Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grants Program Foundational and Applied Science Program

Opportunity snapshot. This Grants.gov announcement — Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grants Program Foundational and Applied Science Program — is cataloged under number USDA-NIFA-AFRI-011134 and tied to CFDA assistance listing 10.310, posted by National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Grants.gov currently shows the opportunity as open, first posted on August 1, 2025 and last updated on November 14, 2025. The funding category is Discretionary, delivered as a grant.

Award economics. The award range on file is $10,000 -- $10,000,000. The agency has projected $300.0 million in total estimated funding for this announcement. Cost sharing is not required, so applicants do not need to commit matching funds to be competitive on this opportunity. Federal award ranges are often upper bounds; actual allocations reflect program appropriations, the strength of the applicant pool, and the evaluation committee's scoring.

Deadline and action path. Applications close on December 31, 2026 — roughly 209 days from today. Every Grants.gov submission requires an active SAM.gov registration and a Unique Entity ID. Review the Eligibility section below carefully — federal eligibility categories (nonprofit, state or local government, tribal, individual, educational institution, small business) have distinct registration and reporting requirements. Pre-application outreach to the listed agency contact is permitted and often welcomed — it helps clarify scope and scoring priorities.