Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NIFA SCRI 006810
The Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) Pre-Applications opportunity, identified as USDA NIFA SCRI 006810, is a grant program run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture through the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). Its overall goal is to strengthen the specialty crop sector by funding projects that combine research and extension work to solve major, real-world problems affecting specialty crops across the country. The program is framed around challenges that matter at a national, regional, or multi-state scale, and it is intended to support the long-term sustainability of food and agriculture systems, including both conventional and organic production.
In practical terms, SCRI is designed to move beyond small, isolated studies and instead encourage work that has broad relevance and clear pathways to adoption. The “research and extension” emphasis signals that projects are expected not only to generate new knowledge or tools, but also to help get those results into the hands of growers, processors, and other stakeholders through education, demonstrations, outreach, and applied technical support. The program explicitly focuses on “critical needs” of the specialty crop industry, meaning proposals are expected to be grounded in industry priorities and to address barriers that limit productivity, resilience, profitability, and market success.
To be responsive to the opportunity, projects must align with at least one of five required focus areas. The first focus area centers on improving crop characteristics through plant breeding and modern biological approaches such as genetics and genomics. This can include developing new varieties with better yield, quality, nutritional traits, stress tolerance, shelf life, or other economically important characteristics. It also supports methods that accelerate breeding progress and improve how traits are identified, tracked, and incorporated into commercial or grower-ready cultivars.
The second focus area targets threats from pests and diseases, and it also explicitly includes threats to specialty crop pollinators. This scope covers detection, management, and prevention strategies for insects, pathogens, weeds, and emerging or invasive threats, as well as work that protects or strengthens pollinator health and pollination services. Projects in this category often involve integrated pest management approaches, improved diagnostics, risk assessment, resistant varieties, biological controls, and strategies to reduce harmful impacts of pest control practices on beneficial organisms.
The third focus area is about long-term improvements in production efficiency, handling and processing, overall productivity, and profitability, and it is broad enough to include specialty crop policy and marketing. This area can include on-farm production systems and practices, postharvest handling, supply chain improvements, labor and resource efficiency, and economic analyses that help the industry remain competitive. By including policy and marketing, NIFA signals that profitability challenges are not only technical but can also be structural or market-driven, and that research may address business models, consumer demand, market access, or the economic impacts of regulatory or policy environments.
The fourth focus area prioritizes innovation and technology, including improved mechanization and technologies that delay or inhibit ripening. This is aimed at modernizing specialty crop production and postharvest systems through new tools, equipment, and processes that reduce losses, increase efficiency, and support product quality. Mechanization can be especially important in labor-intensive specialty crops, while ripening control and shelf-life technologies can help reduce waste, extend shipping windows, and maintain quality from farm to consumer.
The fifth focus area addresses food safety hazards in specialty crop production, handling, and processing, emphasizing methods to prevent, detect, monitor, control, and respond to risks. This includes work that supports safer practices and systems across the specialty crop chain, such as improved sanitation and preventive controls, monitoring and rapid detection tools, risk reduction strategies, and response protocols when contamination events occur. The framing reflects the reality that specialty crops, particularly those consumed fresh, can present food safety challenges that require both scientific solutions and practical implementation.
From the opportunity record itself, this listing is categorized as “Mandatory” and uses a grant as the funding instrument, with the activity category listed as Agriculture and CFDA number 10.309. The eligible applicant category is shown as “Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification),” indicating that eligibility may extend beyond a single institution type and would normally be clarified in the full program materials associated with the notice. The posting lists an initial creation date of August 12, 2019, and an original closing date of October 15, 2019. The record shows an award ceiling of 0 and expected awards of 0, which is typically an artifact of how certain pre-application or announcement listings are entered rather than a statement that no funding exists, and would normally be reconciled by consulting the full solicitation details and related program guidance.
Overall, SCRI Pre-Applications is best understood as an entry point into a competitive USDA NIFA grant program focused on high-impact specialty crop work. It supports projects that address major industry needs through science-based innovation and strong extension components, with eligible topics spanning breeding and genomics, pest and disease pressures (including pollinators), production and postharvest efficiency and profitability, advanced technology and mechanization (including ripening and shelf-life tools), and comprehensive food safety risk management for specialty crops.Apply for USDA NIFA SCRI 006810
- The Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture in the agriculture sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Specialty Crop Research Initiative Pre-Applications" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.309.
- This funding opportunity was created on Aug 12, 2019.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Oct 15, 2019. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
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Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) Pre-Applications (USDA NIFA SCRI 006810) - FAQs
What is the SCRI Pre-Applications opportunity (USDA NIFA SCRI 006810)?
The Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) Pre-Applications opportunity (USDA NIFA SCRI 006810) is a grant program run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) through the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). It is designed to strengthen the U.S. specialty crop sector by supporting projects that combine research and extension to address major, real-world problems affecting specialty crops at a national, regional, or multi-state scale.
What is the overall purpose of this program?
The overall goal is to fund work that supports the long-term sustainability of food and agriculture systems for specialty crops, including both conventional and organic production. The opportunity emphasizes practical, industry-relevant solutions with clear pathways for adoption by stakeholders.
What does "specialty crop sector" mean in the context of this opportunity?
The opportunity is focused on specialty crops, and the projects are expected to address needs and problems that materially affect the specialty crop industry. The information provided does not list specific crops; it frames the program around specialty crops broadly.
What type of funding instrument is used?
The funding instrument is a grant.
What is the activity/category associated with this listing?
The activity category is Agriculture, and the CFDA number listed is 10.309.
What does it mean that this opportunity is categorized as "Mandatory"?
The opportunity record lists the category as "Mandatory." The provided information does not define how "Mandatory" is applied operationally here, but it is a label in the opportunity record associated with this listing.
Who runs the SCRI program?
The program is run by USDA through NIFA (the National Institute of Food and Agriculture).
What kinds of projects is SCRI trying to encourage?
SCRI is intended to move beyond small, isolated studies and instead support projects with broad relevance. It encourages high-impact work that is grounded in industry priorities, addresses "critical needs" of the specialty crop industry, and includes clear mechanisms to get results adopted in real-world settings.
What does "research and extension" mean in this program?
"Research and extension" means projects are expected to both (1) generate new knowledge, tools, or practices and (2) actively support getting those outcomes into the hands of growers, processors, and other stakeholders. This can involve education, outreach, demonstrations, and applied technical support aimed at adoption and implementation.
What scale of problems is this program aiming to solve?
The program is framed around challenges that matter at a national, regional, or multi-state scale. Proposals are expected to address major issues that affect specialty crops beyond a single local context.
Do projects need to address industry-defined "critical needs"?
Yes. The opportunity explicitly focuses on "critical needs" of the specialty crop industry. Proposals are expected to be grounded in industry priorities and address barriers limiting productivity, resilience, profitability, and market success.
Are applicants required to align with specific focus areas?
Yes. To be responsive to the opportunity, projects must align with at least one of five required focus areas described in the opportunity information.
What are the five required focus areas?
The five required focus areas are:
- Improving crop characteristics through breeding and modern biological approaches (including genetics and genomics).
- Addressing threats from pests and diseases, including threats to specialty crop pollinators.
- Improving production efficiency, handling and processing, productivity, profitability (and may include specialty crop policy and marketing).
- Innovation and technology, including improved mechanization and technologies that delay or inhibit ripening.
- Food safety hazards in production, handling, and processing, including prevention, detection, monitoring, control, and response.
What kinds of projects fit under Focus Area 1 (improving crop characteristics)?
This focus area includes plant breeding and modern biological approaches such as genetics and genomics. Examples described include developing new varieties with improved yield, quality, nutritional traits, stress tolerance, shelf life, or other economically important characteristics. It also includes methods that accelerate breeding progress and improve identification and tracking of traits for incorporation into commercial or grower-ready cultivars.
What kinds of projects fit under Focus Area 2 (pests, diseases, and pollinators)?
This area covers detection, management, and prevention strategies for insects, pathogens, weeds, and emerging or invasive threats. It also explicitly includes threats to specialty crop pollinators and work that protects pollinator health and pollination services. The opportunity information mentions integrated pest management approaches, improved diagnostics, risk assessment, resistant varieties, biological controls, and strategies to reduce harmful impacts of pest control practices on beneficial organisms.
Does this opportunity include pollinator-related work?
Yes. The pests and diseases focus area explicitly includes threats to specialty crop pollinators and supports work aimed at protecting or strengthening pollinator health and pollination services.
What kinds of projects fit under Focus Area 3 (efficiency, profitability, policy, and marketing)?
This focus area is broad and includes long-term improvements in production efficiency, handling and processing, productivity, and profitability. It is also broad enough to include specialty crop policy and marketing. The description includes on-farm production systems and practices, postharvest handling, supply chain improvements, labor and resource efficiency, and economic analyses that support competitiveness. It also signals that research may address business models, consumer demand, market access, or economic impacts of regulatory or policy environments.
What kinds of projects fit under Focus Area 4 (innovation, mechanization, and ripening control)?
This focus area prioritizes innovation and technology, including improved mechanization and technologies that delay or inhibit ripening. It is aimed at modernizing specialty crop production and postharvest systems through tools, equipment, and processes that reduce losses, increase efficiency, and support product quality. The description notes that mechanization is especially important for labor-intensive specialty crops, and ripening control/shelf-life technologies can reduce waste and extend shipping windows.
What kinds of projects fit under Focus Area 5 (food safety)?
This area addresses food safety hazards in specialty crop production, handling, and processing. It emphasizes methods to prevent, detect, monitor, control, and respond to risks. The description includes improved sanitation and preventive controls, monitoring and rapid detection tools, risk reduction strategies, and response protocols for contamination events.
Is the program limited to conventional production systems?
No. The opportunity information states the program is intended to support sustainability of food and agriculture systems including both conventional and organic production.
Does the opportunity expect projects to include outreach or education?
Yes. Because SCRI emphasizes "research and extension," projects are expected not only to generate results but also to help move those results into practice via outreach methods such as education, demonstrations, and applied technical support.
Is this listing a pre-application or an entry point to a larger competition?
Yes. The opportunity is described as "SCRI Pre-Applications" and is best understood as an entry point into a competitive USDA NIFA grant program focused on high-impact specialty crop work.
Who is eligible to apply?
The eligible applicant category is shown as "Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification)." This indicates eligibility may extend beyond a single institution type, but the provided information notes that eligibility would normally be clarified in the full program materials associated with the notice.
Where can applicants find the final details about eligibility and requirements?
The provided information indicates that details such as eligibility would normally be clarified in the full solicitation and related program guidance associated with the notice.
What are the key dates listed for this opportunity?
The listing shows an initial creation date of August 12, 2019, and an original closing date of October 15, 2019.
What are the award ceiling and expected number of awards shown in the record?
The record shows an award ceiling of 0 and expected awards of 0.
Does an award ceiling of 0 and expected awards of 0 mean there is no funding?
Not necessarily. The provided information explains that this is typically an artifact of how certain pre-application or announcement listings are entered, rather than a statement that no funding exists. It also notes that this would normally be reconciled by consulting the full solicitation details and related program guidance.
What kinds of outcomes is SCRI aiming for?
The program aims for outcomes that solve major specialty crop problems and can be adopted in real-world settings. The emphasis is on broad relevance, addressing industry barriers, and delivering practical tools, knowledge, or practices alongside extension activities that promote implementation.
Can projects include postharvest handling, processing, and supply chain topics?
Yes. The third focus area includes handling and processing, postharvest handling, and supply chain improvements, and the fourth focus area includes technologies that delay or inhibit ripening to support shelf life and quality.
Can projects include economic, policy, or marketing research?
Yes. The third focus area explicitly notes it is broad enough to include specialty crop policy and marketing, and it references economic analyses, business models, consumer demand, market access, and economic impacts of regulatory or policy environments.
What kinds of pest management strategies are mentioned as relevant?
The opportunity description mentions integrated pest management approaches, improved diagnostics, risk assessment, resistant varieties, biological controls, and strategies to reduce harmful impacts of pest control practices on beneficial organisms.
Is technology development part of the program scope?
Yes. Innovation and technology are explicitly prioritized, including mechanization and ripening/shelf-life technologies intended to modernize production and postharvest systems.
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