Secondary Education, Two-Year Postsecondary Education, and Agriculture in the K-12 Classroom Challenge Grants Program
Agency: National Institute of Food and Agriculture-eRA
Assistance Listings: 10.226 -- Secondary Education, Two-Year Postsecondary Education, and Agriculture in the K-12 Classroom
Last Updated: July 9, 2026
Description
The purpose of the SPECA program is to award grants to; enhance curricula in agricultural education, increase faculty teaching competencies, interest young people in pursuing higher education in order to prepare for scientific and professional careers in the food and agricultural sciences, promote the incorporation of agriscience and agribusiness subject matter into other instructional programs, particularly classes in science, business, and consumer education, facilitate joint initiatives by the grant recipient with other secondary schools, institutions of higher education that award an associate...
degree, and institutions of higher education that award a bachelor's degree to maximize the development and use of resources, such as faculty, facilities, and equipment, to improve agriscience and agribusiness education, support other initiatives designed to meet local, State, regional, or national needs related to promoting excellence in agriscience and agribusiness education; and support current agriculture in the classroom programs for grades K–12.
Eligibility
Eligible applicants
Miscellaneous
- Other
Additional information
Applications may only be submitted by: (1) public secondary schools 20 U.S.C. 7801(45), (2) public or private nonprofit junior and community colleges, (3) institutions of higher education (20 U.S.C. 1001), or (4) nonprofit organizations (Attach IRS 501(c)(3) status under R&R 'Other Project Information' Field 12 Other Attachments).
Grantor contact information
Description
NIFA Support Email
grantapplicationquestions@usda.gov
If you have questions about preparing application content, contact grantapplicationquestions@usda.gov
Documents
| File name | Description | Last updated |
|---|---|---|
| USDA-NIFA-CSPECA-32938-Full-Announcement.html | USDA-NIFA-CSPECA-32938-Full-Announcement.html | Jul 8, 2026 02:26 PM UTC |
Link to additional information
Closing: July 27, 2026
Award
$750,000
Program Funding
10
Expected awards
$10,000
Award Minimum
$150,000
Award Maximum
Funding opportunity number:
USDA-NIFA-CSPECA-32938
Cost sharing or matching requirement:
No
Funding instrument type:
Grant
Opportunity Category:
Discretionary
Opportunity Category Explanation:
--
Category of Funding Activity:
Agriculture
Category Explanation:
--
History
Version:
1
Posted date:
July 8, 2026
Archive date:
August 31, 2026
