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USDA/NIFA: Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative 2025

The Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI) seeks to solve critical organic agriculture issues, priorities, or problems through the integration of research, education, and extension activities.

Donor Name: National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)

State: All States

County: All Counties

Type of Grant: Grant

Deadline: 02/13/2025

Size of the Grant: More than $1 million

Grant Duration: 4 Years

Details:

The purpose of this program is to fund projects that will enhance the ability of producers and processors who have already adopted organic standards to grow and market high quality organic agricultural products. Priority concerns include biological, physical, and social sciences, including economics. The OREI is particularly interested in projects that emphasize research, education and outreach that assist farmers and ranchers with whole farm planning by delivering practical research-based information. Projects should plan to deliver applied production information to producers. Fieldwork must be done on certified organic land or on land in transition to organic certification, as appropriate to project goals and objectives. Refer to the USDA National Organic Program for organic production standards.

Goals

  • Facilitating the development and improvement of organic agriculture production, breeding, and processing methods;
  • Evaluating the potential economic benefits of organic agricultural production and methods to producers, processors, and rural communities;
  • Exploring international trade opportunities for organically grown and processed agricultural commodities;
  • Determining desirable traits for organic commodities;
  • Identifying marketing and policy constraints on the expansion of organic agriculture;
  • Conducting advanced on-farm research and development that emphasizes observation of, experimentation with, and innovation for working organic farms, including research relating to production, marketing, food safety, socioeconomic conditions, and farm business management;
  • Examining optimal conservation, soil health, and environmental outcomes relating to organically produced agricultural products; and
  • Developing new and improved seed varieties that are particularly suited for organic agriculture.

Priorities

Proposals are encouraged in the following areas based on legislated goals and stakeholder input (not listed in order of importance):

  • Conduct advanced on-farm crop, livestock, or integrated livestock-crop research and development that emphasize observation of, experimentation with, and innovation for organic farms, including production, marketing, socioeconomic, and environmental considerations. These issues could include both identification of factors reducing yields, efficiency, productivity, and economic returns on organic farms and the economic and socioeconomic contributions of organic farming to producers, processors, and local communities. This priority includes studies that help producers monitor and improve soil health and fertility, adapt to climate change, as well as studies focusing on soil, plant and/or livestock associated microbiome with practical applications to organic production systems. The development of tools and testing methodologies that can help protect the organic integrity is encouraged under this priority.
  • Develop and demonstrate tools for Cooperative Extension personnel and other professionals who advise producers on organic practices. Applications bringing end-users together with OREI-funded research, education, and extension teams are encouraged.
  • For both plant and animal-based organic products: evaluate, develop, and improve allowable post-harvest handling, processing, and food safety practices to reduce toxins and microbial contamination, while increasing shelf-life, quality, and other economically important characteristics.
  • Strengthen organic crop propagation systems, including seed and transplant production and protection, and plant breeding for organic production conditions, with an emphasis on publicly available releases. Goals of organic propagation and breeding-focused proposals can include, but are not limited to: disease, weed, and pest resistance; stress tolerance including resilience to drought, flood, extreme temperatures and other climate change impacts; nutrient use efficiency; performance in soil-improving and climate-smart systems such as organic no-till; quality and yield improvement; and genetic mechanisms to prevent inadvertent introduction of GMO traits through cross-pollination. This priority includes cover crop breeding for enhanced performance in organic systems. Projects dealing solely with cultivar evaluation do not fit under this priority.
  • Explore technologies that meet the requirements of the National Organic Program (NOP) and protect soil, water, and other natural resources. This includes developing, improving, and evaluating systems-based integrated management programs to address diseases, nematodes, weeds, and insect pests-related problems for organically grown crops. Systems-based evaluations can include the safety and efficacy of allowable pest management materials and practices. Proposals addressing organic management of diseases, nematodes, weeds, and insect pests in the Southern Region are especially encouraged. Where possible, the projects should engage emerging technologies such as automation, remote sensing, precision agriculture, artificial intelligence, and digital scouting to enhance plant protection and weed control as well as improve productivity.
  • Develop or improve systems-based animal production, animal health, and pest management practices to improve animal productivity, health, and welfare while retaining or enhancing economic viability, and mitigating the impacts of climate change. Systems may include but are not limited to grazing and pasture-based systems (including rotational grazing), integrated livestock-crop systems, and the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) confinement standards. Projects should capitalize on emerging opportunities such as automation, artificial intelligence, deep learning, and precision management in animal production, welfare, and health; managing risk as appropriate, to continue to advance animal research programs and sustain effective technology transfer.
  • Breed, evaluate, and select animal breeds and genotypes adapted to organic systems. This would include but is not restricted to: identification of and selection for pest, parasite, and disease resistance; health and performance under organic pasture and feed regimens (especially soil-enhancing and climate friendly systems such as management of intensive rotational grazing and multispecies grazing); resilience to heat, fluctuating forage quality, and other stresses related to climate change; and performance in small, mixed, or other innovative farming operations.
  • Develop undergraduate and/or graduate curriculum for organic agriculture. Education activities under this priority may include instructional delivery programs and experiential learning including student-farmer engagement for students enrolled in associate, baccalaureate, masters, or Ph.D. degree programs.
  • Identify marketing, policy, and other socioeconomic barriers to the expansion of organic agriculture in the United States and develop strategies to address them. Lobbying and advocacy activities are not appropriate under this priority.

Project and Grant Types

The following describes the types of projects or grants that are eligible for funding:

  • Integrated Project Proposals: Integrated project proposals must include research and at least one additional element of the other two functions of the agricultural knowledge system (education and extension). Awards will be made as grants. To accommodate projects differing in scope, three types of integrated project proposals are offered. However, projects with similar content and same investigators may not be submitted to more than one project category.
    • Tier 1 Proposals. Proposals addressing program priorities with a maximum award amount of $3,500,000. These are large, coordinated projects addressing critical issues that cut across multiple regions. An advisory panel is strongly recommended for Tier 1 proposals.
    • Tier 2 Proposals. Proposals addressing program priorities with a maximum award amount of $2,000,000. These are multidisciplinary projects addressing issues that may be either national or regional.
    • Tier 3 Proposals. Proposals addressing specific critical constraints with a maximum award amount of $1,000,000, reflecting the possibly narrower scope of these projects or locality-specific nature.
  • Curriculum Development Proposals: Curriculum development proposals provide assistance in the development of undergraduate and/or graduate curriculum in organic agriculture. Education activities under this priority may include instructional delivery programs and experiential learning including student-farmer engagement for students enrolled in associate, baccalaureate, masters, or Ph.D. degree programs. Routine use of students as personnel on research projects is not considered education for the purposes of this priority and students should be actively engaged in the scholarship of the research/extension projects. Programs designed to educate growers are considered extension rather than educational activities for the purpose of this RFA. Projects must be innovative and promote and strengthen academic instruction or activities that lead to completion of a student’s formal degree or certificate program. Projects should have broad-based applicability beyond a single course or an individual instructor. Projects are encouraged to include partnerships among several academic units or institutions to more efficiently deliver coordinated, academic instruction that reduces instructional duplication and costs. This priority is not intended to duplicate activities targeting farmers and non-academic institutions. Those activities are considered extension and outreach and may continue to be included in integrated project proposals. Curriculum development proposals cannot exceed $750,000 total budget per award for a period of up to four years.
  • Conference Proposals: Conference proposals support workshops or symposia bringing together scientists and others, including end-users, to identify research, education, or extension needs; update information; or advance understanding of organic issues and problems using a systems-based approach. These should occur within 12 months of the award start date. Conferences providing current information to farmers and ranchers should be held to the extent possible in conjunction with meetings regularly attended by organic producers and processors. Conference proposals should go beyond just meeting activities and should lead to clear outputs and outcomes. Documentation of outputs and outcomes may include, but is not limited to proceedings, white papers, opinion papers, fact sheets, bulletins, or priority setting. This information should be publicly available. Conference proposal awards cannot exceed $75,000.
  • Planning Proposals: Planning proposals provide assistance in the development of future OREI proposals requiring multi-regional or regional coordination. Proposals are encouraged from applicants who: (a) demonstrate limited resources for submitting large grant applications, (b) articulate anticipated benefits from the proposed planning activities, or (c) present evidence that the resulting OREI application will have a high probability of success. Applicants are encouraged to budget for planning meetings that bring together scientists, end-users, and technology providers. Applicants should detail the types of participants who will be invited in order to document that planning meeting participants represent a broad range of expertise. Planning proposals should lead to clear outputs and outcomes. Documentation of outputs and outcomes may include but is not limited to white papers, opinion paper, priority setting, etc. This information should be publicly available. Planning proposal awards cannot exceed $50,000 and are not renewable. Funding of a planning proposal is not a guarantee that the resulting application will be funded by NIFA. Planning proposals will be reviewed by the panel using the same standards as all other proposals. It is expected that planning proposal activities supported by this program will occur within 12 months of award start date. Planning proposals, from or including small, mid-sized and minority-serving institutions are particularly welcomed. Planning proposals are not intended to generate preliminary data.

Funding Information

  • Tier 1 Integrated Proposal 3 to 4 years (Approx. $3,500,000)
  • Tier 2 Integrated Proposal 3 to 4 years (Approx. $2,000,000)
  • Tier 3 Integrated Proposal 3 to 4 years (Approx. $1,000,000)
  • Curriculum Development Proposal 3 to 4 years (Approx. $750,000)
  • Conference Proposal 1 year (Approx. $75,000)
  • Planning Proposal 1 year (Approx. $50,000).

Eligibility Criteria 

Applications may only be submitted by the following entities:

  • State agricultural experiment stations;
  • Colleges and universities;
  • University research foundations;
  • Other research institutions and organizations;
  • Federal agencies;
  • National laboratories;
  • Private organizations, foundations, or corporations;
  • Individuals who are United States citizens or nationals; or
  • A group consisting of two or more of the entities described in subparagraphs (1) through (8).

For more information, visit Grants.gov.

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