National Clean Plant Network Request for Applications

This program makes funding available for the National Clean Plant Network (NCPN) for FY 2015 as provided under the Agricultural Act of 2014, commonly referred to as the Farm Bill of 2014, specifically Section 10007. The National Clean Plant Network (NCPN) provides high quality asexually propagated plant material free of targeted plant pathogens and pests that cause economic loss to protect the environment and ensure the global competitiveness of specialty crop producers. Priorities for this program include: 1) establishing and supporting clean plant network governance and related administrative and support systems; 2) providing for operations needed for the rapid and safe introduction, diagnosis, treatment, foundation block establishment and release of clean plant materials for planting from foreign and domestic sources for commercial development; 3) conducting methods development to accurately test, develop therapies, and support the establishment of guidelines and standards for different crop species for certification maintenance; 4) developing partnerships with land-grant and other university-based extension and state departments of agriculture and outreach services to interact with commercial nurseries, industry associations and producers; and 5) developing and implementing audit and quality controls. Funding will be provided to Land-Grant Universities, Non Land-Grant Colleges of Agriculture, State Agricultural Experiment Stations, State Governments, and Federal Agencies to support implementation and ongoing activities of the NCPN. Applications for cooperative agreement funding are given priority if they are based on specialty crop specific, coordinated plans for developing and maintaining a comprehensive, cohesive and efficient network.