The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is now accepting applications for the Agricultural Growth, Research, and Innovation (AGRI) Crop Research Grant program.
Donor Name: Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA)
State: Minnesota
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 10/29/2024
Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000
Grant Duration: 3 Years
Details:
Grant funds are intended to generate applied crop research with near-term benefits (three to seven years) for Minnesota’s farmers and the state’s economy. Applied research is research that utilizes existing scientific knowledge to develop practical applications, like technology, techniques, or inventions. It’s expected that the research funded under this program will be made available to the public, and proposals must include an outreach plan describing how results will be shared.
Priorities
This grant program will prioritize:
- Research on crops with limited access to other research funds.
- Projects with an outreach plan describing how activities or outcomes meaningfully involve or inform farmers or rural communities with limited economic opportunities.
Funding Information
MDA expects to award approximately $1.2 million using a competitive review process. No more than $250,000 will be awarded per proposal.
Grant Period
Projects can last up to three years.
Eligible Expenses
Eligible expenses include but are not limited to:
- Personnel costs for individuals involved in the research project
- Travel costs directly related to the project’s outcomes or objectives
- Supplies or equipment required to conduct research
- Laboratory or analysis costs
- Contracted services
- Communications costs related to outreach
- Payments or stipends to farmers or other external project participants
- Plot fees and services.
Eligible Projects
Projects must produce applied research that will benefit Minnesota agriculture, its producers, or associated industries within three to seven years. Applied research involves using existing scientific knowledge to address practical challenges or problems. This program does not fund basic research, which focuses on the advancement of scientific knowledge.
Project examples include but are not limited to projects that:
- Increase crop yield or quality
- Improve or develop traits desired for a specific market or climate
- Develop new crops
- Advance new uses for crops
- Involve crop breeding
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicants must:
- Represent an organization or research entity with an agricultural research capability.
- Be in good standing with the State of Minnesota:
- No back taxes owed.
- No defaults on Minnesota state-backed financing for the last seven years.
- Acceptable performance on past MDA grants. Compliant with current state regulations.
- Not be an MDA employee, spouse of an employee of the MDA, or a business owned by them.
- Examples of eligible applicants:
- Institutions of higher education
- Farmer networks
- Nonprofit organizations
- Research institutions
- Agricultural cooperatives
- Agricultural businesses with research capabilities.
For more information, visit MDA.
