Federal Agriculture Grants

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 our agency with conducting and implementing important NRCS Farm Bill Program contract management on multiple private landowner properties throughout Massachusetts. NRCS recognizes the importance of utilizing partners to help facilitate project management for NRCS customers throughout Massachusetts. The agreement holder could be asked to assist with customer technical assistance, conservation planning, certification packets for completed conservation practices, and writing Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plans (CNMPs). The agreement holder will also be responsible for providing training to NRCS staff and affiliates to demonstrate the ability to have direct conversations with agricultural producers, investigate and navigate conservation opportunities, demonstrate project management and implementation skills, as well as customer outreach.NRCS-Massachusetts is making a funding opportunity available for applicants to submit proposals with an award ceiling of $400,000 and a minimum project award of $200,000. 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 conservation technical assistance to NRCS customers throughout Massachusetts. The project list ranges in size from less than 1-acre farms to several hundred-acre farms. Applicants will identify the average number of conservation application site visits with written conservation plans, existing contract conservation technical assistance site visits, and CNMPs that they could complete in any year with a minimum of fifteen application based and 15 contract based site visits per year being acceptable for this agreement (5 of those including CNMP development). NRCS will work with the selected applicant to make the choice of priority conservation site visits each year of the agreement based on interest and need. Applicants will be required to hold 1-2 conservation focused trainings per year for NRCS staff and partners to expand their technical knowledge. 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 conservation improvements 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 funding opportunity provides financial support to Alaska-based municipal, tribal, and non-profit organizations to enhance USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service programs and build Tribal capacity, including costs for easements and land trusts.

The Embassy of the United States of America in Port of Spain seeks to fund creative and sustainable projects which contain a U.S. component and will aid in societal and institutional growth. The Embassy invites organizations meeting the outlined eligibility criteria to submit grant proposals. This is an open competition for non-profit and/or NGOs and social enterprises with offices headquartered in Trinidad and Tobago. Public Affairs Section Port of Spain invites proposals that further contribution to the three pillars of bilateral collaboration between the United States and Trinidad and Tobago (TT): Security, Accountable Governance, and Inclusive Growth. Multiple awards will be granted, with a maximum amount per award of US$50,000. Specifications: The proposal may not exceed 5 double-spaced pages in 12-point, Times New Roman font with 1-inch margins. Proposals must include project summary, duration, objectives, organizational capacity, key personnel, previous grants received and a budget. Please refer to the notice of funding see Link to Additional Information and ensure you follow all the guidelines stipulated there before submitting your application. In order to be eligible to receive an award, all organizations must have an NCAGE (CAGE U.S. organizations), Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and a valid registration on SAM.gov. All proposals will be subject to the standard Terms and Conditions of Department of State grants. Please see https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/U.S.-Department-of-State-Standard-Terms-and-Conditions-10-21-20.pdf for more information. Generally, grants may not be used for salaries, the purchase of equipment over $500 or for refreshment expenses. Applicants must submit applications electronically using [email protected] by July 15, 2024. Disclaimer: Only applicants whose proposals have been selected for award will be contacted. If a proposal is selected for funding, the Department of State has no obligation to provide any additional future funding in connection with the award. Renewal of an award to increase funding or extend the period of performance is at the total discretion of the Department of State.

The Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant program provides funding for rural projects through local utility organizations. USDA provides zero-interest loans to local utilities which they, in turn, pass through to local businesses (ultimate recipients) for projects that will create and retain employment in rural areas. The ultimate recipients repay the lending utility directly. The utility then is responsible for repayment to USDA. USDA provides grants to local utility organizations which use the funding to establish Revolving Loan Funds (RLF). Loans are made from the revolving loan funds to projects that will create or retain rural jobs. When the revolving loan fund is terminated, the grant is repaid to USDA.The Agency anticipates the following maximum amounts per award: Loans - $2,000,000; Grants - $300,000.

This grant provides funding to non-land-grant colleges of agriculture to enhance their educational, research, and outreach efforts in agriculture and renewable resources, helping them to better serve their communities and compete for additional funding.

FMPP funds projects that develop, coordinate, and expand direct producer-to-consumer markets to help increase access to and availability of locally and regionally produced agricultural products. The program focuses on: Supporting and promoting domestic direct producer-to-consumer (including direct producer-to-retail, direct producer-to-restaurant, and direct producer-to-institutional marketing) marketing such as farmers markets, roadside stands, agritourism activities, community-supported agriculture (CSA) programs, or online sales; Encouraging the development of value-added agricultural products; Developing marketing strategies for producers of local food and value-added products; Facilitating regional food chain coordination development; Promoting new business opportunities and marketing strategies to reduce on-farm food waste; Responding to changing technology needs in direct producer-to-consumer marketing; and Covering expenses related to costs incurred in obtaining food safety certification and improvements to food safety practices and equipment.

This program provides funding to U.S.-based organizations to help eliminate trade barriers for specialty crops, promoting their export and market access.

This funding opportunity supports U.S.-based organizations in conducting research to better understand and manage heart-related side effects of cancer treatments, with a focus on improving detection, monitoring, and data sharing.

This grant provides funding for research, education, and extension projects that aim to improve agricultural productivity and sustainability while addressing critical issues like climate change and food security, with a focus on supporting underserved communities and innovative practices.

The purpose of this FOA is to develop and maintain Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) to facilitate long-term improvements and innovation to the national integrated food safety system by unifying and coordinating federal/state/local human and animal food (HAF) emergency response efforts including:1) Strengthening the link among epidemiology, lab and environmental health/regulatory components;2) Improving States' regulatory and surveillance HAF protection programs to include using Incident Command System (ICS)/National Incident Management System (NIMS) principles and a Unified Command structure to conduct integrated responses to all-hazards HAF emergencies, rapidly identifying and removing tainted food from commerce, and conducting root cause investigations to inform future prevention efforts; and3) Addressing supporting components, such as training, data sharing, data analysis, communications, continuous process improvement, and development of best practices and other resources to support national response capacity/capability development.

The purpose of this funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is to support efficient natural history studies alone or in conjunction with the development and validation of clinical outcome assessments (COAs) and/or biomarker studies to address the unmet needs in rare neurodegenerative diseases for children and adults. Through the support of studies with high quality and interpretable data elements, FDA expects to address critical knowledge gaps, remove major barriers to progress in the field, exert a significant and broad impact on a specific rare neurodegenerative disease or multiple rare neurodegenerative diseases with similar pathophysiology, and facilitate rare disease product development.

This initiative provides funding to private sector entities, non-profits, and organizations that can partner with businesses to boost economic resilience and create sustainable job opportunities in Guinea's Kankan and N’Zerekore regions.

The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Wildlife Services (WS) is announcing the availability of around $5,500,000 in cooperative agreement funding to control and prevent chronic wasting disease (CWD) in wild cervids. The amount available will be based on the amount appropriated by Congress less administrative costs. Proposals may further develop and implement wild CWD surveillance, testing, management, and response activities, including further development and evaluation of techniques and strategies to prevent or control CWD in wild cervids. WS intends to achieve a balance between management and research proposals. USDA APHIS Wildlife Services (WS) is also announcing the availability of cooperative agreement funding for a separate funding opportunity for the control and prevention of CWD in wild cervids on Tribal lands under the title “FY24 Tribal Nations Wild Cervid CWD Opportunities”. These funds will be made available for Federally recognized Native American Tribal governments. Once posted, applicants can find this funding opportunity information on the ezFedGrants website or the Grants.gov website by searching this title, the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number (CFDA) Number 10.028, or the Funding Opportunity Number USDA-APHIS-10028-WSNWRC00-24-0005. USDA APHIS Veterinary Services (VS) is announcing a separate funding opportunity for the control and prevention of CWD in farmed cervids under the title “FY24 Farmed Cervid CWD Management and Response Activities.” Applicants can find this funding opportunity information on the ezFedGrants website or the Grants.gov website by searching this title, the CFDA number 10.025, or the Funding Opportunity Number USDA-APHIS-10025-VSSPRS00-24-0007.

This grant program supports: (1) training students for master's and doctoral degrees in food, agricultural and natural resource sciences; and (2) Special International Study or Thesis/Dissertation Research Travel Allowances (IRTA) for eligible USDA NNF beneficiaries.Awards are specifically intended to support traineeship programs that engage outstanding students to pursue and complete their degrees in USDA mission areas. Applicants provide clarity about the philosophy of their graduate training, and relevance to USDA mission sciences, NIFA priorities and national science education policies and statistics. Applications are being solicited from institutions that confer a graduate degree in at least one of the following Targeted Expertise Shortage Areas: 1) animal and plant production; 2) forest resources; 3) agricultural educators and communicators; 4) agricultural management and economics; 5) food science and human nutrition; 6) sciences for agricultural biosecurity; and 7) training in integrative biosciences for sustainable food and agricultural systems.

The 1890 CBG is intended to strengthen teaching, research and extension programs in the food and agricultural sciences by building the institutional capacities of the 1890 Land-Grant Institutions, including Tuskegee University, West Virginia State University, and Central State University (per Section 7129 of Pub. L. 113-79). The CBG program supports projects that strengthen teaching programs in the food and agricultural sciences in the need areas of curriculum design and materials development, faculty development, and others. CBG supports projects that strengthen research and extension programs in need areas of studies and experimentation, extension program development support systems, and others. The CBG also support integrated project grants. The intent of this initiative is to increase and strengthen food and agriculture sciences at the 1890s through integration of education, research and extension. Applications submitted to CBG must address at least one of the following NIFA strategic goals: sustainable bioenergy; food security; childhood obesity prevention; or food safety. See RFA for details.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), requests applications for the fiscal year (FY) 2024 only from the existing four initiatives of the Dairy Business Innovation (DBI) Initiatives program: the California State University Fresno Foundation, the University of Tennessee, the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, and the University of Wisconsin. These initiatives serve to:Diversify dairy product markets to reduce risk and develop higher value uses for dairy products,Promote business development that diversifies farmer income through processing and marketing innovation, andEncourage the use of regional milk production.

This funding opportunity provides financial support to organizations working to improve food security, nutrition, and education for children, particularly girls, in select developing countries through school feeding programs and related initiatives.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeks applications to develop, implement, and evaluate a human abuse potential (HAP) study of botanical Kratom. FDA has previously warned consumers about the use of Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa), a plant indigenous to Southeast Asia. Kratom alkaloids have demonstrated both affinity and activity at receptor sites known to be associated with abuse, such as mu opioid receptors. Although Kratom use is prevalent, to date, clinical evaluations of its abuse potential have been limited. The proposed HAP study should be performed in accordance with the guidance for industry, "Assessment of Abuse Potential of Drugs," including (but not limited to) the selection of an appropriate comparator(s) and outcome measures, statistical analyses etc. Interested parties, will also complete the submission of an Investigational New Drug (IND) application and obtain Institutional Review Board (IRB) clearance.

This program provides funding to U.S. colleges and universities to improve education in food, agriculture, and related sciences, with a focus on enhancing curricula, attracting diverse students, and fostering collaboration among institutions.

This funding opportunity provides financial support to organizations that deliver risk management education and training to U.S. agricultural producers, particularly those from underserved communities, helping them navigate various risks in farming.