Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative

$151.5 Million committed in FY2018–FY2026

Agency: National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Agriculture, Department of
Assistance: Project Grants
CFDA number: 10.307
What it does: The Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI) seeks to solve critical organic agricultural issues, priorities, or problems through the integration of research, education, and extension activities. The purpose of this program is to fund high priority integrated projects that will enhance the ability of producers and processors who have already adopted organic standards to grow and market high quality organic agricultural products, mitigate and adapt to climate change, build resilience of the organic farming system, and protect water and other resources. Priority concerns include biological, physical, and social sciences, including economics. Consistent with 7 U.S.C. 5925b, OREI has eight goals: 1.) Facilitating the development and improvement of organic agriculture production, breeding, and processing methods; 2.) Evaluating the potential economic benefits of organic agricultural production and methods to producers, processors, and rural communities; 3.) Exploring international trade opportunities for organically grown and processed agricultural commodities; 4.) Determining desirable traits for organic commodities; 5.) Identifying marketing and policy constraints on the expansion of organic agriculture; 6.) Conducting advanced on-farm research and development that emphasizes observation of, experimentation with, and innovation for working organic farms, including research relating to production, marketing, food safety, socioeconomic conditions, and farm business management; 7.) Examining optimal conservation, soil health, and environmental outcomes relating to organically produced agricultural products; and 8.) Developing new and improved seed varieties that are particularly suited for organic agriculture.
Who benefits: Not Applicable
Who applies: Applications may only be submitted by the following entities: 1.) State agricultural experiment stations; 2.) Colleges and universities; 3.) University research foundations; 4.) Other research institutions and organizations; 5.) Federal agencies; 6.) National laboratories; 7.) Private organizations, foundations, or corporations; 8.) Individuals who are United States citizens or nationals; or 9.) A group consisting of two or more of the entities described in subparagraphs(1) through (8).

Committed by fiscal year

* FY2026 is year-to-date — the fiscal year is still in progress, so its total is still filling in. The striped band and dashed line mark that provisional stretch.

Top recipients

By dollars committed.

How to read these numbers

Committed through this program: Money committed under this assistance listing (its CFDA program), counted in the year each action happened.
How it's paid: Most programs pay out one way — a grant, or a direct payment to individuals; the flow bar only appears when a program genuinely mixes types.
Some recipients aren't itemized: For entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare, the government reports one aggregate instead of naming tens of millions of people, so the recipient roster isn't part of the public record.
Awards, counted once: An award count is the number of distinct awards with at least one action that year — each counted once, however many times it was amended.
The colored bars: Every bar on this page splits by how the money moves:
Direct payments

Source

USAspending.gov ↗

Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative

$151.5 Million committed in FY2018–FY2026

Agency: National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Agriculture, Department of
Assistance: Project Grants
CFDA number: 10.307
What it does: The Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI) seeks to solve critical organic agricultural issues, priorities, or problems through the integration of research, education, and extension activities. The purpose of this program is to fund high priority integrated projects that will enhance the ability of producers and processors who have already adopted organic standards to grow and market high quality organic agricultural products, mitigate and adapt to climate change, build resilience of the organic farming system, and protect water and other resources. Priority concerns include biological, physical, and social sciences, including economics. Consistent with 7 U.S.C. 5925b, OREI has eight goals: 1.) Facilitating the development and improvement of organic agriculture production, breeding, and processing methods; 2.) Evaluating the potential economic benefits of organic agricultural production and methods to producers, processors, and rural communities; 3.) Exploring international trade opportunities for organically grown and processed agricultural commodities; 4.) Determining desirable traits for organic commodities; 5.) Identifying marketing and policy constraints on the expansion of organic agriculture; 6.) Conducting advanced on-farm research and development that emphasizes observation of, experimentation with, and innovation for working organic farms, including research relating to production, marketing, food safety, socioeconomic conditions, and farm business management; 7.) Examining optimal conservation, soil health, and environmental outcomes relating to organically produced agricultural products; and 8.) Developing new and improved seed varieties that are particularly suited for organic agriculture.
Who benefits: Not Applicable
Who applies: Applications may only be submitted by the following entities: 1.) State agricultural experiment stations; 2.) Colleges and universities; 3.) University research foundations; 4.) Other research institutions and organizations; 5.) Federal agencies; 6.) National laboratories; 7.) Private organizations, foundations, or corporations; 8.) Individuals who are United States citizens or nationals; or 9.) A group consisting of two or more of the entities described in subparagraphs(1) through (8).