Commodity Boards Frequently Asked Questions

Submission of Topics by Commodity Boards and Review of Topics by NIFA
Review of Applications for Projects that Address Commodity Board Topics
Commodity Board Funding Commitments and Funds Management
Transfer of Commodity Board Funds to NIFA

Submission of Topics by Commodity Boards and Review of Topics by NIFA

How can eligible Commodity Boards submit topics?

Answer: Each proposed topic must be submitted using this online form. Submissions must include a clear description of the topic; the total funding contribution from the Commodity Board will make and a brief rationale that describes how the topic supports a specific priority area of the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grants Program.

Do the topic suggestions need to be very specific or can they be of a more general nature?

Answer: The specificity of proposed topics is up to the board proposing to co-fund selected projects. The best guidance is to examine the specificity of prior AFRI Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs) on related topics. The most recent AFRI FAS funding opportunity page.

What is the deadline for submitting topics?

Answer: Topics may be submitted at any time to commodityboards@usda.gov using the online form; however for topics to be considered for the next fiscal year, they must be received by the date specified on the Commodity Board Topic Solicitation Notification webpage. Topics submitted after this date will be considered for NOFOs in future years.

What is the timeline for deciding if suggested topics will be included in one of the AFRI Foundational and Applied Sciences NOFO?

Answer: For topics submitted before the current fiscal year deadline, NIFA will decide within 70 days after the submission deadline specified on the Commodity Board Topic Solicitation Notification webpage. The date for evaluating topics submitted after the deadline for possible inclusion in the current fiscal year’s AFRI Foundational and Applied Science NOFO in development, if practicable, will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

How will research topics be selected?

Answer: NIFA will screen proposed research topics to ensure they were submitted by eligible Commodity Boards and consult with USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) to determine that submissions and proposed financial contributions are consistent with commodity promotion laws and Commodity Boards’ charters, as applicable.

Commodity Board topics will be reviewed by NIFA program staff based on review criteria that were developed using stakeholder input from commodity boards and other stakeholders from government, industry, and academia.

Each topic will be evaluated based on alignment with one or more of the statutory AFRI priority areas, alignment with the President’s budget proposal for NIFA as identified in the Department of Agriculture’s annual budget submission, and alignment with the priority areas in the AFRI Foundational and Applied Science NOFO to be released by NIFA during the fiscal year for which the Commodity Board is proposing a topic for funding (for example, within the AFRI Foundational and Applied Science Program NOFO, the AFRI Animal Health and Production and Animal Product’s “Animal Reproduction” program area priority).

Will a list of selected topics and their sponsoring Commodity Boards be posted?

Answer: Selected topics and their sponsoring Commodity Boards will be clearly marked as such in the AFRI Foundational and Applied Science NOFO so that grant applicants can request letters of support for co-funding from the respective Commodity Board.

How will topics suggested by Commodity Boards be different from AFRI’s normal priorities?

Answer: Topics suggested by Commodity Boards must relate closely to the established AFRI priority areas. The suggested topics, however, may provide additional refinement and focus.

Can multiple commodity groups coordinate to submit a single topic?

Answer: NIFA welcomes proposed topics that are supported by multiple organizations. For any topic, whether proposed by a single group or by multiple groups, the minimum funding requirement will be $150,000 per grant to support 50% of a $300,000 grant. NIFA will match the amount committed by the Commodity Board for each topic to the individual Co-funding Agreements it enters. 

For example, consider a topic with a minimum funding requirement of $150,000. If five groups will each contribute $150,000 to support a single topic, NIFA will consider the topic and enter a separate agreement with each individual group to support up to five grants at $300,000 each. However, if five groups combine funds to reach a combined minimum contribution of $150,000, NIFA will consider the topic but only enter into a single agreement and the cooperating groups must select a single organization to sign the agreement. NIFA will retain the $2,500,000 upper limit per topic whether proposed by a single or by multiple groups.

How will Commodity Board Co-funded opportunities be advertised?

Answer: Commodity Board topics selected under the Commodity Board Solicitation Notification competition will be included in the AFRI Foundational and Applied Science NOFO A1811 AFRI Commodity Board Co-funding Topics program area priority. Release of the NOFO containing these co-funding topics will be announced on the NIFA website and through an email distribution list. When the updated NOFO containing the Commodity Board Co-funding topics is released, NIFA will notify all participating Commodity Boards so that they can also publicize the topic they are supporting and notify prospective applicants. Until the NOFO is released, inclusion of topics for Commodity Board Co-funding is strictly confidential.

What does it mean that Commodity Board topic areas will be combined in the same program area priority?

Within the AFRI Foundational and Applied Sciences NOFO, there may be multiple topics from multiple boards but each topic would be listed separately in the “Commodity Board Co-funded Topics” program area priority (A1811) and each topic will include contact information for the appropriate commodity board so applicants can request a letter of support from that board. Letters of support for co-funding allow commodity boards to verify their support for an application.

Review of Applications for Projects that Address Commodity Board Topics

Will AFRI research project proposals be submitted by the Commodity Boards or do they need to come directly from the researchers?

Answer: Commodity Boards may submit topics for NIFA to include in the AFRI Foundational and Applied Science NOFO under a separate process detailed in the  Commodity Board Topic Solicitation Notification, but actual project grant proposals in response to the NOFO addressing a Commodity Board topic should be submitted by the scientists who will lead the project.

How will proposals be evaluated? Will Commodity Boards be involved in the project selection process?

Answer: NIFA will use its established peer review process to evaluate and rank the proposals. Commodity Boards will not be included in this peer review process. 

How will Commodity Boards be assured that their funding is used only for projects that fit their needs and interests?

Answer: NIFA will only use a Commodity Board’s funding to co-fund a project if the project has received a letter of support from the Commodity Board specifically indicating that the Commodity Board is willing to co-fund the project if it ranks meritoriously. To be considered for co-funding by NIFA and a Commodity Board, applicants must request letters of support directly from the Commodity Board prior to or shortly after submitting their application. They will then have 60 days after the application deadline to provide NIFA with a letter of support from the Commodity Board. Commodity Boards should respond promptly to requests for consultations with interested applicants and requests from applicants for letters of support and only provide letters for projects they are willing to co-fund.

Can Commodity Boards suggest reviewers?

Those interested in serving on a peer-review panel can provide their contact information by visiting the NIFA Peer Review System and clicking on the “Panelist Recruitment” link in the “Volunteer”.

Will Commodity Boards have access to the panel reviews prior to submitting their letter(s) of support?

Answer: The application and letters of support will be submitted prior to the peer review process. Our intention is that Commodity Boards identify any and all projects they are interested in funding through the letter of support. Reviews produced by reviewers are confidential.

Can applications be funded without a Commodity Board letter of support? 

Answer: NIFA will not use a commodity board’s funds to support projects that do not have a letter of support from the Commodity Board. NIFA may use NIFA funds to make an award for highly rated meritorious applications without a letter of support, or NIFA may ask the appropriate Commodity Board to consider co-funding such proposals if their funding has not been allocated for other projects. 

Can only research entities in the United States submit? If so, can a researcher in another country collaborate with a researcher in the US and submit a proposal for consideration?

Answer: For AFRI programs, eligibility is very broad. The lead Project Director must be at a U.S. entity, but collaborators can be international. The AFRI Foundational and Applied Science NOFO will contain detailed information about applicant eligibility.

Commodity Board Funding Commitments and Funds Management

What are the minimum and maximum amounts a Commodity Board can contribute to funding the topics they have proposed?

Answer: Commodity Boards may support multiple awards for each proposed topic and they may propose multiple topics. There is a $300,000 minimum for grant awards in each proposed topic, 50% ($150,000) of the minimum must be committed by the Commodity Board. The maximum amount a Commodity Board can contribute is $2.5 million per topic ($5 million total). When a Commodity Board proposes more than one topic, the maximum NIFA will accept from a single board is $10 million.

In addition, Commodity Boards must provide 50 percent of the funds for every co-funded project. Because different project types and different Commodity Board topics may have different funding levels, the minimum funding necessary to support a less expensive project type will be less than the amount needed to co-fund a larger project. Examples of the different AFRI project and grant types can be found on the AFRI NOFO Resources webpage.

What commitments do Commodity Boards need to make and when will they make them?

Answer: Within 70 days after the topic submission deadline, NIFA will notify commodity boards whether NIFA intends to include their proposed topic(s) in the current fiscal year AFRI Foundational and Applied Science NOFO. Soon after NIFA will include a Co-funding Agreement that must be signed and returned. This agreement will specify that 100% of funds be committed, put into an escrow or designated holding account and then transferred to NIFA in the first year. It will also require confidentiality and non-disclosure of NOFO topics before the NOFO is released.

When will Commodity Boards know whether the funds will be used?

Answer:  Commodity Boards will be notified whether their escrowed funds will be used after the Peer Review Panel is complete and NIFA has reviewed the slate of meritorious projects recommended for funding. If no applications are received for a topic, Commodity Boards will be notified shortly after the application deadline that their escrowed funds will not be used. 

Can Commodity Boards augment funding for projects that are currently underway or to enhance future projects which are proving successful?

Answer:  The AFRI program does not normally provide supplemental awards to existing projects outside of the established NOFO and peer review process. If a commodity board is especially interested in additional work from a jointly funded project team, they could propose the follow-up work as a new topic for an upcoming NOFO or they could support further work unilaterally without co-funding from AFRI by working directly with the project team.

Commodity Boards often prohibit payment of indirect costs. Will jointly funded projects be allowed to include indirect costs?

Answer: All awards will be made under the general USDA General Terms and Condition for Federal Awards and NIFA's General (Research, Education, Extension) Terms and Conditions, which currently allow the lesser of an institution’s officially negotiated indirect cost rate or the equivalent of 30 percent of the total Federal funds awarded.

After the Commodity Board has signed a Co-funding Agreement, should the Commodity Board send payment to NIFA?

Answer: No. Once the co-funding agreement is signed, the Commodity Board should set aside the funding contribution amount in an escrow or designated holding account. No funds should be sent to USDA NIFA at this time. At a later time after the Commodity Board topics appear in the NOFO, proposals are submitted by applicants, Commodity Boards provide letters of co-funding support, peer review of proposals is complete and award recommendations are made; NIFA will invoice Commodity Boards for payment.

How do the Commodity Boards set up an escrow or designated holding account?

Answer: NIFA does not have specific requirements for the structure of the escrow or designated holding account. Choose the best fit for your organization.

If Commodity Boards have multiple topics, do we need a separate escrow or designated holding account for each topic?

Answer: NIFA does not have specific requirements for the structure of the escrow or designated holding account. A separate account for each topic or one account for multiple topics can be established. Choose the best fit for the organization.
 

Could the escrow or designated holding account simply be a different account within our internal accounting system, or separate account at our bank?

Answer: NIFA does not have specific requirements for the structure of the account. Choose the best fit for your organization.

How long will the funds be sitting in the escrow or designated holding account?

Answer: Funds should remain in the account until NIFA notifies the Commodity Board that a grant will be funded, through a Bill of Collection.
 

What will be the length of time between signing the Co-funding agreement and money sitting in the escrow or designated holding account?

Answer: 100% of funds should be put into account within 14 days of signing a Co-funding Agreement. Funds should remain in the account until the commodity board is notified via a Bill of Collection that a grant will be funded.

TRANSFER of COMMODITY BOARD FUNDS to NIFA

How will the Commodity Board know how much funding to transfer out of escrow or desginated holding account into the NIFA deposit fund?

Answer: A Bill of Collection will be sent by NIFA to the Commodity Board billing contact listed on the Co-funding Agreement. The Bill of Collection will indicate the amount of funds needed to support the grant under the Commodity Board topic.

How does the Commodity Board send money to the NIFA deposit fund?

Answer: The Bill of Collection will include a secure and user-friendly weblink with instructions for the commodity board to make a deposit into the NIFA deposit fund at the U.S. Treasury. The online payment will go through the National Finance Center (NFC), which helps manage the NIFA deposit fund.

Explain how funds from the escrow or designated holding account will be transferred into the deposit account.

Answer: The Commodity Board will transfer funds using a secure and user-friendly weblink provided on the Bill of Collection. No paper checks are to be sent to NIFA. No funds should be removed from the escrow or designated holding account and transferred until a Bill of Collection is received.

Do Commodity Boards need to provide tax identification numbers to NIFA, and when are those needed?

To process Bill of Collection documents, the NIFA financial systems require a Tax ID number on the standard forms. NIFA will require the Tax ID number on the Co-funding Agreement.

How will those applications selected for the award receive the funding?

Answer: NIFA will process co-funded grant awards in the same way that we make AFRI awards. 

Are Commodity Boards required to support the 4% administrative costs?

Answer: The Farm Bill authority allows the Secretary to use up to 4 percent of contributed funds from Commodity Boards to pay for the administrative costs associated with the program. NIFA incurs costs to manage the grants making process, including the NOFO and solicitation, peer review, and post award stages of the process. See below is an example of how the 4% and 5.7% will be calculated for a grant award totaling $500,000 with $250,000 contributed from the Commodity Board:

Why are 5.7% of Commodity Board funds being withheld?

Answer:  Commodity Board Co-funding contributions are subject to a 5.7% sequestration order.

What will happen to the 5.7% of withheld funds?

Answer:  NIFA anticipates that these funds will be obligated to grant award(s) in the following fiscal year and will be subject to the 4% set-aside of administrative costs used by NIFA to pay for grant administration expenses once they become available. Below is an example of how the 4% and 5.7% will be calculated for a grant award totaling $500,000 with $250,000 contributed from the Commodity Board: