[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 101 (Friday, May 26, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24279-24281]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-10782]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

National Institute of Food and Agriculture


Solicitation of Commodity Board Topics and Contribution of 
Funding Under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive 
Grants Program

AGENCY: National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of opportunity for commodity boards to submit topics and 
contribute funding under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative 
Competitive Grants Program.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The National Institute of Food and Agriculture is soliciting 
topics from eligible commodity board entities (Federal and State-level 
commodity boards, as defined below), which they are willing to equally 
co-fund with NIFA. To be considered for inclusion in future Agriculture 
and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grants Program

[[Page 24280]]

(AFRI) Requests for Applications (RFAs), topics must relate to the 
established priority areas of AFRI.

DATES: Commodity boards may submit topics at any time; however, all 
topics to be considered for the fiscal year 2018 AFRI RFAs must be 
received by 5:00 p.m., EDT on July 25, 2017. Topics submitted by 
eligible commodity board entities after this date will be considered 
for RFAs to be issued in future years. NIFA will hold a webinar and 
workshop to respond to questions from commodity boards interested in 
submitting topics. Details including the date and time, and access 
information will be posted on the NIFA Web site (http://nifa.usda.gov/commodity-boards/).

ADDRESSES: You may submit topics by the following method: Web site: 
https://nifa.usda.gov/webform/commodity-board-topic-submission/.
    Instructions: The topic submission must be through the Web site 
form; emailed topics will not be accepted. Required fields are marked. 
Topics submitted through this form will not be posted to a public site.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Mirando; Phone: (202) 401-4336, 
or Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As part of the National Institute of Food 
and Agriculture's (NIFA) strategy to implement section 7404 of Public 
Law 113-79, the Agricultural Act of 2014, NIFA is soliciting topics 
from eligible commodity board entities (Federal and State-level 
commodity boards, as defined below), which they are willing to equally 
co-fund with NIFA. To be considered for inclusion in future Agriculture 
and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grants Program (AFRI) Requests 
for Applications (RFAs), topics must relate to the established priority 
areas of AFRI.
    Commodity boards are those entities established under a commodity 
promotion law, as such term is defined under section 501(a) of the 
Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 
7401(a), or a State commodity board or other equivalent State entity. 
See the ``Supplementary Information'' section of this Notice under the 
heading ``Eligibility for Submitting Topics'' for further information.
    If, after NIFA's evaluation, proposed topics are accepted for 
inclusion in an AFRI RFA, they will be incorporated into AFRI 
competitive grants program RFAs. As a condition of funding grants 
pertaining to a topic, NIFA will require an agreement with the 
commodity board to provide funds equal to the amount NIFA is 
contributing under the agreed upon topic.
    This Notice invites topic submissions from commodity boards as 
defined above, outlines the process NIFA will use to evaluate the 
appropriateness of these topics for inclusion in AFRI RFAs, and 
describes the commitment required of commodity boards for NIFA to 
jointly fund competitively selected AFRI awards within a topic area 
submitted by the commodity boards.

Background and Purpose

    This Notice begins the third topic submission cycle to implement 
section 2(b)(4)(F) of the Competitive, Special, and Facilities Research 
Grant Act (7 U.S.C. 450i(b)(4)(F)), as added by section 7404 of the 
Agricultural Act of 2014, Public Law 113-79, which requires NIFA to 
``establish procedures, including timelines, under which an entity 
established under a commodity promotion law, as such term is defined 
under section 501(a) of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform 
Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7401(a), or a State commodity board (or other 
equivalent State entity) may directly submit to [NIFA] for 
consideration proposals for requests for applications'' within the AFRI 
Program.
    Stakeholder feedback gathered in previous years informed this 
Notice and the process NIFA is using to implement section 7404. This 
Notice invites entities established under a commodity promotion law or 
State commodity boards (or other equivalent State entities) to submit 
topics they are proposing for inclusion in fiscal year 2018 AFRI RFAs. 
Topics must relate to the established AFRI priority areas, which are: 
Plant health and production and plant products; animal health and 
production and animal products; food safety, nutrition, and health; 
bioenergy, natural resources, and environment; agriculture systems and 
technology; and agriculture economics and rural communities. A summary 
statement on AFRI is included below. To learn more about AFRI programs, 
including program priorities, typical award budget amounts, and 
examples of RFAs, please visit: http://nifa.usda.gov/commodity-boards/.

AFRI Program Overview

    The AFRI program is the largest agricultural competitive grants 
program in the United States and a primary funding source for research, 
education, and extension projects that bring practical solutions to 
some of today's most critical societal challenges. AFRI programs impact 
all components of agriculture, including farm and ranch efficiency and 
profitability, bioenergy, forestry, aquaculture, rural communities, 
human nutrition, food safety, biotechnology, and genetic improvement of 
plants and animals.
    In FY 2018, NIFA will solicit applications for AFRI funding 
opportunities in the six AFRI priority areas (Plant health and 
production and plant products; Animal health and production and animal 
products; Food safety, nutrition, and health; Bioenergy, natural 
resources, and environment; Agriculture systems and technology; 
Agriculture economics and rural communities). It is anticipated these 
will include the AFRI Foundational Science Program RFA and the AFRI 
Education and Workforce Development RFA. The annual AFRI Foundational 
Science Program RFA solicits grant applications focused predominately, 
but not exclusively, on fundamental scientific research addressing 
statutory priorities. The AFRI Education and Workforce Development RFA 
solicits grant applications for training K-14 teachers and 
administrators, undergraduate research and extension experiential 
learning fellowships, and pre- and post-doctoral fellowships. Any 
additional AFRI RFAs made available in FY 2018 will be included in this 
solicitation.

Eligibility for Submitting Topics

    Eligible commodity board entities are those established under a 
commodity promotion law, as such term is defined under section 501(a) 
of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 
7401(a)), or a State commodity board (or other equivalent State 
entity). Language in 7 U.S.C. 7401(a) defines a ``commodity promotion 
law'' as ``a Federal law that provides for the establishment and 
operation of a promotion program regarding an agricultural commodity 
that includes a combination of promotion, research, industry 
information, or consumer information activities, is funded by mandatory 
assessments on producers or processors, and is designed to maintain or 
expand markets and uses for the commodity (as determined by the 
Secretary).'' 7 U.S.C. Section 7401(a) includes a list of such Federal 
laws.
    A current list of approved entities is maintained at (http://nifa.usda.gov/commodity-boards/). Additionally, entities eligible to 
submit topics include a State commodity board (or other equivalent 
State entity). This includes commodity boards authorized by State law; 
commodity boards that are not authorized by State law, but are

[[Page 24281]]

organized and operate within a State and meet the requirements of their 
authorizing statute; and commodity boards that are authorized by a 
State and operate within the State for commodities that have no Federal 
program or oversight.

Topic Submission Guidance and Procedures

    Topics may be submitted at any time and will be evaluated by NIFA 
on an annual basis. However, to be considered for the proposed fiscal 
year 2018 AFRI RFAs, topics must be received by COB (5 p.m. Eastern 
Daylight Time) on July 25, 2017.
    Each topic proposed must be submitted using the online topic 
submission form provided at: https://nifa.usda.gov/webform/commodity-board-topic-submission/. Commodity boards may propose support for 
multiple awards for each topic proposed. For each topic the commodity 
board proposes to support, the minimum amount contributed by the 
commodity board must align with budget guidance for each AFRI area 
(http://nifa.usda.gov/commodity-boards/) and comply with the maximum 
amount of $2.5 million allowed per topic. NIFA does not intend to match 
funding from a single commodity board in excess of $10 million in any 
year. Commodity boards should only submit topics that have a strong 
economic impact on their industry and U.S. agriculture, as a whole. 
Examples of topics typically supported by AFRI can be found at http://nifa.usda.gov/commodity-boards/.
    If topics are accepted for funding, they will be incorporated into 
AFRI RFAs, and grants supporting the topic area may be awarded to AFRI 
eligible entities based on a competitive peer review process. As a 
condition of funding grants in a topic, NIFA will require an agreement 
by the commodity board to provide funds in an amount equal to the 
amount NIFA is contributing under the agreed upon topic. If a topic is 
selected for inclusion in an RFA, the commodity board submitting the 
topic will be required to maintain the confidentiality of the topic 
until the RFA is issued by NIFA. All commodity board funds and NIFA 
funds must be available at the time awards are selected for funding; 
awards are fully funded at the beginning of the award. Applications 
submitted under topics provided by commodity boards will be required to 
include a letter of support from the commodity board that proposed the 
topic.

Evaluation and Notification Process

    NIFA will screen proposed research topics to ensure eligibility of 
the submitting commodity boards. NIFA will also consult with USDA's 
Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) to determine that submissions and 
proposed financial contributions are consistent with commodity 
promotion laws and commodity boards' charters, as applicable.
    Commodity board topics are reviewed by an internal panel based on 
evaluation criteria developed using stakeholder input from commodity 
boards and other stakeholders from government, industry, and academe. 
Each topic will be evaluated based on: Alignment with one or more of 
the statutory AFRI priority areas (six AFRI priority areas authorized 
in the Farm Bill and described in 7 CFR 3430.309); alignment with the 
President's budget proposal for NIFA, as identified in the Department 
of Agriculture's annual budget submission; and alignment with the 
priority areas in the AFRI RFAs to be released by NIFA during the 
fiscal year for which the commodity board is proposing a topic for 
funding (for example, within the AFRI Foundational Science RFA, the 
AFRI Animal Health and Production and Animal Products' ``Animal 
Reproduction'' priority area).
    From those topics received by COB (5 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time) on 
July 25, 2017, NIFA will select the topic(s) that were evaluated 
favorably for inclusion in the appropriate FY 2018 AFRI RFA. NIFA will 
notify commodity boards as to whether their topics will be included by 
August 24, 2017. Based on the evaluation, NIFA reserves the right to 
negotiate with commodity boards should changes be required to accept 
topics and funding amounts. Any changes to topics and funding amounts 
will be reviewed by USDA's AMS to determine if such changes are 
consistent with applicable commodity promotion laws.
    NIFA will evaluate topics submitted after the July 25, 2017 
deadline on an annual basis and notify commodity boards whether their 
topics will be included in subsequent RFAs within two weeks following 
the meeting of the internal evaluation panel, the date of which will be 
published on NIFA's Commodity Boards Web page at (http://nifa.usda.gov/commodity-boards/).

    Done at Washington, DC, this 19th day of May, 2017.
Robert Holland,
Associate Director, National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 2017-10782 Filed 5-25-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-22-P