Capacity Building for Non-Land Grant Colleges of Agriculture (NLGCA)

NLGCA Institutions may use the funds: 1. To successfully compete for funds from Federal grants and other sources to carry out educational, research, outreach/Extension and integrated activities that address priority concerns of national, regional, state, and local interest 2. To disseminate information relating to priority concerns to: a. interested members of the agriculture, renewable resources, and other relevant communities b. the public c. any other interested entity 3. To encourage members of the agriculture, renewable resources, and other relevant communities to participate in priority education, research, outreach/extension and integrated activities by providing matching funds to leverage grant resources 4. Through: a. the purchase or other acquisition of equipment and other infrastructure (not including alteration, repair, renovation, or construction of buildings) b. the professional growth and development of the faculty of the NLGCA Institution c. the development of graduate assistantships.

Only a non-land-grant public college or university (NLGCA) offering a baccalaureate or higher degree in the study of agriculture or forestry. The terms "NLGCA Institution" and "non-land-grant college of agriculture" do not include - (i) Hispanic-serving agricultural colleges and universities; or (ii) any institution designated under - (I) the Act of July 2, 1862 (commonly known as the "First Morrill Act"; 7 U.S.C. 301 et seq.); (II) the Act of August 30, 1890 (commonly known as the "Second Morrill Act") (7 U.S.C. 321 et seq.); (III) the Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-382; 7 U.S.C. 301 note); or (IV) Public Law 87-788 (commonly known as the "McIntire-Stennis Cooperative Forestry Act") (16 U.S.C. 582a et seq.)

NIFA evaluates each application in a two-part process. First, each application is reviewed to ensure that it meets the administrative requirements set forth in the NOFO. Second, a peer-review process (https://www.nifa.usda.gov/nifa-peer-review-process-competitive-grant-applications) will be used to evaluate the scientific and technical merit of applications that have meet the administrative requirements. After each peer review panel has completed deliberations, the responsible NIFA program staff will either recommend an application for support from available funds or decline an application due to insufficient funds or unfavorable review.

Fiscal year 2025: A Planning/Workshop grant will develop a collaborative pathway to bring together secondary schools, community colleges, and food industry partners to address the demand for skilled food science professionals; a Regular/Research grant will use advanced biotechnological detection methods (genomics) to enhance food safety in fresh produce by detecting, quantifying, and characterizing Salmonella dynamics on fresh produce, allowing for the detection of both known pathogens and rare or emerging microbial threats; a Collaborative/Joint grant will establish a high-throughput data framework and robust tool based on artificial intelligence (AI) that supports sustainable water use strategies for crops grown under limited water conditions; a Large-scale Collaborative Initiative grant will improve the adsorption of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) forever through biochar, advance the use of biochar technology to enhance soil health, and thereby reduce food-chain transfer of forever chemicals.