Data / Federal grants / USDA-FAS-10621-0750-106-27-0001
Assisting Specialty Crop Exports: Low Oxygen Storage and Packaging Systems for U.S. Tree Nuts with Phytosanitary Traceability
Foreign Agricultural Service (Department of Agriculture) is accepting applications until October 26, 2026. It lists awards of up to $2 million, 1 award expected, $2 million in total.
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Key facts
- Opportunity number
- USDA-FAS-10621-0750-106-27-0001
- Status
- Posted, open
- Posted
- August 24, 2026
- Closes
- October 26, 2026
- Award ceiling
- $2,000,000
- Expected awards
- 1
- Total funding
- $2,000,000
- Cost sharing
- Not required
- Funding instrument
- Cooperative Agreement
- Category
- Agriculture
- Assistance listing
- 10.621 Assisting Specialty Crop Exports
- Contact
- Kendra Arrington Grantor · [email protected] · 202-690-5503
Who can apply
- Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)
This opportunity is available to U.S. academic institutions, state governments, nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) designation, U.S. trade associations, U.S. agricultural cooperatives, international organizations, foreign entities, and any other entity including private sector businesses.All applicants must have an active registration in the U.S. Government System for Award Management (www.sam.gov) before the date of award. Applicants with inactive, expired, pending, or excluded listings will be deemed ineligible. Exceptions, waivers, or extensions will not be considered. More information about SAM.gov registration can be found in this document in Section 9, Other Information.
What the agency says
The occurrence of insects as well as pesticide residuals can be significant barriers for U.S. horticultural exports. Each importing country can have unique phytosanitary and maximum residue limit (MRL) requirements, which creates operational and logistical challenges. To maximize return to growers, U.S. shippers need tools that can universally address all such requirements while maintaining product quality. Currently, tree nuts and many other durable specialty crops require fumigations or freezing, which are both expensive and create bottlenecks in marketing. More and more tree nut handlers are using a modified atmosphere (MA) or controlled atmosphere (CA) technology in which low-oxygen conditions (<1% by volume) are maintained during storage and/or in packaging. Low-oxygen conditions are known to control insect pests, leave no chemical residuals, and result in high quality products since the lipid oxidation that causes rancidity is markedly suppressed. While this approach is being used as a condition of sale, there is currently no efficient way for shippers to validate the low-oxygen conditions for customers, let alone importers with phytosanitary requirements for insect control. Technically and economically viable, verifiable, and preferably traceable technologies are critically needed before low-oxygen storage and packaging approaches can be used for export to most countries. Currently, the existing low-oxygen technologies do not incorporate digital mapping or official record-keeping during the packing or storage process, so there is no non-invasive manner to verify the oxygen content over time within the gas-impermeable liners and/or confirm seal integrity. This limits the ability to verify that a low-oxygen environment has been maintained at a specific oxygen level over a certain period of time, which would be necessary to ensure the conditions were met to act as a phytosanitary treatment. Counties such as India, Korea, and Japan require phytosanitary treatments, such as fumigation, for post-harvest pest management before many types of U.S. tree nuts can be imported into the countries. Additionally, buyers in other markets also request pest management treatments as a condition of sale in commercial transactions.
Other open grants from the Department of Agriculture
| Opportunity | Status | Closes | Award ceiling | Total funding | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emergency Citrus Disease Research and Extension Pre-Applications USDA-NIFA-SCRI-012018 | Open | Nov 2 | $15,000,000 | $46,237,828 | grants.gov |
| Tribal Colleges Extension Program Special Emphasis USDA-NIFA-SLBCD-012281 | Open | Nov 2 | $200,000 | $1,500,000 | grants.gov |
| 1890 Institution Teaching, Research, and Extension Capacity Building Grants Program USDA-NIFA-CBGP-011698 | Open | Nov 4 | $750,000 | $56,000,000 | grants.gov |
| Capacity Building Grants for Non-Land-Grant Colleges of Agriculture Program USDA-NIFA-NLGCA-011938 | Open | Nov 10 | $750,000 | $5,700,000 | grants.gov |
| Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer Programs Phase II USDA-NIFA-SBIR-012221 | Open | Nov 17 | $650,000 | $24,750,000 | grants.gov |
| Easement Restoration and Stewardship USDA-NHQ-ACEP-26-NOFO0001456 | Open | Nov 19 | $5,000,000 | grants.gov |
· Everything closing in October 2026
Read from the Grants.gov API, last updated 2026-10-23. The agency's notice on Grants.gov is the official record; check it before you apply.