Organic Transitions | USDA NIFA ICGP 006464

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NIFA ICGP 006464

The Organic Transitions Program (ORG) is a competitive grant opportunity run by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) that focuses on making organic agriculture more successful and scalable in the United States. Its central purpose is to fund integrated projects that help organic crop and livestock producers stay competitive, while also supporting farmers and ranchers who are in the process of adopting organic practices. In practice, this means NIFA is looking for proposals that do more than generate research results on a shelf; projects are expected to translate science into usable knowledge, decision support, and real-world improvements on farms.

A key theme of the program is strengthening the environmental benefits that organic farming systems can provide. ORG explicitly prioritizes work connected to soil conservation, pollinator health, and climate change mitigation, including efforts that address greenhouse gas emissions. Applicants are encouraged to design projects that can document, improve, or expand these services in organic systems, whether through field-based trials, systems comparisons, management innovations, or measurement and modeling approaches that help producers and advisors understand outcomes and tradeoffs.

Another strong priority is practical education and outreach. The program places value on developing educational tools and resources for Cooperative Extension personnel and other agricultural professionals who advise producers on organic production. The goal is to make it easier for trusted advisors to support organic decision-making with credible, up-to-date information, including regionally appropriate recommendations and training materials that can be adopted broadly.

ORG also highlights the need for innovation in organic-compliant management options, especially as certain materials may be recommended for removal from the National Organic Program (NOP) National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances. Because organic production has strict rules about inputs, the program is interested in cultural practices (management methods such as rotations, habitat management, mechanical strategies, timing, and other systems approaches) and other allowable alternatives that can replace restricted or potentially removed substances while keeping production viable and effective.

Project structure expectations are clear: proposals should integrate research, education, and extension in ways that match the project goals. While one component may be emphasized more heavily depending on the problem being addressed, every project is expected to include a meaningful research component plus at least one of the other two components (education or extension). In other words, a proposal should not be research-only; it needs an intentional pathway for getting results into the hands of students, professionals, producers, or communities, with measurable impact.

Eligibility is limited. Applications may only be submitted by colleges and universities that meet the definition in Section 1404 of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (NARETPA), as amended by later legislation (including provisions in the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008). If an applicant does not meet these eligibility requirements by the deadline, the application can be rejected or ruled ineligible for funding even if it is reviewed.

From the posted opportunity details, this is a discretionary grant program under CFDA 10.303, administered by NIFA. The funding opportunity title is "Organic Transitions," and the opportunity number is USDA NIFA ICGP 006464. The original closing date listed is March 29, 2018, and the opportunity record was created on January 8, 2018. The listing does not provide an award ceiling or the expected number of awards in the provided data, so applicants would typically need to consult the full request for applications or program page for budget limits, project duration, and other submission requirements.

• The National Institute of Food and Agriculture in the agriculture sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Organic Transitions" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.303.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2018-01-08.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2018-03-29. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for USDA NIFA ICGP 006464

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