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A. Purpose and Priorities The National Food Safety Training, Education, Extension, Outreach, and Technical Assistance Program will award grants that increase the understanding and adoption of established food safety standards, guidance, and protocols. Grants awarded through this program will be carried out in a manner that facilitates the integration of food safety standards and guidance with a variety of agricultural production systems, including conventional, sustainable, organic, and conservation and environmental practices carried out by the eligible entities. The assistance provided by these programs, to the extent practicable, shall be coordinated with and delivered in cooperation with similar services or assistance by other federal agencies or programs serving those eligible entities. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) have joined in a collaborative partnership to administer and manage the National Food Safety Training, Education, Extension, Outreach, and Technical Assistance Program. This program is designed to develop a comprehensive food safety training, education and technical assistance program for those affected by the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). Specifically, this program will address the needs of owners and operators of small and medium-sized farms, beginning farmers, socially disadvantaged farmers, small processors, and small fresh fruit and vegetable merchant wholesalers. The joint program will award competitive grant funds that enable awardees to establish a National Coordination Center (NCC) for Food Safety Training, Education, Extension, Outreach, and Technical Assistance and Regional Centers (RC) for Food Safety Training, Education, Extension, Outreach, and Technical Assistance across the country for food safety training, education, and technical assistance. Project Teams for the RCs will reach out into local communities to work wi

The Basic Research to Enable Agricultural Development (BREAD) Program was established in 2009 as a National Science Foundation (NSF) program supported in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). The goal of BREAD is to support innovative basic scientific research designed to address key constraints to smallholder agriculture in the developing world. Proposals submitted to BREAD must make a clear and well-defined connection between the outcomes of the proposed basic research and its direct relevance and potential application to agriculture in the developing world. In FY 2015, activities in two focus areas will be supported: (1) Developing High Throughput, Low Cost Phenotyping Tools and Devices to facilitate assessment of field-based phenotypes, especially for root and tuber crops (PHENO), and (2) Advancing Basic Research in Crop Plants Relevant to Smallholder Agriculture in Developing Countries (ABRDC) to develop critically needed sequence and functional genomics resources to enable basic and applied research in crop plants important for smallholder agriculture. As in past competitions, proposals are expected to address project outcomes in the context of broader societal impacts, and as appropriate to the research proposed, engage international partners in scientific collaborations.

For fiscal year (FY) 2015, BRDI will require that funded projects address only one (1) of the following three (3) legislatively mandated technical areas: 1. Feedstocks development - The intent of this Topic Area is to address research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) activities regarding feedstocks and feedstock logistics (including harvest, handling, transport, preprocessing, and storage) relevant to production of raw materials for conversion to biofuels and biobased products. The BRDI program is designed to support near-term commercial systems. Projects should emphasize development and optimization of existing feedstocks that will be available for testing and demonstration during the life of the project. Proposals that include breeding or genetic improvement of feedstocks should reconcile this work with the Program's emphasis on near-term impacts. 2. Biofuels and biobased products development - The intent of this Topic Area is to address RD&D activities to support (i) development of diverse cost-effective technologies for the use of cellulosic biomass in the production of biofuels, bioenergy, and biobased products; and, (ii) product diversification through technologies relevant to the production of a range of biobased products (including chemicals, animal feeds, and cogeneration power) that potentially can increase the feasibility of fuel production in a biorefinery. 3. Biofuels development analysis - The intent of this Topic Area is to apply systems evaluation methods that can be used to optimize system performance and market potential and to quantify the project's impact on sustainability; therefore, successful applications will consider the lifecycle (cradle-to-grave) impacts including environmental, social, and economic implications that are attributable to the project. Successful projects should include these sustainability data in engineering process models and be used over the life of the project to improve the system and quantify sust

The Basic Research to Enable Agricultural Development (BREAD) Program was established in 2009 as a National Science Foundation (NSF) program supported in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). The goal of BREAD is to support innovative basic scientific research designed to address key constraints to smallholder agriculture in the developing world. Proposals submitted to BREAD must make a clear and well-defined connection between the outcomes of the proposed basic research and its direct relevance and potential application to agriculture in the developing world. In FY 2015, activities in two focus areas will be supported: (1) Developing High Throughput, Low Cost Phenotyping Tools and Devices to facilitate assessment of field-based phenotypes, especially for root and tuber crops (PHENO), and (2) Advancing Basic Research in Crop Plants Relevant to Smallholder Agriculture in Developing Countries (ABRDC) to develop critically needed sequence and functional genomics resources to enable basic and applied research in crop plants important for smallholder agriculture. As in past competitions, proposals are expected to address project outcomes in the context of broader societal impacts, and as appropriate to the research proposed, engage international partners in scientific collaborations.

This program makes funding available for the National Clean Plant Network (NCPN or 'the Network') for Fiscal Year 2017 as provided under the Agricultural Act of 2014, commonly referred to as the Farm Bill of 2014, specifically Section 10007. The National Clean Plant Network provides asexually propagated plant material free of targeted plant pathogens and pests to protect the environment and ensure the global competitiveness of U.S. specialty crop producers. Program priorities include: 1) establishing and supporting governance and related administrative activities; 2) promoting the introduction, diagnosis, treatment, establishment (in foundation blocks) and release of clean plant materials, both from foreign and domestic sources, for commercial development; 3) conducting methods development to accurately advance and test therapies, as well as establish guidelines and standards for certification maintenance; 4) developing partnerships with extension and outreach services (e.g. university and state departments of agriculture) to interact with commercial nurseries, industry associations and producers; and 5) developing and implementing best practices and quality control protocols.

This program makes funding available for the National Clean Plant Network (NCPN or 'the Network') for Fiscal Year 2017 as provided under the Agricultural Act of 2014, commonly referred to as the Farm Bill of 2014, specifically Section 10007. The National Clean Plant Network provides asexually propagated plant material free of targeted plant pathogens and pests to protect the environment and ensure the global competitiveness of U.S. specialty crop producers. Program priorities include: 1) establishing and supporting governance and related administrative activities; 2) promoting the introduction, diagnosis, treatment, establishment (in foundation blocks) and release of clean plant materials, both from foreign and domestic sources, for commercial development; 3) conducting methods development to accurately advance and test therapies, as well as establish guidelines and standards for certification maintenance; 4) developing partnerships with extension and outreach services (e.g. university and state departments of agriculture) to interact with commercial nurseries, industry associations and producers; and 5) developing and implementing best practices and quality control protocols.

This cooperative agreement funding opportunity is a continuation towards the development of the Integrated Food Safety System (IFSS) National Curriculum Standard (NCS) for the various jobs within the human food, animal food, and laboratory regulatory programs (retail food, human manufactured food, animal food, produce, milk, lab, and shellfish) with the ability to expand into other program areas as directed (pharmaceuticals, medical devices, radiological health, imports, bioresearch monitoring, tobacco, leadership and management or other training programs OTED, is or becomes responsible for); continuation of conducting course deliveries, researching and assessing stakeholder training needs; researching the effectiveness of current training models; development of a curriculum tracking database; and the design, development and/or evaluation of new or existing web and classroom courses, materials, and job aids for classroom or field training as directed.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Bureau for Food Security (BFS), Office of Strategic Planning and Program Management (SPPM), Monitoring and Evaluation Division (MEL), invites applications for funding from qualified U.S. and non-U.S., non-profit or for-profit non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and international organizations to carry out activities that develop, test or apply innovative methods for monitoring or evaluating Feed the Future/Global Food Security Strategy activities or programs. This Notice of Funding Opportunity serves as BFS's Monitoring and Evaluation team's Annual Program Statements (APS). An APS is issued when USAID intends to support a variety of creative approaches towards developing methodologies to assess and implement development objective activities. The purpose of this APS is to disseminate information to prospective applicants so that they may develop and submit applications for USAID funding. This APS: (a) describes the types of activities for which applications will be considered; (b) describes the funding available and the process and requirements for submitting Concept Papers and applications; (c) explains the criteria for evaluating Concept Papers and applications; and (d) refers prospective applicants to relevant documentation available on the internet.

The objective of Powering Agriculture: An Energy Grand Challenge for Development (PAEGC) is to support new and sustainable approaches to accelerate the development and deployment of Clean Energy Solutions (CES)for increasing agriculture productivity and/or value in developing countries. Such solutions are those that integrate clean energy technologies and innovative business models to: (i) Enhance agricultural yields/productivity; (ii) Decrease post-harvest loss; (iii) Improve farmer and agribusiness income generating opportunities and revenues; and/or (iv) Increase energy efficiency and associated savings within the operations of farms and agribusinesses - while stimulating low carbon economic growth within the agriculture sector of developing countries.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA), Office of Training Education and Development (OTED) is announcing this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for a Cooperative Agreement Grant. The goals of this Cooperative Agreement Grant are to continue the development of the Integrated Food Safety System (IFSS) National Curriculum Standard (NCS) for the laboratory competency and curriculum frameworks, further work on the development and validation of competency statements. As the NCS is completed at each level, then training content can be developed to meet the standard, post web courses and deliver classroom courses to IFSS laboratorians nationwide. Under FSMA Section 209, FDA is directed to improve the training of state, local, territorial and tribal food safety officials and set standards and administer training and education programs to ensure a competent work force doing comparable work.

The purpose of this grant program is to support potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) research programs that focus on varietal development and testing and potato varieties for commercial production. As used herein, varietal development and testing is research using classical breeding and/or biotechnological approaches to develop improved potato varieties. Aspects of evaluation, screening and testing must support variety development.

This program is a continuation of the Plant Genome Research Program (PGRP) that began in FY 1998 as part of the National Plant Genome Initiative (NPGI). Since the inception of the NPGI and the PGRP, there has been a tremendous increase in the availability of functional genomics tools and sequence resources for use in the study of key crop plants and their models. Proposals are welcomed that build on these resources to develop conceptually new and different ideas and strategies to address grand challenge questions in plants of economic importance on a genome-wide scale. There is also a critical need for the development of novel and creative tools to facilitate new experimental approaches or new ways of analyzing genomic data. Especially encouraged are proposals that provide strong and novel training opportunities integral to the research plan and particularly across disciplines that include, but are not limited to, plant physiology, quantitative genetics, biochemistry, bioinformatics and engineering.Activities in four focus areas will be supported in FY 2014: (1) Genomics-empowered plant research to tackle fundamental questions in plant sciences on a genome-wide scale; (2) Development of tools and resources for plant genome research including novel technologies and analysis tools to enable discovery; (3) Mid-Career Investigator Awards in Plant Genome Research (MCA-PGR) to increase participation of investigators trained primarily in fields other than plant genomics; and, (4) Advancing Basic Research in Economically Important Crop Plants (ABR-PG) to develop sequence resources that are critically needed to enable basic research resources in crop plants.

The goal of the Food Security Challenge Area for FY 2015 is to develop agricultural production research, education, and extension to develop more sustainable, productive, and economically viable plant and animal production systems. This program will also develop regionally adapted crop cultivars and livestock/breeds that contribute to rural economic development and prosperity while enhancing food security. These investments will increase food security by improving agricultural production systems at the regional and national levels and by encouraging diversification of agricultural production.

The Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP) will fund a cooperative agreement to support a Rural Assistance Center (RAC). The RAC is a gateway to information on rural health for residents in rural areas of the United States and for all others interested in the issue. Through daily interactions and responding to inquiries and concerns, the RAC will be able to ensure that ORHP and the Department of Health and Human Services are informed of developing and ongoing grass-roots issues in the rural U.S. The role of ORHP as the Department of Health and Human Service¿s focal point for rural information allows its staff to identify key regulatory and statutory issues. The staff of ORHP will work collaboratively with the RAC to prioritize key issues and develop information resources to share with callers and web users. It is also expected that RAC staff will produce publications to respond to emerging issues. ORHP and Department staff will review RAC proposals for publications to ensure that critical issues are appropriately identified. When publications are prepared for release, ORHP and Department staff will review them for accuracy and completeness. The awardee must be able to identify and facilitate access to information from a wide range of sources that deal with aspects of rural health care. ORHP will also coordinate information sharing between the RAC and the Rural Health Research Centers, the Rural Recruitment and Retention Network, State Offices of Rural Health, and other projects that are funded by the Office. RAC staff will work with ORHP to develop strategies for dissemination of key research findings and for providing synthesis of key research findings. The applicant should be familiar with providers of Technical Assistance (TA) for rural health care providers funded by ORHP and be able to make referrals, avoid duplication of services, and ensure that rural residents are directed to appropriate resources for their information needs. The awardee will provide

he objectives of this Agreement are to further development of change detection research using an existing methodology developed at Oregon State University by Robert Kennedy termed LandTrendr. The two networks both utilize this approach as part of their respective long-term monitoring programs and rely on its development as technology changes. In addition to LandTrendr, OSU has also developed a companion stand-alone program called TimeSync which is crucial during the validation of the LandTrendr-delineated disturbances. This tool also needs to be upgraded to be compatible with current Windows operating systems. This agreement would allow the I&M networks to work collaboratively with OSU to ensure I&M networks receive the specific tools they need to continue their respective long-term monitoring programs without interruption. Oregon State University will also facilitate easier use of LandTrendr for the public and other researchers because this service is being moved to cloud computing which will greatly increase compute speed, decrease the amount of data storage necessary at the network offices, and remove the need for high level computing within the office. STATEMENT OF WORK RECIPIENT AGREES TO: 1. Provide computer code on running LandTrendr through Google Earth Engine 2. Provide documented workflow on Google Earth Engine 3. Provide computer code to process output rasters of changes to polygons of change 4. Provide updated version of TimeSync compatible with Windows 10 5. Provide documented workflow on installing and running TimeSync

The Agriculture and Food Research Initiative - Education and Workforce Development (EWD) focuses on developing the next generation of research, education, and extension professionals in the food and agricultural sciences. In FY 2020, EWD invites applications in five areas: professional development for agricultural literacy; training of undergraduate students in research and extension; fellowships for predoctoral candidates; fellowships for postdoctoral scholars, and a brand new program for agricultural workforce training.

Growing Convergence Research (GCR) at the National Science Foundation was identified as one of 10 Big Ideas. Convergence research is a means for solving vexing research problems, in particular, complex problems focusing on societal needs. It entails integrating knowledge, methods, and expertise from different disciplines and forming novel frameworks to catalyze scientific discovery and innovation. GCR identifies Convergence Research as having two primary characteristics: Research driven by a specific and compelling problem. Convergence Research is generally inspired by the need to address a specific challenge or opportunity, whether it arises from deep scientific questions or pressing societal needs. Deep integration across disciplines. As experts from different disciplines pursue common research challenges, their knowledge, theories, methods, data, research communities and languages become increasingly intermingled or integrated. New frameworks, paradigms or even disciplines can form sustained interactions across multiple communities. A distinct characteristic of convergence research, in contrast to other forms of multidisciplinary research, is that from the inception, the convergence paradigm intentionally brings together intellectually diverse researchers and stakeholders to frame the research questions, develop effective ways of communicating across disciplines and sectors, adopt common frameworks for their solution, and, when appropriate, develop a new scientific vocabulary. Research teams practicing convergence aim at developing sustainable relationships that may not only create solutions to the problem that engendered the collaboration, but also develop novel ways of framing related research questions and open new research vistas.

The Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (ORIP) supports research-related resources that create, develop, preserve and supply a variety of high-quality animal models, and related biological materials. ORIP also supports the development and implementation of tools and devices that directly benefit the welfare of research animals, improve handling of laboratory animals, and ease the management of animal facilities. This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) encourages small business concerns to submit Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant applications that propose innovative approaches and technologies to further develop, improve and facilitate the use of animal models and related biological materials, to meet new biomedical challenges related to improvements in the health of humans and the welfare of animal models.

The Agriculture and Food Research Initiative - Education and Workforce Development (EWD) (formerly the Food, Agriculture, Natural Resources and Human Sciences Education and Literacy Initiative, or ELI) focuses on developing the next generation of research, education, and extension professionals in the food and agricultural sciences. In FY 2018, EWD invites applications in four areas: professional development opportunities for K-14 teachers and education professionals; training of undergraduate students in research and extension; fellowships for predoctoral candidates; and fellowships for postdoctoral scholars. See EWD Request for Applications for specific details.

Background: The National Native Seed Strategy for Rehabilitation and Restoration 2015-2020 outlines a coordinated approach to establish a national network of native seed collectors, growers, and nurseries to supply adequate quantities of appropriate seed, and a network of restoration ecologists. The Montana State Office is seeking to partner with Colleges or Universities across Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota to help develop native plant materials that would include species important for sage-grouse habitat restoration, stabilization and rehabilitation projects, culturally significant species, increase pollinator habitat, and research needs for these species. The partnership is also seeking to build conservation science into new or existing curriculum, develop interest in restoration efforts, and foster better communication and understanding of culturally significant and tribally important plants. Objectives: To develop native plant programs by collecting and germinating native plant seed. This project will build unique relationships with recipients who are interested in natural conservation work and keeping their own culture connected to the public lands. Public Benefit: This project provides long-term benefits to the public by providing native plant and conservation projects on public lands. In addition, this project will provide education and awareness about the importance of native plants and their impact on environmental factors such as sage-grouse habitat.

The Water and Energy for Food ("WE4F") challenge fund is a partnership between the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Sweden through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (hereafter the partners[1]). Through WE4F, the partners want to expand the scale of innovations that impact the sectors food and water, food and energy or all three sectors of the nexus (food, water, energy) to increase the sustainability of agricultural food value chains, improving energy and water efficiency as well as to improve climate resilient agriculture in developing countries and emerging markets in accordance with the SDGs, with a particular focus on the poor and women.