USDA SBIR Phase II

USDA SBIR Phase II

Supports United States small businesses advancing agricultural inventions toward market-ready products after successful early projects.

The USDA Small Business Innovation Research Phase II program, administered by USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture, provides follow-on funding for small businesses to develop Phase I innovations into commercially viable products or services addressing agricultural and food-system challenges. Phase II is a sequential follow-on: only small businesses that have received a Phase I USDA SBIR award are eligible to apply. The program is not open-entry. NIFA administers SBIR exclusively for USDA across ten broad topic areas including Advanced Technologies, Animals, Food and Nutrition Security, Environment, Natural Resources, and Plants/Food Science/Food Products/Food Safety.

Phase II awards provide up to $600,000 over a 24-month performance period — a substantially longer runway than Phase I's eight-month feasibility stage. No cost sharing is required. Technical and Business Assistance support of up to $50,000 is available in addition to the primary $600,000 award amount, helping Phase II recipients with commercialization planning, market research, and business development. Eligible applicants must be for-profit small businesses meeting SBA size standards organized under U.S. law; universities, nonprofits, and individuals are ineligible. Sector restrictions follow USDA's topical mandate: agriculture, food, natural resources, and forestry.

Phase II applications are evaluated on scientific and technical merit of the proposed development work and on the commercial potential to bring the Phase I innovation to market. Applicants must document the Phase I work and results, articulate the development plan and commercialization pathway, and demonstrate that the proposed 24-month scope is achievable within the $600,000 budget. The FY2026 Phase II NOFO timing follows the annual SBIR cycle; applicants should monitor Grants.gov under USDA-NIFA-SBIR and engage their NIFA program officer following completion of Phase I performance to understand Phase II submission windows.