Funding Opportunities for the Western Region

National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Announces FY 2010 RFA for the Supplemental and Alternative Crops Competitive Grants Program (Deadline is May 6, 2010)

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From: Kathy Kimble-Day
Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2010 7:36 AM
To: Integrated Pest Management Coordinators -- USDA, EPA, Private Industry, and University Contacts
Subject: Supplemental and Alternative Crops RFA

The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is pleased to announce the release of the FY 2010 Request for Applications (RFA) for the Supplemental and Alternative Crops Competitive Grants Program. This program supports canola crop research whose primary objectives are to significantly increase crop production and/or acreage by development and testing of superior germplasm, methods of planting, cultivation, harvesting, and transfer of such applied research from experimental sites to on farm practice as soon as practicable.

Link to Request for Applications: http://www.nifa.usda.gov/fo/supplementalandalternativecrops.cfm?pg=5. There you will find the RFA in text and PDF versions, information on applying electronically, and abstracts of previously funded projects.

Program synopsis in Grant.gov: http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do;jsessionid=pfJ7L2xpFpy6rCHJH9w3ggvWxHbjcgcvvpJKLV6Q9SsyMSDW5C13!482146507?oppId=53424&mode=VIEW. There you will find a synopsis of the funding opportunity, a link to the full announcement (RFA) and the application instructions and the application package.

Deadline: Applications must be received in Grants.gov by 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday, May 6th, 2010. Applications received after this deadline will normally not be considered for funding. The agency strongly encourages applicants to submit applications well before the deadline to allow time for correction of technical errors identified by Grants.gov.

Please note: It has recently come to our attention that some applicants have experienced difficulty when trying to enter information into block 4.b. of the R&R Other Project Information form if they check ‘yes’ in block 4.a. We are looking into having this corrected; however, if you experience this problem, please save the form, close out of the package, and then open it up, again. You should then be able to enter information into block 4.b.

If you have questions regarding the RFA, please contact:
Dr. James Parochetti, or (202) 401-4354.

If you have questions regarding the application packet, contact the NIFA Help Desk:
Email: electronic@nifa.usda.gov, Phone: (202) 401-5048, business hours are M-F, 7:00 am – 5 pm ET, excluding Federal holidays.

If you have any questions related to Grants.gov content, contact the Grants.gov Contact Center:
Email: support@grants.gov, Phone: Toll Free: 1-800-518-4726, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, excluding Federal holidays.

Note: It is suggested that for immediate assistance call Grants.gov, rather than email.

Useful Links:
NIFA Grant Application Information: www.nifa.usda.gov/funding/application_info.html.
Grants.gov Help: www.grants.gov/help/help.jsp.

Kathy Kimble-Day
Program Specialist
Plant and Animal Systems
USDA - National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Phone: (202) 401-4420
Fax: (202) 401-4888
NIFA Website