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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Cambria Math",serif;color:#104862">Dear Colleagues,
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Cambria Math",serif;color:#104862"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Cambria Math",serif;color:#104862">Forwarding here some information that we received today from Lewis-Burke:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Cambria Math",serif;color:#104862"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Cambria Math",serif;color:#104862">The FY26 AFRI Foundational and Applied Science Program RFP was
<b><a href="https://www.nifa.usda.gov/grants/funding-opportunities/agriculture-food-research-initiative-foundational-applied-science"><span style="color:#104862">released</span></a></b> on Friday. Deadlines for letters of intent differ by program. Please note that this RFP is for *<b>FY2026</b>*.
It seems that because of the delay caused by (DOGE) review, many of the larger NIFA competitive programs will not have any RFP for FY25, so, instead, NIFA is reaching out to folks who submitted proposals from FY24 that were highly ranked and offering to fund/extend
those projects now.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Cambria Math",serif;color:#104862"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Cambria Math",serif;color:#104862">For an example of how NIFA is wording this policy, take a look at the
<b><a href="https://www.nifa.usda.gov/grants/funding-opportunities/gus-schumacher-nutrition-incentive-program-nutrition-incentive-0" title="https://www.nifa.usda.gov/grants/funding-opportunities/gus-schumacher-nutrition-incentive-program-nutrition-incentive-0"><span style="color:#104862">GusNIP
program page</span></a></b>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Cambria Math",serif;color:#104862"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Cambria Math",serif;color:#104862">It looks like NIFA will be releasing FY24 RFPs for some of the smaller programs and for the programs that having “one year” funding that will expire at the end
of FY25 (Sept 30). We’ve already seen FY25 RFPs for SBIR, Open Data, and Potato Breeding, so that tracks.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Cambria Math",serif;color:#104862"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Cambria Math",serif;color:#104862">Word on the street is that there is a strong desire at NIFA to get back onto its normal schedule, and this is their creative workaround to get FY25 money out
the door quickly so that they can do that. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Cambria Math",serif;color:#104862"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Cambria Math",serif;color:#104862">The fact that FY26 RFPs were released, putting aside what happened in FY25, is a sign that things may move towards normal in the coming year.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Cambria",serif;color:#0F4761">-----------------------------------</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Cambria",serif;color:#0F4761;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Cambria",serif;color:#0F4761">Jon Chorover<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Cambria",serif;color:#0F4761">Interim Associate Vice President/Associate Dean for Research<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Cambria",serif;color:#0F4761">Professor, Department of Environmental Science<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Cambria",serif;color:#0F4761">Division of Agriculture, Life & Veterinary Sciences, & Cooperative Extension (ALVSCE)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Cambria",serif;color:#0F4761">College of Agriculture, Life & Environmental Sciences (CALES)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Cambria",serif;color:#0F4761">University of Arizona<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Cambria",serif;color:#0F4761">Tucson, AZ 85721<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Cambria",serif;color:#0F4761">Phone: (520) 626-5635<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Cambria",serif;color:#0F4761">Email: <a href="mailto:chorover@arizona.edu"><span style="color:#0F4761">chorover@arizona.edu</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Cambria",serif;color:#0F4761"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Cambria",serif;color:#0F4761">I am on ancestral lands of the
</span></i><i><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#0F4761"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Cambria",serif;color:#0F4761">Tohono O'odham and
<span style="background:white">Pascua Yaqui</span>.</span></i><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#0F4761"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Cambria",serif;color:#0F4761"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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