Applications are due April 13 for the Alfalfa Forage and Research Program.

USDA announced Feb. 12 the availability of $1.85 million in funding for the program, which is administered through USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. NIFA funds research and extension programs to improve alfalfa forage and seed yield and trains producers to use best practices.

Grants are available for alfalfa research. (Photo: Brian Brown/Thinkstock)

“Research into critical agricultural science areas like this reach their full potential when coupled with extension activities. Applicants for these grants should keep in mind the importance of reaching out to producers and farmers to share information and apply research findings,” said NIFA director Dr. Sonny Ramaswamy. “Integrating these two important functions is how agricultural solutions move from the lab to the farm and vice versa.”

The Alfalfa and Forage Research Program (AFRP) supports integrated, collaborative research and technology transfer to improve the efficiency and sustainability of conventional and organic forage production systems. The program encourages projects that establish multi-disciplinary networks to address priority national or regional science needs of the alfalfa industry. By bringing together expertise from multiple organizations and states, these projects will have greater impact and enhance the effectiveness of limited state, federal and industry resources.

The goals of AFRP are to improve alfalfa forage yield and seed yield through better nutrient, water, and/or pest management; improve persistence of alfalfa stance by lessening biotic or abiotic stresses; improve alfalfa forage and seed harvesting and storage systems to optimize economic returns; improve estimate of alfalfa forage quality as an animal feed to increase forage usage in animal feeds; and use breeding to address biotic and abiotic stresses that impact alfalfa forage yield and persistence and the production of seed for propagation.