Institute’s subaward program only. Two additional Prime Grant Recipients (PGRs), Mad Agriculture (MAD) and the National Bison Association (NBA), are administering separate subaward programs with different programmatic focuses. If your project is primarily focused on regenerative bison management, business support, and production infrastructure for bison producers one of those programs may be a better fit. Information on those programs is available on their respective websites.

Program Overview

Purpose and Focus

This grant helps bison producers address common barriers such as limited processing capacity, market access, or business support. FHI funds projects that improve:

• business planning and management

• value‑added product development

• processing knowledge and training

• education opportunities for producers and processors

Program Structure

This is an open, competitive application process. Any eligible entity may submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) during the published application window. This subaward competition will be conducted in an open and fair manner and in full compliance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and the requirements of 2 CFR Part 200.

Following LOI review and eligibility screening, invited applicants will submit a full application to FHI. Subawards and technical assistance will be administered by FHI, focused on regenerative bison management, business support, and production infrastructure for bison producers.

FHI is one of three PGRs administering subawards under the BPMGP. If your project is primarily focused on bison management, business support, and production infrastructure for bison producers, one of the other PGR grants may be a better fit. Information on those grants is available on their respective websites.

Available Funding

FHI has $880,000 in available funding to disperse, this will be done in no more than 6 subawards with a maximum of $150,000 per award. Projects are expected to last 1 year. Award sizes are estimates. Final allocations may vary based on application quality and grant needs. Applicants are welcome to propose project with budgets below the maximum award amount.

Key Dates and Deadlines

RFA Release Date: June 1, 2026

Letter of Intent Deadline: June 29, 2026, 11:59 PM CST

Invitation for Full Application: July 13, 2026

Full Application Deadline: August 10, 2026, 11:59 PM CST

Award Notification Commencement Period: September 21, 2026

Project start dates will be subject to subaward contracting and execution.

Late applications will not be accepted under any circumstances.

Request for Proposals

For more information regarding timeline, eligibility, award ranges, funding priorities and application process, please read the full request for proposals by clicking the button below.

Application Process and Requirements

This is an open, public program. Any eligible entity may submit a Letter of Intent during the published application window. The process uses two steps to reduce the burden on applicants and ensure that full applications are only requested from eligible and competitive candidates. 

Step 1: Letter of Intent (LOI) (Due June 29, 2026)

All prospective applicants must submit a Letter of Intent by June 29, 2026, 11:59 PM CST.

Applicants must have a valid UEI number at the time of LOI submission. Full SAM.gov activation is not required for LOI submission but must be complete before FHI may issue a full application invitation. LOIs will be reviewed for eligibility and basic alignment with program goals. LOIs are not scored and do not undergo competitive review. Submitting an LOI does not guarantee an invitation to submit a full application. There is no appeal process for LOI non-selections. Applicants who are not advanced will be notified in writing with a brief statement of the reason for non-advancement.

Prior to issuing full application invitations, Flower Hill Institute will verify active SAM.gov registration status for all eligible LOI applicants.

Step 2: Full Application (Request for Application, if invited to apply; due August 10, 2026)

Applicants whose LOIs pass the eligibility screen will be invited to submit a full application (RFA) by the deadline of August 10, 2026, 11:59 PM CST for FHI. The Award Notification Commencement Period begins September 21, 2026 for FHI. Applicants whose SAM.gov registration is not confirmed active at the close of the LOI window will not be invited to apply to the full application process.

LETTER OF INTENT (LOI)

Submission Deadline

Letters of Intent must be received by June 29, 2026, 11:59 PM CST.
Late LOIs will not be accepted.

Submission

LOI submission links for the organization will be publicly available beginning June 1, 2026. Link is available below.

Required Contents

The Letter of Intent must include:

• Applicant and organization information

• Organization type

• UEI and SAM.gov status

• Brief Project Overview

• Expected Outcomes

• Estimated budget and timeline