Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** in recent years the whole quinoa…

The National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded Lincoln University $594,183 on December 15, 2025, under the 1890 Institution Capacity Building Grants program (CFDA 10.216) to assess quinoa whole plant as an alternative forage crop for small ruminants.

Lincoln University will conduct four integrated research and education objectives over a three-year performance period ending December 14, 2028. The work includes assessing nutritional compounds in the entire quinoa plant; characterizing nutrient utilization, ruminal fermentation, microbial communities, and feed values; evaluating the economics of production, processing, and marketing; and training students in crop production. Preliminary findings indicate that quinoa forage at complete blooming stage exhibits nutritional and feed values comparable to alfalfa, prompting investigation into its viability as sheep and goat feed. Lincoln University will disseminate results to farmers, small animal producers, and the scientific community through demonstration plots, field days, and workshops conducted at the Jefferson City, Missouri campus. The 1890 Institution Capacity Building Grants program funds capacity building in teaching, research, and Extension at historically Black land-grant universities.

Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** in recent years the whole quinoa plant has been studied in a few asian and european countries for potential use as a forage crop due to the high nutritional value of the entire plant. So far, no study has been conducted in the U.S. To determine quinoa forage yield nutritional contents and feed values. Our preliminary results indicated that the nutritional and feed values of the entire quinoa plant (at the complete blooming stage) are very high and comparable with alfalfa forage values. We hypothesize that quinoa whole plant can be used as a an alternative feed for small ruminants (sheep and goats). We will test our hypothesis by following the objectives:(1) assess nutritional compounds in the entire quinoa plant (2) characterize nutrient utilization ruminal fermentation including microbial communities and feed values (3) evaluate the economics of production processing andmarketing and (4) educate and train students in crop production. In addition, we will disseminate this information to farmers small animal producers and the scientific community through demonstration plots field days and workshops. Our proposal is innovative because the characterization of quinoa plants' nutritional rumen degradation and feed values will help US introduce a alternative and viable forage crop for small ruminants to bring economic benefits to the farmers and producers.