USDA SBIR Phase I

USDA SBIR Phase I

Supports United States small agricultural businesses with feasibility grants for new technologies in food systems and farm operations.

The USDA Small Business Innovation Research Phase I program, administered by USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture, awards competitive grants to for-profit small businesses for feasibility-stage research addressing scientific problems and opportunities in agriculture and related fields. Awards are based on the scientific and technical merit of investigator-initiated ideas, not on commercial stage. The program covers ten broad topic areas: Advanced Technologies, Animals, Business and Economics, Education, Environment, Farming and Ranching, Food and Nutrition Security, Human Sciences, Natural Resources, and Plants/Food Science/Food Products/Food Safety. An STTR variant is also available under the same program; STTR awards require a partner research institution and extend the performance period to twelve months instead of eight.

Phase I awards provide up to $175,000 for most topic areas over an eight-month performance period. Topic areas 8.6 and 8.12 carry a lower cap of $125,000. No cost sharing is required; the award is 100 percent federally funded. Technical and Business Assistance (TABA) of up to $6,500 is available in addition to the primary award amount. The FY2024 competitive cycle, the most recent for which data was available, carried a total pool of approximately $15.5 million. Eligibility is restricted to for-profit small businesses meeting SBA size standards with U.S. operations; universities, nonprofits, and individuals are ineligible.

The FY2026 NOFO had not yet been posted as of the May 2026 data fetch; the program typically releases its annual Phase I NOFO in summer with an autumn submission deadline. Applicants should check Grants.gov under program USDA-NIFA-SBIR for the active cycle. Competitive applications identify a clearly defined scientific problem within one of USDA's ten topic areas, demonstrate technical merit of the proposed research approach, and show that the principal investigator has relevant qualifications. Phase I awardees become eligible to apply for Phase II funding of up to $600,000.