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 Notice: Funding Opportunities Under Review
All NIFA Requests for Applications are currently under review. Check back for updates or subscribe to NIFA Funding Opportunities for email updates as they happen.
NIFA Seeking Input for Website Improvement
NIFA’s Web Communications Manager is seeking participants for informal 30-minute one-on-one sessions via Teams to gather feedback on how users interact with NIFA’s website. Your insights will help NIFA enhance the user experience and make the site better for everyone.
If you are a current or former grant applicant, awardee or administrative official, we would like to hear from you. To participate, contact NIFA.UserExperience@usda.gov.
We look forward to hearing from you!
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Kansas State Biochemists Make Significant Breakthrough in Increasing Purity of Specialized Plant Oils
Some of the more commonly known and grown oilseed crops in the U.S. have long been canola, soybeans and sunflowers, but a breakthrough by Kansas State University biochemists could lead to the cover crops pennycress and camelina also becoming a source for improved biodiesel.
A Kansas State research team used synthetic biology techniques to significantly increase the amount of acetyl-triacylglycerols — a unique type of oil found and adapted from the burning bush plant — in pennycress and camelina to near-pure levels.
These acetyl-triacylglycerols, or acetyl-TAGs, are very useful for their low viscosity and performance in cold temperatures — a key criterion for use as diesel replacement.
"When we make biodiesel, we take regular vegetable oil and convert it into biodiesel using a chemical process," said Dr. Timothy Durrett, Kansas State professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics. "The idea is that with these acetyl TAGs the oil could be directly used as the fuel without any further chemical process needed. In this way, farmers could capture the chemistry involved in making biodiesel, as well as the profits involved. If you can grow your own fuel, that's a way of increasing energy independence."
Read more about this NIFA-supported study.
Using synthetic biology techniques, K-State biochemists have made significant breakthroughs in cultivating camelina and pennycress — two emerging and profitable cover crops in the U.S. — to generate nearly pure levels of a novel oil that could be used as biodiesel, food ingredients and other applications. Image courtesy of Kansas State University.
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 The 2025 NERAOC Website is live with registration information and costs, draft agenda, hotel booking link and travel details. The 2025 NERAOC will be held March 31 through April 3 in Reno, Nevada. NIFA staff will partner with Land-grant Colleges and Universities to advance the fields of fiscal, grant (competitive and capacity), administrative, communications and marketing, and human resources management.
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The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is committed to ensuring that its programs and services are accessible to all individuals, including individuals with disabilities and individuals with limited English proficiency. If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in any NIFA event, please contact the appropriate Program staff no later than 10 days prior to the event. To find Program staff by event, please visit the NIFA Calendar of Events. NIFA Language access services, such as interpretation or translation of vital information, will be provided free of charge to limited English proficient individuals upon request. If you need interpretation or translation services please visit NIFA language services or contact Lois Tuttle, Equal Opportunity Specialist, at Lois.Tuttle@usda.gov or (443) 386-9488 no later than 10 days prior to the event.
NIFA’s mission is to invest in and advance agricultural research, education, and Extension that solves societal challenges. NIFA’s investments in transformative science directly support the long-term prosperity and global preeminence of U.S. agriculture. Keep informed about NIFA, USDA, our Land-grant and non-Land-grant university partners, and stakeholders with the NIFA Update. Read past issues online, sign up for email updates or follow us on X (formerly Twitter) @USDA_NIFA, #NIFAImpacts or LinkedIn @usda-nifa.
If you wish to submit a news item or information, send an email to NIFAUpdate.
USDA is an equal opportunity lender, provider, and employer.
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