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Applications due Oct. 10 for Brown Fellowship for International Research
Graduate students in CAFNR can receive up to $7,500 to support international research through the Brown Fellowship. This program encourages U.S. graduate students to incorporate an international perspective into their career goals. Fellowship funds may be used to collect research data and gain firsthand experience with agricultural cultures and institutions outside the U.S. Research proposals in the food, agricultural and natural resource sciences are eligible. Applicants must be U.S. citizens pursuing a research degree (thesis-based master’s or Ph.D.). Contact Kerry Clark, clarkk@missouri.edu, for an application. Deadline is October 10, 2025.
Important Update from USDA NIFA
USDA NIFA has embarked on its Grants Modernization Initiative to transform and modernize the grants management systems, processes and policies. NIFA will adopt the eRA (Electronic Research Administration) grants management system to simplify and streamline grants and financial management processes. Some may be familiar with eRA as it’s the system used by several other funding agencies. According to NIFA, eRA offers a modern, lower cost, end-to-end, centralized system that will improve the efficiency, accuracy and effectiveness of NIFA’s grants management processes.
NIFA has announced the first set of programs that will be moving the Funding Opportunity Announcements to the eRA during the first quarter of federal Fiscal Year 2026. If you are planning on applying for one of these opportunities, you should register for eRA Commons as soon as possible. NIFA is working to include additional programs throughout FY 26 and beyond. Please refer to the details provided below:
NIFA’s First Programs Are Moving to eRA
NIFA announces the following programs will be transitioning new Funding Opportunity Announcements to the eRA grants management system in the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2026.
- Agricultural Genome to Phenome Initiative
- Equipment Grants Program
- Farm Business and Benchmarking Program
- Food and Agriculture Service Learning Program
- Food Safety Outreach Competitive Grants Program
- Organic Agriculture Research & Extension Initiative
- Renewable Resource Extension Act National Focus Fund Program
- Secondary Education, Two-Year Postsecondary Education, and Agriculture in the K-12 Classroom Challenge Grants Program
- Smith-Lever Special Needs Competitive Grants Program
What Does This Mean for You?
If you are planning on applying for one of the above opportunities, you should register for eRA Commons as soon as possible. Please see our announcement for more information on how to create an account with eRA Commons.
Important Note: Only new applications to the above programs are moving to eRA at this time. Prior awards will continue to operate using previous systems and processes.
Upcoming Training
The eRA team will host training to provide an introduction and high-level overview of eRA and its capabilities. This training is available to any potential grant applicants or current grant recipients. The training is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 11, 1-3 p.m. To join, register on the event page.
Looking Ahead
NIFA is working to include additional programs throughout FY 26 and beyond. Keep an eye out for more updates as they continue to modernize their grants management system. For updates and announcements on NIFA’s Grants Modernization Initiative (GMI) and eRA migration, visit the GMI webpage.
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