Agriculture in the K-12 Classroom

To award up to one cooperative agreement to: 1. Ensure that future generations are agriculturally literate; 2. Encourage K-12 educators to integrate information about the food and agricultural system across curricula to assist students in understandi

The disciplines of agriculture and education have been related for much of our Nation's history. When most Americans lived on farms or in small towns, students often did farm chores before and after school. Old schoolbooks have numerous agricultural references. As the farming population began to decline, agricultural emphasis decreased in educational materials as well. NIFA's Agriculture in the Classroom Program (AITC) serves nearly 5 million students and 60,000 teachers annually through workshops, field trips, farm tours, and other educational activities. The AITC program works in partnership with state AITC organizations and to support activities addressing a variety of issues relating to agricultural literacy in rural and urban America.

Funds may be used only for the purpose for which they are granted in accordance with the approved application and budget, regulations, terms and conditions of the award, applicable federal cost principles, USDA assistance regulations, and NIFA General Awards Administration Provisions, 7 CFR Part 3430, subparts A through E.

Legislative mandated Indirect Cost (IDC): In the case of cooperative agreements with non-profits and institutions of Higher Education, Section 704 of the FY2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act. P.L. 117-328 applies. "No funds appropriated by this Act may be used to pay negotiated indirect cost rates on cooperative agreements or similar arrangements between the United States Department of Agriculture and nonprofit institutions in excess of 10 percent of the total direct cost of the agreement when the purpose of such cooperative arrangements is to carry out programs of mutual interest between the two parties." For other eligible entities, 7 U.S.C. 3310(a) limits indirect costs for the overall award to 30 percent of Total Federal Funds Awarded (TFFA) under a research, education, or extension grant.

NIFA will evaluate applications using the evaluation criteria described in the Notice of Funding Opportunity. In general, NIFA evaluates applications using a two-part process. First, NIFA screens each application to ensure that it meets the administrative requirements set forth in the Notice of Funding Opportunity. All administrative requirements must be met in order for the application to proceed to the next level of review. Second, a scientific peer-review process is used to technically evaluate applications that have met the administrative requirements using a review panel.

Within the limit of funds authorized, the NIFA awarding official will make grants to responsible and eligible applicants whose applications are judged most meritorious under the procedures set forth in the Notice of Funding Opportunity. The date specified by the NIFA awarding official as the effective date of the grant must be no later than September 30 of the federal fiscal year in which the project is approved for support and funds are appropriated for such purpose, unless otherwise permitted by law. The project need not be initiated on the grant effective date, but as soon thereafter as practical so that project goals may be attained within the funded project period.

Renewal applications must contain the same information as required for new applications and must contain a progress report. The progress report must include the implementation of the data management plan (DMP) of the previously funded project. Renewal applications are subject to the same criteria and due dates specified in the Notice of Funding Opportunity. Applicants submitting a renewal application must enter the NIFA-assigned proposal number of the previously approved application in the Federal Field (Field 4) on the application form.