Alfalfa Seed and Alfalfa Forage Systems | USDA NIFA OP 009108

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NIFA OP 009108

The Alfalfa Seed and Alfalfa Forage Systems program (ASAFS), offered by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), is a discretionary grant opportunity focused on strengthening how alfalfa is produced, managed, evaluated, and improved in the United States. The program is designed to support practical, research-based advances in both alfalfa forage systems (alfalfa grown for animal feed) and alfalfa seed systems (alfalfa grown for seed used in propagation). In general, ASAFS is aiming to improve on-farm performance and profitability while also addressing agronomic and biological constraints that limit yield, stand life, and feed value.

Projects submitted to ASAFS are expected to align with one or more of five priority areas. First, the program supports work that improves alfalfa forage and seed yields through better management of nutrients, water, and pests. This can include research and system development around fertilization strategies, irrigation and water-use efficiency, integrated pest management, and other practices that measurably raise productivity. Second, ASAFS emphasizes improving the persistence of alfalfa stands, meaning extending how long an alfalfa planting remains productive, by reducing the impact of both biotic stresses (like diseases, insects, and other living threats) and abiotic stresses (like drought, heat, winter injury, salinity, or other environmental pressures). Third, the program encourages innovations in harvesting and storage systems for both forage and seed, with a clear goal of optimizing economic returns. That includes reducing losses and quality degradation during harvest, handling, and storage, improving efficiency, and developing methods that preserve value from field to market. Fourth, ASAFS highlights the need to improve estimates and measurements of alfalfa forage quality for use as animal feed, with the broader objective of increasing adoption and utilization of alfalfa in feed rations. This priority can include better analytical methods, predictive tools, or systems that help producers and livestock managers understand and capture the feeding value of alfalfa more accurately. Fifth, the program supports breeding efforts that address biotic and abiotic stresses affecting forage yield, stand persistence, and reliable seed production, recognizing that genetic improvement is a long-term lever for resilience and performance across diverse production environments.

Eligibility is broad but clearly defined. Applications may be submitted by state agricultural experiment stations, colleges and universities, university research foundations, other research institutions and organizations, federal agencies, national laboratories, private organizations (including foundations or corporations), and individual applicants who are U.S. citizens or nationals. Collaborative proposals are also allowed, including groups made up of two or more eligible entity types. While only eligible applicants may apply directly, award recipients are allowed to subcontract portions of the work to organizations that are not themselves eligible to apply, as long as those partners are necessary to carry out the project. The opportunity also makes clear that eligibility is enforced at the deadline: failing to meet an eligibility requirement by the application closing date can lead to an application being excluded from consideration, or even if reviewed, it can prevent NIFA from making an award.

Key administrative details from the listing include the opportunity title, Alfalfa Seed and Alfalfa Forage Systems, and the funding opportunity number USDA NIFA OP 009108. The assistance listing (CFDA) number is 10.330, and the activity category is agriculture. The funding instrument is a grant, and the opportunity category is discretionary. The original closing date shown is 2022-06-02, with a creation date of 2022-04-20. The listed award ceiling is $900,000. The agency administering the competition is the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).

• The National Institute of Food and Agriculture in the agriculture sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Alfalfa Seed and Alfalfa Forage Systems" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.330.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2022-04-20.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-06-02. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $900,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for USDA NIFA OP 009108

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