RFP 0397 - Farmland Protection Staff Capacity Grants Pilot Program
NY offers funding to local governments and land trusts to hire or expand staff dedicated to launching or accelerating farmland protection and agricultural conservation easement projects.
Funder: New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets
Due Dates: June 1, 2026 (Questions due by 4:00 p.m.) | June 26, 2026 (Full proposal due by 4:00 p.m.)
Funding Amounts: Up to $300,000 per proposal; $1,000,000 total available; project duration up to 3 years.
Summary: Funds local governments and land trusts in New York to hire or expand staff dedicated to initiating or accelerating farmland protection projects.
Key Information: Applications must be submitted via the SFS Vendor Portal; late, faxed, mailed, or emailed proposals will not be accepted.
Description
This grant opportunity supports local agricultural and farmland protection efforts in New York State by providing funding for eligible counties, municipalities, soil and water conservation districts, and not-for-profit conservation organizations (including land trusts and conservancies) to hire new staff or expand existing staff capacity. The goal is to enable these organizations to initiate or accelerate farmland protection projects, particularly those involving agricultural conservation easements. Funding can be used for hiring a first dedicated farmland protection staff member or for increasing staff capacity in organizations already engaged in such work.
There are two project categories:
- First Staff Hire: For organizations hiring their first staff member dedicated to farmland protection (including expanding a part-time role to full-time with new responsibilities).
- Increased Staff Capacity: For organizations seeking to add or redirect staff to accelerate farmland protection activities.
Eligible projects must focus on staff whose primary role is to seek out, evaluate, and complete agricultural conservation easement projects. The program encourages applications from regions with little or no prior funding under the Farmland Protection Implementation Grants (FPIG) program.
