USDA-NIFA Equipment Grant Program (for drone-carried lidar system)

USDA-NIFA Equipment Grant Program (for drone-carried lidar system) is sponsored by USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). While a specific annual NOFO was not found, the University of Idaho's Drone Lab received a USDA NIFA Equipment Grant for a drone-carried lidar system for agriculture and natural resources research and teaching.

Equipment Grant Program | NIFA The lifecycle of grants and cooperative agreements consists of four phases: Pre-Award, Award, Post-Award, and Close Out. The National Institute of Food and Agriculture is committed to serving its stakeholders, Congress, and the public by using new technologies to advance greater openness.

The Data Gateway enables users to find funding data, metrics, and information about research, education, and Extension projects that have received grant awards from NIFA. This website houses a large volume of supporting materials. In this section, you can search the wide range of documents, videos, and other resources.

Veterinary Services Grant Program Technical Assistance Webinar NIFA staff will hold a Technical Assistance Webinar to discuss the Veterinary Services Grant Program (VSGP) Notice of Funding Opportunity. The National Institute of Food and Agriculture provides leadership and funding for programs that advance agriculture-related sciences.

To expedite distribution of Fiscal Year 2025 NIFA grant funds for the Equipment Grant Program, some processes for this FY have changed. This program will not issue a NOFO in FY25. Funds will be distributed to existing projects or previously peer-reviewed and meritorious but unfunded proposals.

NIFA will issue an NOFO in FY26 upon receipt of appropriations. The Equipment Grant Program (EGP) serves to increase access to shared-use special purpose equipment/instruments for fundamental and applied research for use in the food and agricultural sciences programs at institutions of higher education, including State Cooperative Extension Systems.

The program seeks to strengthen the quality and expand the scope of fundamental and applied research at eligible institutions, by providing them with opportunities to acquire one major piece of equipment/instruments that support their research, training, and extension goals and may be too costly and/or not appropriate for support through other NIFA grant programs.

The EGP does not support the acquisition of suites of equipment to outfit research laboratories /facilities or to conduct independent experiments simultaneously. Similarly, the EGP does not fund common, general purpose ancillary equipment that would normally be found in a laboratory and/or is relatively easily procured by the organization or through other NIFA grant programs.

Rather, it is intended to help fund items of equipment that will upgrade infrastructure. Moreover, EGP does not fund research projects, including research that uses the equipment acquired with support from the program nor does it support the operation and maintenance of facilities. Dates may vary.

Please see NOFO for exact details. If you need a reasonable accommodation to access information related to this grant opportunity, please contact the Information Contact listed on this page no later than ten (10) days before the closing date. If you need a reasonable accommodation for the webinar or event related to this grant opportunity, please contact the event host.

NIFA offers language access services, such as interpretation and translation of vital information, free of charge. If you need interpretation or translation services, please visit NIFA Language Access Services and request service no later than ten (10) days before the closing date. More Information on Eligibility Colleges, Universities or State Cooperative Institution, as defined in 7 U.S.C.

§ 3103. Including: 1862 and 1890 land-grant institutions; State-certified Schools of Forestry as stipulated in accordance with 16 U.S.C. 582a et seq.

(the McIntire-Stennis Act of 1962); State Agricultural Experiment Stations located in the 50 States, the District of Columbia and the Insular Areas in accordance with 7 U.S. C. 361a et seq. (the Hatch Act of 1887); "Cooperative extension services" meaning the organizations established at the land-grant colleges and universities under the Smith-Lever Act of May 8, 1914 (38 Stat.

372–374, as amended; 7 U.S.C. 341–349), and section 209(b) of the Act of October 26, 1974 (88 Stat. 1428, as amended; D.

C. Code, sec.

31–1719(b)); Accredited schools or colleges of veterinary medicine or State agricultural experiment stations that conduct animal health and disease research in accordance with section 1433(c) of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977; Hispanic-serving institutions as defined in section 1101a of title 20; Eligible institutions in insular areas including, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; Guam; American Samoa; the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands; the Federated States of Micronesia; the Republic of the Marshall Islands; the Republic of Palau; and the Virgin Islands of the United States.

Thursday, January 11, 2024 For more Information Contact grantapplicationquestions@usda. gov Funding Opportunity Number Assistance Listing Number Estimated Total Program Funding Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement Equipment Grants Program (EGP) Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Food and Nutrition Security Page last updated: December 16, 2025 Your feedback is important to us.