Funding Opportunities for the Western IPM Center

CSREES Grants: Enhancing the Prosperity of Small Farms and Rural Agricultural Communities

From: Deb Hamernik
National Program Leader, Animal Physiology
USDA-CSREES National Research Initiative (NRI)

Subject: New Funding Opportunity: Small Farms & Rural Ag Communities

I am writing to let you know of a new funding opportunity within the USDA-CSREES National Research Initiative (NRI) competitive grants program:

66.0 Enhancing the Prosperity of Small Farms and Rural Agricultural Communities

More information is available on the Web site. Questions regarding the suitability of proposals should be directed to Dr. Siva Sureshwaran or Dr. Diana Jerkins.

Proposals must be received by October 5, 2004.

Integrated research, education, and extension project awards for this program are expected to have a total budget (including indirect costs) of no more than $500,000 for 2-4 years of support.

Approximately $5 million will be available for awards. This Request for Applications (RFA) is a combined solicitation for Fiscal Years (FY) 2004 and 2005. It is anticipated that this program will be offered again as part of the regular NRI RFA in FY2006.

The purpose of this program is to foster interdisciplinary studies and improve our understanding of the interactions between the economic, social, biological, and environmental components important to small farms and rural economic development. Applicants are expected to propose hypotheses that are testable and to use quantitative approaches. Projects should address small farms, rural agricultural communities, or both small farms and rural communities when interrelated.

Proposals are sought that develop and test hypotheses in the following priority areas:

(a) comparisons of approaches to environmental management and compliance related to the prosperity of rural communities and/or profitability of agricultural products;

(b) analysis of the interactions that affect high return production, processing and delivery channels, and in turn, enhance profitability of small farms;

(c) evaluation of the interplay between social, economic, biological and environmental factors that affect the adoption of new agricultural technology, management and/or foster rural agribusiness development; or

(d) identification of emerging opportunities and threats for small to medium sized farms, and associated rural communities over the next 20 years.

An example of a successful outcome of an integrated project supported by this program is the development, testing and implementation of new models and assessment tools for small farms and rural communities in one of the four priority areas.

Feel free to share this information with your colleagues. Good luck!

Deb Hamernik
National Program Leader, Animal Physiology