Grants for Public and State controlled institutions of higher education - Agriculture

The Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure (RFSI) program, funded by the USDA, allocates approximately $2 million for infrastructure grants to Vermont businesses and organizations aiming to strengthen local and regional food systems. The grants support projects that improve the aggregation, distribution, manufacturing, processing, storing, transporting, and wholesaling of Vermont food products. This track encourages development of Vermont value-added products and promotes fair wages and job creation. A 50% match is required, which can be reduced to 25% for historically underserved farmers. Grants range from $100,000 to $500,000 and are available from fall 2024 through February 2027.

The Food and Drug Administration's (FDA), Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), Office of New Drugs (OND), is announcing this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for a Cooperative Agreement. The proposed work directly supports the U.S. FDAs stated goal of protecting public health from unacceptable risks from nitrosamine impurities in human drugs. Although significant experimental and policy/regulatory initiatives have been undertaken in this area, there remains a need for further research into and development and refinement of translational and implementable practices that will protect the public against nitrosamine risks while ensuring continued safe access to critical therapeutic drugs. The aim is to improve the safety of human drugs with potential nitrosamine impurity liabilities. In addition to the work outlined above, the award recipient will assess how best to ensure that this research and practices development continues among industry members, non-profits, and/or academic institutions once the FDA funding for this cooperative agreement ends.

This funding opportunity supports U.S. colleges and universities in developing and promoting effective alternatives to methyl bromide for pest management in agriculture and related industries.

This program provides funding to various organizations in Indiana to improve the production and marketing of specialty crops, such as fruits and vegetables, through innovative projects that benefit the industry and the public.

The Agency will make grants to public bodies and private nonprofit corporations, (such as States, counties, cities, townships, and incorporated towns and villages, boroughs, authorities, districts, and Indian tribes on Federal and State reservations) to provide associations Technical Assistance and/or training with respect to essential community facilities programs. The Technical Assistance and/or training will assist communities, Indian Tribes, and Nonprofit Corporations to identify and plan for community facility needs that exist in their area. Once those needs have been identified, the Grantee can assist in identifying public and private resources to finance those identified community facility needs.

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture is inviting applications for agricultural research grants for projects to be conducted from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2026. The projects should address various critical areas such as pest infestation impacts, Chesapeake Bay farm management practices, pollinator protection, food action plans, urban agriculture, energy in agriculture, animal health, and robotic technology in farming. Funding is contingent upon the 2024-2025 budget appropriations, and the deadline for application submission is June 7, 2024. The department will evaluate the proposals based on a 100-point scale considering project needs, research outcomes, methodology, evaluation and replicability, industry support, and research team diversity.

The BARN grant program aims to preserve Kansas barns, reviving underutilized, vacant, or dilapidated structures while fostering new economic activity through agritourism ventures. These building grants are specifically designed to rescue barns from likely demolition or collapse and rehabilitate them into spaces conducive for new or expanding agritourism businesses. The types of projects we are looking for with the BARN grant are those that will encourage people, particularly from out of state, to visit agritourism locations in Kansas. All projects should have an accountable tie to the tourism industry. The future uses of the barn, transformed through the BARN program, are not solely about preserving historical structures. Rather, they are about repurposing these spaces into vibrant hubs for agritourism activities, thereby injecting new life and economic opportunities into communities. Agritourism ventures capitalize on the appeal of agricultural experiences, offering visitors opportunities to engage with farming, local food production, and rural culture in immersive and educational ways.

The National Institute of Food and Agricultures Agricultural Genome to Phenome Initiative (AG2PI) focuses oncollaborative science engagement that intends to develop a community of researchers across both crops and animalsthat will lay the foundation for expanding knowledge concerning genomes and phenomes of importance to the agriculture sector of the United States. Success of the initiative will inform approaches to understanding how variable weather, environments, and production systems interact with genetic diversity present in crops and animals to impact growth and productivity. This will provide greater accuracy in predicting crop and animal performance under variable conditions and more efficient selection of well-adapted, superior genotypes that farmers and ranchers can produce.

This funding opportunity supports California-based organizations in developing and demonstrating innovative farming practices that reduce chemical pesticide use while promoting sustainable pest management.

The Miami County Agricultural Leadership Fund Grant, sponsored by the Miami County Farm Bureau and administered by the Miami County Foundation, supports agricultural-related programs, educational opportunities, and projects in Miami County, Ohio. This donor-advised grant aims to enhance agricultural, educational, leadership, and social organizations within the community. Eligible applicants include non-profit organizations, schools, and municipalities in Miami County, Ohio. Grant renewed every year. Grant Annual Spring deadline: February 28th

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is now accepting a second round of applications as part of the $3 million, 5-year Underserved Farmer to Farmer grant from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Gulf of Mexico division. Donor Name: Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) State: Iowa County: All Counties Type of Grant: Grant Deadline: 05/31/2024 Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000 Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned Details: The DNR is looking to increase the ability of historically underserved farm communities to address nutrient pollution and frequent flooding through the grant. Underserved farmers are defined by the United States Department of Agriculture as those who are beginning, socially disadvantaged, veterans or with limited resources. Other classifications may be supported as negotiated. Funding Information Projects funded through the grant may receive up to $250,000. Currently, remaining funds for subawards totals $700,000. Eligibility Criteria  Grants will be distributed through subawards to entities including: Conservation districts Institutions of Higher Learning Local or state government entities, including 28E agreement entities such as Watershed Management Authorities NGOs and nonprofits Tribal nations Beginning farmer groups U.S. military veteran farmer groups. For more information, visit DNR.

This grant provides funding to U.S. agricultural entities to develop and expand markets for American agricultural exports in emerging markets, fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange.

Grant Opportunity: Saginaw Bay Watershed Pollution Prevention/Chemical Collection Program Description: This grant opportunity is for the construction of a permanent facility to collect pesticides from farmers, homeowners, nurseries, etc. The facility will allow any end user of pesticides to dispose of unwanted materials at no cost. The project was completed in 1999 and is a joint project of the Saginaw County Department of Health and the Michigan Department of Agriculture. Grant Opportunity: Demonstrate Effectiveness of Biodegradable Two-Cycle Engine Oil Description: This grant opportunity is for field testing a soy-based oil that can be used as an alternative to petroleum-based oil in engines such as jet skis, outboard motors, and snowmobiles. The soy-based oil is environmentally preferable as it is 96% biodegradable and does not emit pollutants into the air and water. The funding will be used to demonstrate the safety and performance of the oil and document reductions in emissions into the environment. Grant Opportunity: Saginaw Bay Watershed Native Planting Preserve at Saginaw Valley State University Description: This grant opportunity aims to fund the development of a native planting preserve on the campus of Saginaw Valley State University. The preserve will include plants, signage, and walking trails. The project intends to encourage the use of native plantings in the general public and serve as a demonstration/research site at the university. Grant Opportunity: Alternative Energy from Agriculturally-Derived Pellet Fuel Description: This grant opportunity involves analyzing the technical and economic viability of manufacturing renewable pellet fuel derived from agricultural sources. The research includes studying the economic and environmental impact of using biomass combustion furnaces for heating residential and light industrial buildings. The project also includes developing a web-based interface for real-time telemetry information. Grant Opportunity: Conservation Tillage Risk Protection Program Description: This grant opportunity aims to demonstrate the use of conservation tillage in two subwatersheds of the Tittabawassee River. The

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) invites applications for a cooperative agreement to support, manage and facilitate Public-Private Partnerships and Collaborative activities as part of the Critical Path Initiative and to support regulatory science efforts. FDA and grantees will work together to develop innovative, collaborative projects in research, education, and outreach. These projects can help foster drug product innovation to 1) support efforts to accelerate drug product development; 2) support approaches to advanced manufacturing; 3) facilitate translation of basic science discoveries into therapeutics; and 4) facilitate approaches to enhance the safety, efficacy, quality, and performance of drug products. Projects are identified by FDA. Multiple awards may be funded under this NOFO and are directly dependent on drug development priorities and subject to the availability of funding.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agriculture Marketing Services (AMS), is entering into cooperative agreement with Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) for the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program Cooperative Agreements (RFSI). Donor Name: Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development (MDARD) State: Michigan County: All Counties Type of Grant: Grant Deadline: 06/17/2024 Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000 Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned Details: The purpose of the Michigan RFSI program is to build resilience in the middle-of-thefood-supply-chain and strengthen local and regional food systems by creating new revenue streams for Michigan producers. MDARD will make subawards in the form of Infrastructure Grants to middle-of-the-supply businesses to create more diverse local and regional market options and create more economic opportunities for communities, allowing them to retain more of the value chain dollar. RFSI investments aim to create a food systems infrastructure to support competitive and profitable market access for domestic farm products. The program also aims to: Support development of value‐added products available to consumers; Support proposals that provide fair prices, fair wages and new and safe job opportunities that keep profits in rural communities; and Increase diversity in processing options in terms of business model approaches, geography, and availability to underserved communities. Priorities USDA intends for RFSI program to focus funding Infrastructure Grant activities that: Expand capacity for processing, aggregation, and distribution of agricultural products to create more and better markets for producers; Modernize manufacturing, tracking, storage, and information technology systems; Enhance worker safety through adoption of new technologies or investment in equipment or facility improvements; Improve the capacity of entities to comply with federal, state, and local food safety requirements; Improve operations through training opportunities; Support construction of a new facility; Modernize or expand an existing facility (including expansion and modifications to existing buildings and/or construction of new buildings at existing facilities); Construction of wastewater management structures, etc.; Modernize processing and manufacturing equipment; and Develop, customize, or install equipment that reduces greenhouse gas emissions, increases efficiency in water use, improves air and/or water quality, and/or meets one or more of USDA’s climate action goals. Funding Information Michigan has been awarded over $10 million dollars. Equipment Only Grant: These projects offer a simplified application to fund smaller grants from $10,000 up to $100,000 Infrastructure Grants: Infrastructure grants will have a maximum award of $475,000. Eligibility Criteria The following entities are eligible for Infrastructure Grants made by MDARD: Agricultural producers or processors, or groups of agricultural producers and processors Nonprofit organizations operating middle-of-the-supply-chain activities such as processing, aggregation, distribution of targeted agricultural products Local government entities operating middle-of-the-supply-chain activities such as processing, aggregation, distribution of targeted agricultural products Tribal governments operating middle-of-the-supply-chain activities such as processing, aggregation, distribution of targeted agricultural products. Institutions such as schools, universities, or hospitals bringing producers together to establish cooperative or shared infrastructure or invest in equipment that will benefit multiple producers middle-of-the-supply-chain activities such as processing, aggregation, distribution of targeted agricultural product. For more information, visit MDARD.

Federal Awarding Agency Name: U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) Funding Opportunity Title: Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) Classic for Federal fiscal year (FY) 2024 Funding Opportunity Number: USDA-NRCS-NHQ-RCPP-24-NOFO0001354 Assistance Listing: 10.932, Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) Due Date: NRCS must receive proposals by 4:59 p.m. Eastern Time on July 12, 2024. Note: The RCPP Classic and Alternative Funding Arrangement (AFA) FY 2024 notices of funding opportunity (NFO) will run concurrently. For information on AFA proposals please see Funding Opportunity Number USDA-NRCS-NHQ-RCPPAFA-24-NOFO0001355. The RCPP promotes the coordination of NRCS conservation activities with partners that offer value-added contributions to expand our ability to address on-farm, watershed, and regional natural resource concerns. Through the RCPP, NRCS seeks to co-invest with partners to implement projects that provide solutions to conservation challenges thereby measurably improving the resource concerns they seek to address. RCPP promotes collaboration with partners, stakeholders, and various communities, which is paramount to achieving equity in NRCS programs and services. Using guidance contained in this notice, partners propose projects that generate conservation benefits by addressing specific natural resource concerns in a state or multistate area by addressing one or more priority resource concerns within an NRCS-designated critical conservation area (CCA). NRCS and partners collaborate to design, promote, and implement RCPP projects on agricultural and nonindustrial private forest land. Through RCPP, NRCS may provide both financial assistance (FA) and technical assistance (TA) funds to project partners and agricultural producers for implementing projects. RCPP proposals are evaluated through a competitive proposal process based on three criteria: impact, partner contributions, and partnership and management. Up to $1.5 billion is available for RCPP projects through this announcement and the FY 2024 AFA announcement, which includes $300 million of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill) funding and $1.2 billion of Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funding. Proposals are accepted from all 50 States, the Caribbean Area (Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands), and U.S. territories in the Pacific Island Areas (Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands). NRCS will prioritize using IRA funds for projects that will implement climate-smart agriculture and forestry conservation activities as described in section F.(3)a. of this announcement. Up to $100 million is being made available specifically for NRCS to enter into programmatic partnership agreements with Indian tribes. This set aside will be shared by this announcement and the FY 2024 AFA announcement. Any unused funds may be available for other partnership agreements. Submissions: Proposals must be submitted through the RCPP portal. See section E of this announcement for information on using the RCPP portal to submit proposals. Access to the RCPP portal requires a level 2 eAuthentication credential or a Login.gov credential. Obtaining a new Login.gov credential involves multiple steps and can take several days to complete. Instructions are posted on the How to Apply to RCPP web page listed below. For More Information: Applicants are expected to contact the appropriate State Conservationists and state RCPP coordinators prior to submitting a proposal. NRCS will use a state conservation questionnaire to record the results of this conversation. Proposals without a completed questionnaire may have their score and ranking reduced. A list of state RCPP coordinators (as of the date of this announcements posting) is on the NRCS How to Apply to RCPP web page. Applicants can also email the RCPP inbox ([email protected]) with any questions about the announcement. The RCPP website is also a great source of current information about the program. Interested applicants are encouraged to participate in one or more of the webinars below to learn about the program and how to apply. 2024 RCPP NFO Applicant Outreach Webinar This webinar will provide general information for applicants submitting proposals for the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). The same material will be covered at both webinars followed by a question-and-answer section. Please refer to the RCPP website for more information. Regional Conservation Partnership Program Natural Resources Conservation Service (usda.gov) April 23, 2024, RCPP Applicant Outreach Webinar Registration Link 2pm to 4pm EDT - https://events.gcc.teams.microsoft.com/event/e2f45f75-7ea4-410b-b1c9-567537cd2454@ed5b36e7-01ee-4ebc-867e-e03cfa0d4697 May 30, 2024, RCPP Applicant Outreach Webinar Registration Link 2pm to 4pm EDT - https://events.gcc.teams.microsoft.com/event/226dcb51-0b57-43b1-b340-95e535238713@ed5b36e7-01ee-4ebc-867e-e03cfa0d4697 NRCS will schedule additional webinars on RCPP easements and providing outreach to tribal applicants. Information on all webinars will be posted to the RCPP how to apply page.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), in partnership with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), requests new applications for Mentoring at Risk and Rural Youth (MARRY), a new competitive grant program. The mission of the MARRY program is to expand opportunities for 1) rural youth, 2) juvenile justice-involved youth, and 3) youth at risk of juvenile justice involvement to receive mentoring services through 4-H programming. MARRY was developed in partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), OJJDP, in support of OJJDPs priority to address the challenges and barriers to success that many juvenile justice-involved youth encounter as well as to increase access to mentoring services for at-risk and rural youth.

This funding opportunity provides up to $10 million for U.S. colleges and universities to develop innovative projects that improve sustainable agriculture, enhance food security, and support rural economies while engaging underserved communities.

Notice of Funding Opportunity SummaryThe Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), an agency under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is announcing potential availability of cooperative agreements for the purpose of leveraging NRCS resources to assist with conducting important coastal restoration throughout Massachusetts. NRCS recognizes the importance of shellfish, salt marsh, and eelgrass restoration and the beneficial outcomes it can have on the environment and climate change. Restoration of rare and declining communities, including coastal habitats has been an underutilized practice in Massachusetts. This agreement will be used to encourage the restoration of coastal habitats through the use of this NRCS practice by conducting outreach, providing training, identifying and completing projects, and monitoring of outcomes.NRCS-Massachusetts is making a funding opportunity available for applicants to submit proposals with an award ceiling of $600,000 and a minimum project award of $300,000. NRCS will be awarding a cooperative agreement for up to a five-year period. If, in coordination with NRCS, additional resources are needed at a rate that exceeds this schedule, NRCS may add funds to this agreement to support continued partnership over the performance period.The primary goal is to expand coastal restoration to NRCS customers throughout eastern Massachusetts. The project list ranges in size from less than an acre private or leased property to several hundred-acre private properties. Applicants will identify the average number of projects they could complete with a minimum of five being acceptable for this agreement. NRCS will work with the selected applicant to make the choice of priority restoration sites each year of the agreement based on interest and need. Applicants will be required to hold 1-2 restoration trainings per year for NRCS staff and partners to expand their knowledge on the subject. Applicants should provide a list of training ideas to NRCS for the length of the agreement. Applicants will be awarded based on the specified scoring criteria in Section E of this announcement. Eligible applicants are identified in Section C of this announcement. Applicants should be familiar with all applicable state, federal, local laws, policies, and regulations that apply to coastal restoration in the locales of Massachusetts.For new users of Grants.gov, see Section D. of the full Notice of Funding Opportunity for information about steps required before submitting an application via Grants.gov.Key DatesApplicants must submit their applications via Grants.gov by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on June 29, 2024. For technical issues with Grants.gov, contact Grants.gov Applicant Support at 1-800-518-4726 or [email protected]. Awarding agency staff cannot support applicants regarding Grants.gov accounts.For inquiries specific to the content of the NFO requirements, contact the federal awarding agency contact (section G of this NFO). Please limit questions to those regarding specific information contained in this NFO (such as dates, page numbers, clarification of discrepancies, etc.). Questions related to eligibility, or the merits of a specific proposal will not be addressed.The agency anticipates making selections by June 30, 2024, and expects to execute awards by August 15, 2024. These dates are estimates and are subject to change.

This program provides funding to Wisconsin farmers and their partners to conduct research on improving nitrogen use in agriculture through collaborative field studies.