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Washington State University

• Western Extension Risk Management Education Center
  

Washington State University
222 N Havana
Spokane, WA 99202

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  • Apply for Funding -2026 Western Center RFA
  • Apply for Funding – Farm Loan Program
  • Apply For Funding – Meat and Poultry Processing RFA
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  Western Extension Risk Management Education Center

• Home
• About
  • About the ERME Program
  • About the Western Center
  • Regional Centers
  • Contact
  • Advisory Council
• Funding
  • Apply for Funding -2026 Western Center RFA
  • Apply for Funding – Farm Loan Program
  • Apply For Funding – Meat and Poultry Processing RFA
  • Funded Projects
• Award Management
  • Reporting
  • Tools for Project Directors
• Risk Management
  • Risk Management Resources
• News
  • News
  • Success Stories
• Special Projects
  • Farm Stress Assistance
    

Apply for Funding -2026 Western Center RFA
Western Center RFA
2026 RFA Timeline

• November 13, 2025 – Application Deadline
• February 13, 2026 – Award Notification
• April 1, 2026 – Start Date for Funded Projects
  

The Western Extension Risk Management Education Center, (Western Center), in conjunction with the Northeast, Southern, and North Central Centers, announces competitive funding opportunities for educational projects designed to help agricultural producers improve their economic viability through targeted risk management strategies. The Center expects to award grants in three program areas –– Risk Management Education Projects, Underutilization of Crop Insurance Projects, and Exploratory Projects.

• Risk Management Education Projects
  

This funding opportunity focuses on educational projects designed to help agricultural producers improve their economic viability through targeted risk management strategies. Proposed programs need to address any of the five areas of risk: production, marketing, financial, legal or human. The maximum amount of requested funding shall not exceed $75,000 for 18-month projects to be conducted between April 1, 2026, and September 30, 2027.

• Underutilization of Crop Insurance Projects
  

This funding opportunity is specifically designated for the delivery of risk management education to agricultural producers who underutilize crop insurance products or programs; with proposed educational programming that aligns with one or more of the five areas of risk: production, marketing, financial, legal or human. The maximum amount of requested funding shall not exceed $100,000 for 18-month projects to be conducted between April 1, 2026 and September 30, 2027.

• Exploratory Projects
  

These smaller, grants are for the purpose of initiating new ideas through producer education programs which address farmer/rancher risk management education needs. Exploratory projects can be used to organize and host a producer education workshop or conference; or be used for development projects that lead to application for a Risk Management Education or Underutilization of Crop Insurance project in a future year. The maximum award will be $10,000 for 18-month projects to be conducted between April 1, 2026, and September 30, 2027.
Applicant Webinar – Thursday October 2, 2025 1PM PDT – No pre-registration is required and there is no fee to participate. A webinar reminder announcement will be sent on Monday September 29th; as well as Zoom meeting details will be posted on the Western Center’s website.
How to Apply

• RFA: Download and read the 2026 Western Center Request for Applications (RFA) thoroughly depending on your plans for submission.
• Resources: View the Application Resources which have been developed to help applicants prepare a successful proposal, and which provide a full explanation for every item requested in the application. Applicants are especially encouraged to utilize the Application Tutorial.
• Registration Information: If you are already registered in the RVS, skip to step 4. To register, use this link to access the Extension Risk Management Education Results Verification System. Select “Create New Account” and complete the form in order to create a new account. An email will be sent to confirm your registration. If you do not receive the confirmation email within 15 minutes, check your spam folder. Click on the link in the email to complete your registration.
• RVS: Login to RVS (rvs.umn.edu) using your email address and password, which will take you to the “My Projects” page. To begin a new Application, select “Start New Project Application” to see all available funding opportunities. Click the “Western ERME” tab to see all Western Center funding opportunities.
• Category: Select the appropriate grant category (2026 Risk Management Education Projects, 2026 Underutilization of Crop Insurance Projects, or 2026 Exploratory Projects) and click “Apply for this Grant”.
• Enter the project information, including: Project Title; Project Director email, Institution Mailing Address, and Financial Contact. You will have the opportunity to edit or update this information once you have created the application.
• Complete each section in the Table of Contents on the left sidebar and follow the Instructions accessible on each page of the application via the question mark (?) icon.
  

Whenever you wish to continue working on your Proposal, return to the Extension Risk Management Education Results Verification System and login. Your active projects will be listed on the “My Projects” page. You may edit your proposal by clicking on the pencil icon. Questions or comments regarding the RFA may be directed to Jo Ann Warner, 509-477-2168, warnerj@wsu.edu or Shannon Neibergs, 509-335-6360, sneibergs@wsu.edu.
Budget Detail & Indirect Cost Limitation – IMPORTANT INFORMATION

• Requested funding amount must be the same in the budget, budget narrative and on the ERME Cover Sheet (SF 424).
  • SF 424 Instructions
• Make certain that the person(s) in your organization with budget expertise carefully review all aspects of your budget detail for consistency; in particular that the amounts listed in each section of the budget match what is listed in the correlating sections of the budget narrative.
• If you intend to include sub awards or consultant services as part of your funding request, the required documents must be submitted as part of the proposal submission. Follow the instructions as provided in the RFA and Appendix A of the RFA for uploading these documents into the online application system. Please note that subwards are not allowed for Exploratory Projects.
• Project Director Training – Allocate dollars in your budget to attend an in-person training to be held in Salt Lake City, UT in mid-April 2026.
  

Section 1462(a) and (c) of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (NARETPA) limits indirect costs for the OVERALL award to 30 percent of Total Federal Funds Awarded (TFFA) under a research, education, or extension grant or the grantee’s Federally Negotiated Rate, whichever is less. The cap applies to the prime recipient and all sub-awardees. Please be aware that when IDC for the recipient and all sub-awardees are totaled, they must not exceed 30% of the TFFA (or 42.857 percent of total direct costs). If your organization does not have a federally negotiated indirect cost rate, an F&A rate of 10% Modified Total Direct Cost (MTDC) will be allowed. Any questions regarding the budget may be directed to Jo Ann Warner, Associate Director at 509-477-2168.
Eligibility
This announcement seeks applications from qualified public and private groups, organizations, and institutions; including land grant colleges and universities, Cooperative Extension, other colleges and universities, and public and private entities with a demonstrated capacity to develop and deliver results/impact-based risk management education projects for agricultural producers and their families. The Western Center serves Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Alaska, Hawaii, and the U.S. Affiliated Pacific Islands. RFA’s have been concurrently released for each regional ERME Center – please visit the respective websites for additional information.
Proposal Resources
There are several proposal resources with links below which can help you develop and write a successful proposal to the ERME program. “Refining Project Outcomes” is an excellent resource for developing a strong set of participant outcomes. “Documenting Success through Performance Measures” is a short article tutorial on how to plan and design your program, including how to measure the achievement of producer outcomes across the life of the project. Information on the five risk areas and how best to integrate risk topic areas into your program delivery can be found in the “Introduction to Risk Management”.

• • 2026 Western Center Request For Applications (RFA)
  • ERME Proposal Resources
  • Refining Project Outcomes
  • Documenting Success through Performance Measures
  • Introduction to Risk Management
  • RME Unique to Amer Indians Findings
  • Tribal MOU Development (pdf)
  • RME for Hispanic Farmers and Ranchers (pdf)
    

The Western Center is housed within the Washington State University College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences Extension School of Economic Sciences.
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