Project Grant NR226114XXXXG002

This Project Grant award from the United States Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), under the Integrated Programs (CFDA 10.303), will support an investigation into the feasibility and impacts of integrating living mulch into organic vegetable production systems in South Dakota. The $300,181.72 grant, awarded on June 1, 2025, will fund research at the University of California, Davis to evaluate the performance of different organic management practices,...

The Regents of the University of Minnesota has been awarded a $1,314,290.19 Project Grant from the USDA's Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI) program. The four-year grant, which began on September 15, 2023, aims to increase the adoption of cover cropping practices among organic high tunnel vegetable producers in the Upper Midwest and New England. Through on-farm trials, replicated experiments, educational case studies, and farmer training programs, the project will:...

This $1,000,000 Project Grant award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (CFDA 10.303 - Integrated Programs) aims to increase sustainable organic production within the Pacific Northwest, Southeast, and Northeast regions of the United States. The key objectives are to evaluate the impacts of integrating livestock grazing under various cropping systems on farms transitioning to organic systems, determine the effects of cover crops and grazing...

This $997,301 federal Project Grant awarded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Integrated Programs (CFDA 10.303) will fund a 3-year project to develop tailored soil health management practices (SHMPs) guidelines for organic grain farmers in Wisconsin. The key objectives are to: Conduct statewide soil health, nutrient use efficiency, and crop yield assessments under different SHMPs, Develop and validate farm-scale machine learning models to estimate crop yield...

This Project Grant award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) (CFDA 10.310) totaling $749,045 is designed to comprehensively assess the long-term (10-15 year) impacts of early- and late-terminated cover crops on soil organic carbon pools and soil health indicators within the soil profile to at least 1 meter depth. The project will leverage two existing 10-year experiments in...

This $3,500,000 Project Grant award from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Integrated Programs (CFDA 10.303) will enable the Tomato Organic Management and Improvement Project (TOMI) to develop practical tools for organic tomato farmers to prevent foliar disease outbreaks and deliver high-quality tomatoes demanded by local consumers. The key products and services to be delivered include: Identifying critical factors to promote the efficacy of biocontrol agents and...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded a $999,297 Project Grant under the NIFA Integrated Programs (CFDA 10.303) to Purdue University. The 4-year award aims to address barriers to organic farming growth in Indiana by: (1) establishing an Indiana Organic Network to facilitate on-farm research, peer learning, and communications among organic and transitioning farmers; (2) conducting soil health assessments on organic farms to understand the...

The Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service awarded a $727,606 cooperative agreement to Iowa State University of Science and Technology from March 15, 2021 to July 31, 2024 under the Agricultural Research Basic and Applied Research program (CFDA 10.001). The award will support Iowa State University's efforts to develop a rapid cycling breeding program to produce maize varieties suited for organic seed production. Specifically, the university will breed corn to enable organic seed...

This $998,987 project grant awarded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture under the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (CFDA 10.307) aims to provide vital assistance to transitioning and organic vegetable growers in managing root-knot nematodes, a major pest that poses significant barriers to successful organic vegetable production. The key products and services to be delivered through this 3-year project include: 1) identifying root-knot nematode...

This Project Grant award of $959,956.00 from the United States Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA) Integrated Programs (CFDA 10.303) will support research and extension activities to evaluate the use of electric weed control (EWC) as a practical, economically viable, and environmentally compatible weed management strategy for organic vegetable production systems in the Pacific Northwest. The key objectives are to: (1) integrate EWC into no-till...