Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (10.913)
Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (Assistance Listing 10.913) is run by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, part of the Department of Agriculture. It awarded $71.8 million in 136 grants from fiscal 2021 to 2025, about $527,983 per award on average. No funding opportunity is open on Grants.gov right now.
The typical award was $150,000. Half of the 136 awards fell between $75,000 and $400,028, and they ranged from $10,000 to $12.9 million.
- Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$71.8 million
- Grant awards136
- Typical award$150,000
- Awarded in FY 2025$0
- Size rank909 of 1824
- Type of assistanceDirect payments for specified use
Key findings
- It is the 909th largest of 1,824 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
- The 20 largest recipients received 80% of the money.
- Awards went to recipients in 37 states and territories.
What the program funds
To provide funding to eligible entities to purchase conservation easements to limit conversion to non-agricultural uses of farm and ranch lands that contain prime, unique, or important soils; that contain historical and archaeological resources; or that support the policy of a state or local farmland protection program.
Open opportunities
No opportunity under this program is open or forecast on Grants.gov right now. Programs often post once a year, so the funding history below shows what to expect.
Rules from the program listing
Matching requirements
This program has no statutory formula. Each eligible entity is required to contribute cash towards the conservation easement acquisition. The eligible entity must contribute a minimum of 25 percent of the purchase price of the easement (appraised fair market value minus the landowner donation). Each eligible entity is required to fund its own administrative costs in acquiring easements, such as appraisals, surveys, title searches, and costs incurred in managing and enforcing the easements.MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.
Deadlines
Contact the headquarters or regional location, as appropriate for application deadlines
Examples of funded projects
Fiscal Year2025: NRCS has 4,322 easements on 1,067,954 acres funded through Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program from 2006 through 2014, prior to the program being repealed with the 2014 Farm Bill.
Funding history and past recipients
From fiscal 2021 to 2025, Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (10.913) awarded$71.8 million across 136 grant awards, an average of $527,983 per award.
Who usually wins
Colleges and universities received 52% of the money, nonprofits 37% and state and local governments 7.8%.
| Recipient type | Awards | Amount | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colleges and universities | 56 | $37.4 million | 52% |
| Nonprofits | 51 | $26.8 million | 37% |
| State and local governments | 22 | $5.6 million | 7.8% |
| Other | 2 | $1.0 million | 1.5% |
| Small businesses | 5 | $952,107 | 1.3% |
By state
17 states have a page for this program: those that received at least $1 million or 10 awards.
| State | Awards | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | 5 | $17.9 million |
| Illinois | 3 | $6.1 million |
| Texas | 9 | $5.3 million |
| Iowa | 3 | $4.9 million |
| Colorado | 5 | $3.7 million |
| West Virginia | 2 | $3.6 million |
| Michigan | 4 | $3.6 million |
| South Carolina | 9 | $3.1 million |
| Alabama | 1 | $3.0 million |
| Mississippi | 12 | $2.5 million |
| Hawaii | 5 | $2.2 million |
| Minnesota | 7 | $2.2 million |
| North Carolina | 1 | $2.0 million |
| Florida | 3 | $1.8 million |
| Virginia | 9 | $1.6 million |
| Louisiana | 6 | $1.2 million |
| Georgia | 4 | $1.0 million |
| California | 8 | $890,399 |
| Arkansas | 2 | $742,500 |
| Utah | 1 | $519,150 |
| Idaho | 7 | $435,800 |
| Puerto Rico | 3 | $384,697 |
| Maryland | 3 | $380,921 |
| New York | 2 | $375,000 |
| Ohio | 1 | $334,096 |
| New Mexico | 4 | $330,000 |
| Wisconsin | 3 | $280,338 |
| Tennessee | 1 | $275,944 |
| Oregon | 4 | $263,376 |
| New Jersey | 1 | $256,252 |
| Nebraska | 1 | $122,000 |
| Kansas | 2 | $118,859 |
| Missouri | 1 | $102,273 |
| Maine | 1 | $75,000 |
| Massachusetts | 1 | $50,000 |
| Oklahoma | 1 | $14,000 |
| Rhode Island | 1 | $10,000 |