Foreign Agricultural Service · Department of Agriculture

Assisting Specialty Crop Exports: Low Oxygen Storage and Packaging Systems for U.S. Tree Nuts with Phytosanitary Traceability

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In short: Foreign Agricultural Service expects to make 1 award of up to $2 million.

Deadline: Due Oct 26, 2026 · 15 days left
Award size: Up to $2M
Total available: $2M · about 1 award
Match ?: Not required · Work out your budget and match
Who can apply: Set by the official notice: see Who can apply below
Where: Anywhere in the U.S., including Tennessee

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How this fits you

Available in Henry County (nationwide program)
No match required

Tell us who you are to see whether you're eligible.

About this grant

The occurrence of insects as well as pesticide residuals can be significant barriers for U.S. horticultural exports. Each importing country can have unique phytosanitary and maximum residue limit (MRL) requirements, which creates operational and logistical challenges. To maximize return to growers, U.S. shippers need tools that can universally address all such requirements while maintaining product quality. Currently, tree nuts and many other durable specialty crops require fumigations or freezing, which are both expensive and create bottlenecks in marketing. More and more tree nut handlers are using a modified atmosphere (MA) or controlled atmosphere (CA) technology in which low-oxygen conditions (<1% by volume) are maintained during storage and/or in packaging. Low-oxygen conditions are known to control insect pests, leave no chemical residuals, and result in high quality products since the lipid oxidation that causes rancidity is markedly suppressed. While this approach is being used as a condition of sale, there is currently no efficient way for shippers to validate the low-oxygen conditions for customers, let alone importers with phytosanitary requirements for insect control. Technically and economically viable, verifiable, and preferably traceable technologies are critically needed before low-oxygen storage and packaging approaches can be used for export to most countries. Currently, the existing low-oxygen technologies do not incorporate digital mapping or official record-keeping during the packing or storage process, so there is no non-invasive manner to verify the oxygen content over time within the gas-impermeable liners and/or confirm seal integrity. This limits the ability to verify that a low-oxygen environment has been maintained at a specific oxygen level over a certain period of time, which would be necessary to ensure the conditions were met to act as a phytosanitary treatment. Counties such as India, Korea, and Japan require phytosanitary treatments, such as fumigation, for post-harvest pest management before many types of U.S. tree nuts can be imported into the countries. Additionally, buyers in other markets also request pest management treatments as a condition of sale in commercial transactions.

Who can apply, from the official notice

This opportunity is available to U.S. academic institutions, state governments, nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) designation, U.S. trade associations, U.S. agricultural cooperatives, international organizations, foreign entities, and any other entity including private sector businesses.All applicants must have an active registration in the U.S. Government System for Award Management (www.sam.gov) before the date of award. Applicants with inactive, expired, pending, or excluded listings will be deemed ineligible. Exceptions, waivers, or extensions will not be considered. More information about SAM.gov registration can be found in this document in Section 9, Other Information.

Official notice: https://simpler.grants.gov/opportunity/d76fbae3-47ff-4d27-808e-b8db7fb89ecf · Printed from grantme.click/grants/851c3305-c3ae-4481-9689-046e4f9fc8ff

View on Grants.gov Add deadline to my calendar

Ask a partner for a letter

Your schedule, working back from the deadline

Oct11
Check that your SAM.gov registration is active (or start it now)
Grants.gov: allow up to 10 business days for SAM registration, weeks or months if information isn't verified. It must be renewed every year. Grants.gov
Oct5
Ask partners for letters of support or commitment (already past: do it now)
Suggested: partners need about three weeks to write and sign letters.
Oct19
Finish a complete draft for a final review
Suggested: leave about a week for someone else to read the draft.
Oct24
Submit
Grants.gov: submit at least 24–48 hours before the deadline: uploads fail, systems slow down, errors need fixing. Grants.gov blog
Oct26
Deadline
From the funder.

Save this grant to put these dates in My grants and your private calendar.

Writing the need statement? Henry County facts with citations.

What the official notice requires

Pulled from the official notice USDA-FAS-10621-0750-106-27-0001FINAL_NOFO.pdf (17 pages) so you can see the requirements at a glance. Each item shows the notice's own words. Open the page to read it in context.

Award size and project length

Award amounts here are per year · p. 4

“Employees, consultants, or other personnel, including those of subrecipients, and regardless of the method of engagement, may not exceed the pro-rata equivalent of ES-III on the Executive Schedule (for 2026, $209,600 per year, $806.15 per day, or $100.77 per…” Open page 4

Registrations you need first (4)

SAM.gov · p. 2

“Applicants must be registered in SAM.gov and apply through USDA’s ezFedGrants online system, both of which require an identity-proofed login.gov account.” Open page 2
Grants.gov · p. 10

“Grants.gov Lobbying Form” Open page 10
Login.gov · p. 16

“Login.gov is a secure sign in service used by the public to sign into Federal Agency systems including SAM.gov and Grants.gov.” Open page 16
Unique Entity ID (UEI) · p. 17

“If an applicant has done business with the Federal Government previously, the applicant can check their entity status using their government issued UEI to determine if their registration is active.” Open page 17

The deadline is in 15 days. If your registration isn't already active, it may not be ready in time, so check it today. Get-ready checklist

What to submit

Indirect cost rate agreement · p. 4

“If indirect costs are included in the budget, attach a copy of the latest indirect cost rate agreement negotiated with a cognizant federal agency.” Open page 4
Form SF-424 · p. 8

“Standard Form SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance, showing the Unique Entity ID, and signed by the applicant.” Open page 8
Form SF-424A · p. 8

“Standard Form SF-424A, Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs, showing the budget categorization.” Open page 8
Letters of support or commitment · p. 9

“Applications should include letters of commitment from partners which will be involved in the project, as well as leading tree nut industry organizations.” Open page 9
Form SF-LLL · p. 10

“Standard Form SF-LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities, if applicable to the applicant 5.” Open page 10
Budget narrative / justification · p. 13

“Does the Budget Narrative include justification for each budget category adequately explain the costs and why they are necessary to reach the outcomes and objectives of this project?” Open page 13

Length limits

There: 10 pages max · p. 9

“There is a 10-page limit on the narrative (excluding CVs, letter(s) of commitment).” Open page 9

Formatting rules

single-spaced · p. 8

“A detailed project narrative or plan of operation no more than ten (10) pages in length, single spaced.” Open page 8

How applications are scored (65 points listed)

Build your narrative outline from these criteria

Project Implementation Plan: 30 points · p. 12

“Project Implementation Plan (30 Points)” Open page 12
External Project Support and Collaboration: 25 points · p. 12

“External Project Support and Collaboration (25 points)” Open page 12
Professional Formatting, Spelling, and Grammar: 10 points · p. 13

“Professional Formatting, Spelling, and Grammar (10 Points)” Open page 13

Cost share or match

Cost share / match · p. 4

“If an application is submitted that includes any ineligible tasks, activities, or cost items, that portion of the application will be deemed ineligible for funding and may, depending on the extent to which it affects the application, render the entire…” Open page 4

Mistakes that get applications rejected (8)

Unresolved civil-rights or legal findings: Applicants with inactive, expired, pending, or excluded listings will be deemed ineligible. · p. 3

“Applicants with inactive, expired, pending, or excluded listings will be deemed ineligible.” Open page 3
Could get your application rejected: Exceptions, waivers, or extensions will not be considered. · p. 3

“Exceptions, waivers, or extensions will not be considered.” Open page 3
Not an eligible applicant: Applicants deemed ineligible for funding consideration as a result of the threshold eligibility review... · p. 3

“Applicants deemed ineligible for funding consideration as a result of the threshold eligibility review will be notified within seven calendar days of the ineligibility determination.” Open page 3
Missing a required part: Applications must substantially comply with the application submission instructions and requirements set... · p. 3

“Applications must substantially comply with the application submission instructions and requirements set forth in Section 4, Application Contents and Format, of this solicitation or they will be deemed ineligible for funding consideration. 2.3 Evidence of…” Open page 3
Not an eligible applicant: If an application is submitted that includes any ineligible tasks, activities, or cost items, that portion... · p. 4

“If an application is submitted that includes any ineligible tasks, activities, or cost items, that portion of the application will be deemed ineligible for funding and may, depending on the extent to which it affects the application, render the entire…” Open page 4
Not an eligible applicant: If applicants do not contact USDA/FAS prior to the application submission deadline date and submit an... · p. 10

“If applicants do not contact USDA/FAS prior to the application submission deadline date and submit an application package through an alternative method, their application may be deemed ineligible. 5.4 Submission Dates and Times Application Submission Deadline:” Open page 10
Could get your application rejected: October 26, 2026, at 11:59pm EDT (UTC -04:00) Applications received after this time will NOT be accepted. · p. 10

“October 26, 2026, at 11:59pm EDT (UTC -04:00) Applications received after this time will NOT be accepted.” Open page 10
Missing a required part: An application that does not include all documentation required by this notice of funding opportunity at... · p. 11

“An application that does not include all documentation required by this notice of funding opportunity at the time of application, including documentation required in SAM.gov, will be deemed ineligible.” Open page 11

Files from the official listing

The notice, forms and templates the agency attached.

USDA-FAS-10621-0750-106-27-0001FINAL_NOFO.pdf (354 KB)
FULL NOFO

About the federal program

Assisting Specialty Crop Exports, also called “ASCE”
Program number 10.621 (the federal Assistance Listing number) · U.S. Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service · Grant, cooperative agreement (a grant with close agency involvement)

How applications are judged

Applicants will be evaluated on the extent and quality to which they demonstrate that they have the capabilities, staff, resources, and equipment to successfully perform the project. Scoring will also be based on the level of detail and how clearly the applicant�s capacities to address these factors are outlined in the proposal. Selection factors will be described in individual NOFOs, but generally include Technical Expertise and Experience, Overall Program Plan, Cost Effectiveness, and Quality of Submission.

Match

None required (federal program listing).

Examples of funded projects

Fiscal year 2024: In 2024, ASCE funded 7 projects to improve consistency and use of science in pesticide maximum residue levels in Africa, Asia, and Latin America; and to research improved packaging materials to meet stricter requirements for sustainability in Europe. Fiscal year 2025: In 2025, ASCE funded 8 projects to improve consistency and use of science in pesticide maximum residue levels in Africa, Asia, and Latin America; and to research improved packaging materials to meet stricter requirements for sustainability in Europe.

This program on SAM.gov

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Key facts