USDA-NIFA is announcing funding opportunities for animal health, animal welfare, food safety and nanotechnology research applications. Application information is available online.
Programs related to Animal Agriculture include:
Program Area: Animal Health and Production and Animal Products
Letter of Intent Deadline – November 15, 2012 (5:00 p.m. ET);
(Letters of Intent are required in order to send a full proposal.)
Application Deadline – January 9, 2013 (5:00 p.m. ET);
Priorities:
- Animal Reproduction
- Animal Nutrition, Growth, and Lactation
- Animal Health and Disease
- Tools and Resources for Animal Breeding, Genetics, and Genomics
Program Area: Agriculture Systems and Technology
Letter of Intent Deadline – November 20, 2012 (5:00 p.m. ET);
(Letters of Intent are required in order to send a full proposal.)
Application Deadline – February 13, 2013 (5:00 p.m. ET);
Priorities:
- Engineering, Products, and Processes
- Contribute to improved animal welfare and production systems as the relate to handling, containment, feeding, housing, and harvesting practices and technologies;)
- Enable engineering, computing, and information systems for forestry and natural resources or for plant and animal production, processing, and distribution
- Nanotechnology for Agricultural and Food Systems:
- Nanoscale-based sensing mechanisms and smart sensors for reliable and cost-effective early detection of insects, diseases, pathogens, chemicals, and contaminants;
- Monitoring physiological biomarkers for optimal crop or animal productivity;
Program Area: Food Safety, Nutrition, and Health
Letter of Intent Deadline – November 19, 2012 (5:00 p.m. ET); (Letters of Intent are required in order to send a full proposal.)
Application Deadline – February 6, 2013 (5:00 p.m. ET);
Priorities:
- Physical and Molecular Mechanisms of Food Contamination
- Develop and validate novel concentration and purification methods for the rapid, low-cost, and efficient isolation of human pathogens from foods. Projects that include the development and validation of methods which are effective in multiple food matrices and for multiple pathogens are preferred.
- Improving Food Quality
- Understanding the physical, chemical, and biological properties of foods and food ingredients and applying engineering principles, and advanced processing and packaging technologies to improve the nutrition, health, safety, shelf-life, convenience, economic and/or sensory attributes of foods.
For questions about specific programs, please contact the respective program contacts listed in the RFA.