United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)
Fiscal Year (FY) 2026
Fiscal Year (FY) 2025
Available Funding: $65,000,000
Award Range: $50,000 - $3,500,000
Number of Awards: 26
A Letter of Intent is not requested for this funding opportunity announcement.
5:00 P.M. Eastern Time, 05/14/2026
NIFA requests applications for OREI research projects for FY 2026 to solve U.S. organic agriculture issues, priorities, or problems through the integration of research, education, and extension/outreach. Applicants should check the OREI web page to access the NOFO and monitor for updates. OREI funds research, education, and extension/outreach programs that enhance the ability of producers and processors who have already adopted organic standards to grow and market high quality organic agricultural products.
This notice identifies the objectives for projects, deadlines, funding information, eligibility criteria for projects and applicants, and application forms and associated instructions.
See Appendix I.
| Association Type | Announcement# | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Related to | USDA-NIFA-D113A-32483 | Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative - OREI Workshop Projects |
| Related to | USDA-NIFA-D113A-32357 | Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative - OREI Planning Projects for Assistance in Development of Future OREI Proposals Requiring Multi-regional or Regional Coordination |
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), to the extent permitted by law, will no longer make grants or otherwise fund programs or activities that improperly discriminate on the basis of race or sex, including discrimination in the name of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies. Instead, USDA will prioritize merit and efficiency. USDA recognizes programs and initiatives will have the greatest impact when these programs and initiatives put American farmers, ranchers, and foresters first by:
The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is committed to advancing these principles and encourages applicants to actively engage farmers, ranchers, and foresters when applying for funding opportunities to ensure relevancy and adherence to them. NIFA also encourages agricultural leaders to engage in the peer review panel process to ensure American producers are better served through research, education, and extension activities.
Projects submitted under this NOFO should align with USDA Secretary’s Memorandum 1078-020 Directive on Departmental Research and Development Priorities:
NIFA seeks comments on all Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) and uses comments to help meet the requirements of Section 103(c)(2) of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7613(c)(2)). Applicants may submit written comments to Policy@usda.gov.
Section 7210 of the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 amended section 1672B of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade (FACT) Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5925b). The FACT Act, as amended, authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board (NAREEEAB), to make competitive grants to support research, education, and extension/outreach activities regarding organically grown and processed agricultural commodities for eight legislatively defined goals (see Part I, B.).
The OREI, under assistance listing 10.307, seeks to solve U.S. organic agricultural issues, priorities, or problems through the integration of research, education, and extension activities. The purpose of this program is to fund high priority integrated projects that will enhance the ability of producers and processors who have already adopted organic standards to grow and market high quality organic agricultural products and to increase resilience in American farming systems. Priority concerns include biological and physical sciences, and economics.
Consistent with 7 U.S.C. 5925b, OREI competitive grants may support research, education, and extension activities regarding organically grown and processed agricultural commodities for the purposes of:
Proposals are encouraged in the following areas based on legislative goals and stakeholder input (not listed in order of importance)
The OREI is particularly interested in research, education, and extension/outreach projects that will assist farmer and rancher whole farm planning by delivering practical, research-based information. Applicants should describe how the results of their research, education, and extension/outreach programs will improve the ability of growers to develop and maintain the Organic System Plan required for organic certification.
Organic systems fieldwork must be done on USDA-certified organic land and/or in USDA-certified organic facilities. In special cases, studies can be conducted on land/facilities in transition to organic certification as is appropriate to project goals and objectives. For this program, a land parcel/facility is not considered organic unless it has received USDA certification. It is expected that land/facilities in transition to USDA organic certification will be certified by the end of the project. Refer to the USDA National Organic Program for organic production standards. If the entire project is hosted by a commercial organic operation whose gross income from organic sales totals $5,000 or less, the certification requirement might be waived. A justification should be included in the section addressing the USDA organic certification. Trials investigating animal health issues should be conducted in a USDA-certified organic setting if animal management could play a pivotal role in the response of the animal to the proposed intervention. Otherwise, a USDA-certified organic setting is not required for clinical trials involving animal health.
Proposals with significant overlap in objectives and scope cannot be submitted simultaneously to both the OREI and Organic Transitions (ORG) programs. NIFA will disqualify both applications. Additional information on the scope of OREI and ORG may be found at Organic Agriculture Program under “Program-Specific Resources.”
Studies designed to compare organic production systems with conventional production systems are not appropriate for this NOFO. Those applications could be submitted to other NIFA programs like Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI), Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI), or regional Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE).
Partnerships are encouraged within OREI.
NIFA strongly encourages applicants to consult with organic producers and/or processors before developing project applications. Producers and/or processors should play an important and active role in developing project goals and objectives; implementing the plan; and evaluating and disseminating project results and outcomes. Projects must involve work that is viewed by stakeholders as both necessary and important. There is an expectation that a local and/or regional advisory panel will inform the project throughout its life, including ongoing identification and prioritization of research, education, and extension/outreach objectives. An outcome-oriented plan for disseminating information derived from project work must be an integral part of the project and described. This information delivery plan should consider several delivery systems and methods. The metrics for evaluating research, education, and extension/outreach outcomes should be clearly described and appropriate to project goals.
When working with growers and/or processors, sufficient funds should be requested and reserved during the course of the project for expected project costs such as, but not limited to: compensation for participation at project meetings and hosting of project activities; compensation for certified land or facility use; and compensation for crop destruction or sampling.
The following websites may be useful in developing OREI applications:
The OREI encourages use of multiple extension/outreach delivery methods, including virtual and face-to- face meetings and tours, farmer-to-farmer mentoring, print publications, and social media, as appropriate to project goals.
For a program informational webinar please visit the NIFA calendar for dates, event registration, and link. If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in any of the informational webinars listed, please contact the event host listed no later than 10 days prior to the event.
[1] The National Organic Program (NOP) National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) maintains a list of research priorities that is updated annually: https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/MS_ResearchPrioritiesDD.pdf
This announcement is a component of a suite of three NOFOs. The other two NOFOs are:
The following key program information only pertains to the funding year for FY 2026.
36 - 48 Months
The amount available for OREI in FY 2026 is approximately $66,000,000. This amount includes approximately $44,000,000 from FY 2025, and $22,000,000 from FY 2026. The Research Projects with Extension and/or Education Components component of OREI has approximately $65,000,000 available for awards. USDA is not committed to fund any particular application or to make a specific number of awards.
The Automated Standard Application for Payments, operated by the Department of Treasury, Bureau of Fiscal Service, is the designated payment system for awards resulting from this NOFO.
NIFA will evaluate applications using the criteria described in Part V of this NOFO. Application for FY 2026 is limited to the following application types:
New Application: New applications will be evaluated using the criteria described in Part V of this NOFO and are subject to the due dates herein (see Appendix III for definition).
Resubmitted Application: Resubmitted applications must include the response to the previous review panel summary and are subject to the same criteria and due dates herein. Resubmitted applicants must enter the NIFA-assigned proposal number of the previously submitted application in the Federal Field (Field 4) on the application form (see Appendix III for definition).
The following describes the types of projects or grants that are eligible for funding:
Integrated Project Proposals: Integrated project proposals must include research and at least one additional element of the other two functions of the agricultural knowledge system (education and extension/outreach). Awards will be made as grants. To accommodate projects differing in scope, three types of integrated project proposals are offered. However, projects with similar content and same investigators may not be submitted to more than one project category.
Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 proposals:
For both Tier 1 and Tier 2 proposals, a project management plan and a logic model are strongly recommended and will not count against the 21-page limit of the Project Narrative. The main intent of large awards is to foster collaboration between States and avoid duplication of efforts. Therefore, Tier 1 proposals with a budget of up to approximately $3,500,000 are expected to tackle major issues identified by stakeholders and bring the community of needed participants together to address the problems. Tier 1 proposals must be multi-institution and multistate.
In accordance with sections 2, 3, and 8 of 2 CFR Part 422, institutions that conduct USDA-funded extramural research must foster an atmosphere conducive to research integrity, bear primary responsibility for prevention and detection of research misconduct, and maintain and effectively communicate and train their staff regarding policies and procedures. In the event an application to NIFA results in an award, the Authorized Representative (AR) assures, through acceptance of the award, that the institution will comply with the above requirements. Award recipients must, upon request, make available to NIFA the policies, procedures, and documentation to support the conduct of the training. See Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research for further information.
Applicants must meet all the requirements discussed in this NOFO. Failure to meet the eligibility criteria by the application deadline may result in exclusion from consideration or preclude NIFA from making an award. For those new to Federal financial assistance, NIFA's About Grants provides highly recommended information about grants and other resources to help understand the Federal awards process.
The following entity(ies) may apply to this NOFO: Individuals and Organizations.
Applications may only be submitted by the following entities:
Award recipients may subcontract to organizations not eligible to apply provided such organizations are necessary for the conduct of the project by an eligible entity.
USDA will not accept applications for grants and cooperative agreements submitted for dangerous gain-of-function research, as defined in Section 8 of E.O. 14292.
Duplicate, essentially duplicate, or predominantly overlapping applications submitted simultaneously to both OREI and another NIFA program, such as ORG, in the same fiscal year will not be reviewed. NIFA will disqualify both applications in the event of this particular occurrence.
Applicants MUST provide 100% matching contributions for all Federal funds awarded under this funding opportunity announcement.
None
NIFA may waive the matching funds requirement for a grant if one of the following applies:
Pursuant to Section 7214 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 5926), NIFA will recognize and prioritize COE applicants that carry out research, extension, and education activities that relate to the food and agricultural sciences. A COE is composed of one or more of the following entities that provide financial or in-kind support to the COE. A full explanation, including the process for requesting Center of Excellence designation can be found here: Centers of Excellence (COE) or in Part IV, B of this RFA.
A full explanation, including the process for requesting Center of Excellence designation, can be found here: Centers of Excellence (COE) or in Part IV, B of this RFA.
Applicants must apply to this NOFO electronically; no other method or response is accepted. The electronic application for this NOFO and additional resources are available on Grants.gov and Grants 101. Steps to Obtain Application Materials provides instructions on how to obtain an electronic application. Part III of the NIFA Grants Application Guide contains detailed information regarding the Grants.gov registration process. The NIFA Grants Application Guide is contained in the specific funding opportunity package or a sample of the guide can be found here. When applying for a NIFA award, it is important to reference the version of the guide that is included in the specific funding opportunity application package.
Applicant Organizations: To be eligible to apply for or receive a federal award, applicant organizations must complete and maintain the following registrations:
Important Note: Registration can take six weeks or longer, so begin the process as early as possible. All registrations must be completed before submitting your application
Project Directors (PD(s)): All PD(s) must have an active eRA Commons account.
Important Note: Creating an eRA Commons account can take up to two weeks.
Download and Install Adobe Reader (see Adobe Software Compatibility for basic system requirements).
Using this funding opportunity number USDA-NIFA-D113A-32481, search for application here.
Contact an Authorized Representative (AR) prior to starting an application to assess the organization’s readiness to submit an electronic application.
Email: grantapplicationquestions@usda.gov
Business hours: Monday thru Friday, 7 A.M. – 5 P.M. ET, except Federal holidays.
Grants.gov Online Support
Telephone support: 800-518-4726
Toll-Free or 606-545-5035
Email support: support@grants.gov
Self-service customer-based support: Grants.gov iPortal
Customer service business Hours 24/7, except Federal holidays.
Questions regarding eRA Commons and post-submission questions and inquiries
Finding help online and submitting web tickets: https://www.era.nih.gov/need-help (preferred method of contact)
Telephone: 301-402-7469 or 866-504-9552 (Toll Free)
Business Hours: Monday - Friday, 7 A.M. - 8 P.M. ET except Federal holidays
The NIFA Grants Application Guide is part of the corresponding application package for this NOFO. The NOFO overrides the NIFA Grants Application Guide if there is a discrepancy between the two documents. Applicants that do not meet the application requirements, to include partial applications, risk being excluded from NIFA’s review. NIFA will assign a proposal number to all applications that meet the requirements of this NOFO. Applicants must refer to the proposal number when corresponding with NIFA. Key Application Instructions outlines key instructions for applicants.
Attachments must be in Portable Document Format (PDF). Refer to Part IV of the NIFA Grants Application Guide for additional information.
Check the manifest of submitted files to verify that attachments are in the correct format. Refer to Part IV of the NIFA Grants Application Guide for additional information.
Conduct an administrative review of the application before submission. Refer to Part IV of the NIFA Grants Application Guide for additional information.
Follow the submission instructions. Refer to Part IV of the NIFA Grants Application Guide for additional information.
Provide an accurate email address, where designated, on the SF-424 R&R. Refer to Part V of the NIFA Grants Application Guide for additional information.
See Part V of the NIFA Grants Application Guide for the required certifications and assurances.
Contact the Grants.gov Support Center for technical support and keep a record of the correspondence.
Contact the eRA Service Desk for questions related to eRA Commons, application errors and warnings, and post-submission inquiries.
Contact NIFA if applicant does not receive correspondence from NIFA regarding an application within 30 days of the application deadline.
See Part V of the NIFA Grants Application Guide.
See Part V of the NIFA Grants Application Guide.
a. Response to previous review (if applicable):
This requirement only applies to Resubmitted Applications as described in Part II, B. A three-page maximum response to the previous review (containing the previous proposal number in the first line) titled “Response to Previous Review” as the first page. The three-page maximum “Response to Previous Review” does not count against the 21-page limit of the PN.
b. Executive summary and table of contents:
The executive summary and table of contents do not count against the 21-page limit of the PN and must include the following information in a combined executive summary and table of contents. Applications without an executive summary containing the following parts will NOT be considered for funding. Note that this section is in addition to and different from the Project Summary page.
c. Outcome from previous awards:
This section is an opportunity for applicants to demonstrate their track record or that of the applicant's team as a whole. Limit the information to the Lead PD (for past awards as Lead PD). Both OREI and ORG projects are relevant. This section does not count against the 21-page limit of the PN and will not penalize those who have not received prior awards. Applicants who have previously received funding from OREI or ORG as Lead PD, provide the following:
d. Introduction:
e. Rationale and Significance:
Concisely present the rationale behind the proposed project. The specific relationship of the project’s objectives to one or more of the FY 2026 OREI priorities should be clear. These purposes and priority areas are described under Part I, B: Purpose and Priorities. Discuss novel or innovative aspects of the proposed project.
f. Objectives:
List project objectives.
g. Approach:
Clearly state the activities proposed or problems being addressed. Describe the approaches to be used. Specifically, this section must include:
h. Project Timeline:
Provide a clear timeline of activities and major milestones, using September 1 as the start date for the project.
i. Performance Measures
Performance measures for OREI are aligned with key indicators of scientific, agricultural, and economic impact. Measures may include, but are not limited to:
Together, these measures ensure that funded OREI projects are producing high-impact, industry-relevant outcomes, and driving innovation in U.S. organic agriculture production systems while promoting the highest national/regional priorities.
j. Centers of Excellence Justification:
Only Integrated Project Proposal applicants may be considered for Centers of Excellence (COE) designation.
For consideration as a COE, you must provide a brief justification statement, as part of your Project Narrative and within the page limits provided, which describes how you meet the standards of a COE based on the following criteria:
Additionally, where practicable (not required), COE applicants should describe proposed efforts to improve teaching capacity and infrastructure at colleges and universities (including Land-grant Colleges and Universities, cooperating forestry schools, and certified non-land-grant colleges of agriculture (NLGCA).
k. Field 12, Add Other Attachments. See Part V of the NIFA Grants Application Guide.
See Part V of the NIFA Grants Application Guide for profile requirements, details about the biographical sketch, and suggested support templates.
This information is voluntary and is not a precondition of award (see Part V of the NIFA Grants Application Guide).
If an applicant concludes that the matching requirements described under Part III, B of this NOFO is not applicable to them; the applicant must include an explanation of their conclusion in the budget justification. NIFA will consider this justification when determining final matching requirements or if required matching can be waived. NIFA retains the right to make final determinations regarding matching requirements.
Grants that require matching funds as specified under Part III, B of this NOFO must list in their budget justification the matching sources, the identification of the entity(ies) providing the match, and the total pledged amount. A written verification of commitments of matching support (a pledge agreement) is not required. However, applicants are subject to the documentation, valuing and reporting requirements, as specified in 2 CFR Part 200, “Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (the Uniform Guidance),” and 7 CFR 3430, “Competitive and Noncompetitive Non-Formula Federal Assistance Programs – General Award Administrative Provisions.”
See Part IV, C of this NOFO for funding restrictions regarding IDC, and Part V of the NIFA Grants Application Guide for additional information.
See Part V of the NIFA Grants Application Guide.
Indirect Cost (IDC) is not to exceed 30 percent of the recipient's Total Federal Funds Awarded (TFFA)
7 U.S.C. 3310 limits the recovery of IDC for the overall award to 30 percent of the TFFA under a research, education, or extension grant. The maximum allowable IDC amount recoverable under the award, including the IDC charged by the subawardee(s), if any, is the lesser of the following and is determined by calculating the amount of IDC using:
If the result of number one is the lesser of the two amounts, the grant recipient is allowed to charge the negotiated IDC rate on the prime award and the subaward(s), if any. Any subawards would be subject to the subawardee’s negotiated IDC rate. The subawardee may charge its negotiated IDC rate on its portion of the award, provided the sum of the IDC amount charged under the award by the prime awardee and the subawardee(s) does not exceed 30 percent of the TFFA.
If the result of number two is the lesser of the two amounts, then the maximum IDC allowed for the overall award, including any subaward(s), is limited to 30 percent of the TFFA. That is, the IDC of the prime awardee plus the sum of the IDC charged by the subawardee(s), if any, may not exceed 30 percent of the TFFA.
In the event of an award, the prime awardee is responsible for ensuring the maximum indirect cost allowed for the award is not exceeded when combining IDC for the Federal portion (i.e., prime and subawardee(s)) and any applicable cost-sharing. Amounts exceeding the maximum allowable IDC are considered unallowable. See sections 408 and 410 of 2 CFR 200.
If the applicant does not have a negotiated rate and NIFA is the cognizant agency, the applicant may request an IDC rate. Applicants are not required to complete the IDC package during the application process and need only to calculate a rate to serve as a basis for requesting IDC. If awarded, the applicant will be required to submit a complete IDC proposal package to obtain a negotiated rate.
Organizations that do not have a current negotiated (including provisional) rate may elect the de minimis rate (2 CFR 200.414(f)). The Uniform Guidance offers the option of electing to charge a de minimis rate of 15 percent of modified total direct costs (MTDC), which may be used indefinitely. As described above and in 2 CFR 200.403, costs must be charged consistently as either indirect or direct costs but may not be double-charged or inconsistently charged as both. If elected, this methodology must be used consistently for all Federal awards until such time as a non-Federal entity chooses to negotiate for a rate, which it may do at any time.
See NIFA Indirect Costs for information including additional resources and NIFA Indirect Cost Guidance Chart.
NIFA evaluates each application in a two-part process. First, we screen each application to ensure that it meets the administrative requirements set forth in this NOFO. All administrative requirements must be met in order for the application to proceed to the next level of review. Second, a scientific peer-review process will be used to technically evaluate applications that have met the administrative requirements using a review panel (see NIFA Peer Review Process).
NIFA selects reviewers for the review panel based upon their training and experience in relevant scientific, extension, or education fields, taking into account the following factors:
After each peer review panel has completed its deliberations, the responsible program staff of NIFA will recommend that your project is either approved for support from currently available funds or declined due to insufficient funds or unfavorable review.
NIFA reserves the right to negotiate with the PD/PI and/or the submitting organization or institution regarding project revisions (e.g., reductions in the scope of work, funding level, period, or method of support) prior to recommending any project for funding.
After the review process has been completed, NIFA sends copies of reviews, not including the identity of reviewers, and a summary (if applicable) of the review panel comments to the PD.
NIFA takes extreme care to prevent any actual or perceived conflicts of interest that may influence the review or evaluation (see NIFA Peer Review Process for Competitive Grant Applications).
NIFA will use the following criteria to evaluate and score applications to this funding opportunity.
Applicants must submit specific management information prior to an award and update the information as needed. Applicants may only need to provide an update if there was a change in previously provided information under this or another NIFA program. NIFA provides the requisite forms during the pre-award process. Although an applicant may be eligible for award under this program, there are factors that may exclude an applicant from receiving Federal financial and nonfinancial assistance and benefits under this program (e.g., debarment or suspension of an individual, or a determination that an applicant is not responsible).
Applicants may withdraw at any time before NIFA makes a final funding decision. NIFA will retain all applications, including withdrawn applications and unfunded applications.
Within the limit of funds authorized, the NIFA awarding official will make grants to responsible and eligible applicants whose applications are judged most meritorious under the procedures set forth in this NOFO. The date specified by the NIFA awarding official as the effective date of the grant must be no later than September 30 of the federal fiscal year in which the project is approved for support and funds are appropriated for such purpose, unless otherwise permitted by law. The project need not be initiated on the grant effective date, but as soon thereafter as practical so that project goals may be attained within the funded project period. All funds granted by NIFA under this NOFO may be used only for the purpose for which they are granted in accordance with the approved application and budget, regulations, terms and conditions of the award, applicable federal cost principles, USDA assistance regulations, and NIFA General Awards Administration Provisions, 7 CFR Part 3430, subparts A through E.
The award document will provide pertinent instructions and information as described in 2 CFR 200.211 (see NIFA’s Terms and Conditions).
Several federal statutes and regulations apply to grant applications and the projects outlined in this NOFO (some are listed here: Federal Regulations). Unless specifically noted by statute or award-specific requirements, NIFA Federal Assistance Policy Guide applies to all NIFA awards.
Output and reporting requirements are included in the award terms and conditions. If there are any program or award-specific award terms, they will be identified in the Award Notice.
Unless the terms and conditions of the award state otherwise, awardees may not in whole or in part delegate or transfer to another person, institution, or organization the responsibility for use or expenditure of award funds.
In accordance with 2 CFR 200.308, awardees must request prior approval from NIFA for the following program or budget-related reasons (the awardee is subject to the terms and conditions identified in the award):
When an application results in an award, it becomes a part of NIFA transaction records, which are available to the public. Information that the Secretary of Agriculture determines to be confidential, privileged, or proprietary in nature will be held in confidence to the extent permitted by law. Therefore, applicants should clearly mark any information within the application they wish to have considered as confidential, privileged, or proprietary. NIFA will retain a copy of an application that does not result in an award for three years. Such an application will be released only with the consent of the applicant or to the extent required by law. An applicant may withdraw at any time prior to the final action thereon.
This program is not subject to the provisions of Executive Order 12372, which requires intergovernmental consultation with state and local officials. Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), the collection of information requirements contained in this notice have been approved under OMB Document No. 0524- 0039.
NIFA offers language access services, such as interpretation and translation of vital information, free of charge. If you need interpretation or translation services, please visit NIFA Language Access Services.
For programmatic questions, please contact:
For administrative questions related to:
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
U.S. Department of Agriculture
P.O. Box 419205, MS 10000
Kansas City, MO 64141-6205
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
U.S. Department of Agriculture
2312 East Bannister Road, MS 10000
Kansas City, MO 64141-3061
(Refer to 7 CFR 3430 Competitive and Noncompetitive Non-formula Federal Assistance Programs – General Award Administrative Provisions for additional definitions)