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The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture is accepting applications for its Ag Research Grants. Donor Name: Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture State: Pennsylvania County: All Counties Type of Grant: Grant Deadline: 06/07/2024 Size of the Grant: Not Available Grant Duration: 2 Years Details: The Department of Agriculture (Department) is soliciting applications to conduct agricultural research on one or more of the following research topic areas, with the research to be conducted from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2026, with the possibility, but not the assurance, of extending that research into subsequent years. All funding is contingent upon 2024-2025 budget appropriations. This notice establishes the procedures by which grant applications will be solicited and reviewed, and by which grants will be awarded. Research Topic Areas  Though not exclusive of original research topics, the Department is particularly interested in funding projects in the following areas: Ongoing multiyear research projects. The Department has, in previous years, provided funding for various multiyear research projects that might be continued or extended to complete research the Department identifies as addressing continued priorities of the agricultural industry, such as: Examining the economic impact of pest infestations like Phorid Flies and Spotted Lanternflies and identifying mitigating measures. Measuring the impacts on the Chesapeake Bay on farm management practices that have not received Federal or State Government cost-sharing assistance. Agriculture The Department requests applications for projects that: Gather and analyze food action plans. Study the impact of the Double Up Food Bucks program. Analyze of the Senior Food Nutrition Program and the Farmers Market Nutrition Program. Study of the surplus food recovery. Validate consumer affairs reporting on PA food prices. Analyze of the TEFAP program. Analyze/survey PA workforce. Study economic impact. Survey carbon community planners. Analyze Urban Agriculture capacity index. Incentivizing urban agriculture land stewardship. Identify current and potential funders for urban agriculture. Identify soil testing and remediation strategies for urban agriculture, particularly how these strategies can be operationalized, their benefits measured and the cost of implementation. Assess the quantity and quality of available on-farm and off-farm housing for agricultural workers, including farm owners. Study barriers to land access, particularly for BIPOC farmers and in rural communities. Energy in agriculture The Department is interested in further scientific study in areas such that: Analyze and map energy generation from agricultural products, plastic products and waste products. Analyze options to reduce greenhouse gases emitted by normal agricultural operations. Identify challenges and opportunities with Agrivoltaics such as gaps, barriers, implementation of panels modified to support Pennsylvania agriculture. Life Science The Department seeks applications that address animal health concerns, such as: Wildlife crop damage. Impacts to states on changing Medicare rules to allow more fresh foods to consumer health. One Health—Proposals that promote humans, the environment, animals, living together harmoniously. Animal Health—Proposals that improve or seek to understand aspects of animal health important to agriculture in this Commonwealth. Diagnosis of Animal Diseases—Proposals that promote the diagnosis of animal diseases that are important to Commonwealth animal agriculture. Animal Productivity—Proposals that seek to improve the productivity of agricultural animals in this Commonwealth. Animal Welfare—Proposals that seek to improve the welfare of agricultural animals in this Commonwealth. Review and recommend Federal Milk Marketing Order recommendations that would be most beneficial to PA dairy industry. Review and recommend alternatives to the current PA Milk Board Over-Order Premium that would be most advantageous to the PA dairy industry. Chronic Wasting Disease strategy development to reduce incidents and (or) live animal test development. Manufacturing The Department requests applications for projects that address: Food production residual waste. Assess incentives needed to increase organic processing. Biodegradable packaging and other environmental factors in selecting food and beverage products. Pharmaceutical or industrial uses for milk proteins or other milk components. Assess conversion of spent mushroom substrate to bio-char on energy and biomass uses and soil amendment uses. Robotic Technology Research what technology farmers use now and what technology they may use in five years. Assess the application and deployment of Augmented Reality on Pennsylvania animal and plant industries. For more information, visit Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.

Applications are now being accepted for the ​​2024-2025 Ag Conservation Research Grants. Donor Name: Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture State: Pennsylvania County: All Counties Type of Grant: Grant Deadline: 06/07/2024 Size of the Grant: More than $1 million Grant Duration: 2 Years Details: The Department of Agriculture (Department) is soliciting applications to conduct agricultural conservation research on one or more of the following research topic areas, with the research to be conducted from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2026, with the possibility, but not the assurance, of extending that research into subsequent years. This notice establishes the procedures by which grant applications will be solicited and reviewed, and by which grants will be awarded. This funding is made available through the Clean Streams Fund Nutrient Management federal ARPA funds. The Department intends to make up to $1,500,000 available for grants under the Program. Research Topic Areas Though not exclusive of original research topics, the Department is particularly interested in funding conservation research projects that are able to do the following: Identify the sources of nuisance emissions in the mushroom industry and best mitigation practices that are applicable to Pennsylvania operations. Quantify emissions from the mushroom industry and measure the impact of best practices that are deployed. Quantify the impact of Manure Treatment Technologies (MTT) on water quality, including traceability of nutrients as they are processed. Additionally, provide recommendations for best available technology and or best practices to improve MTT utilization. Quantify the impact of precision feeding and review implications for nutrient reductions. Quantify the climate benefits of best management practices installed through the Agriculture Conservation Assistance Program and Conservation Excellence Grant programs (ACAP & CEG). Quantify the ability of non-traditional biomass crops to uptake excess nutrients and or contaminants like PFAS. Design a method in which to quantify the climate impacts of agriculture operations. Additionally, the work should be able to measure the impact of BMP implementation on a farm’s climate impact. Evaluate the nutrient value and traceability of food processing residuals (FPRs). This should consider the movement of material from producer to applicator to farm owner. For more information, visit Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.