Call for Applications in Aflatoxin Research Grants

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) is calling for a new round of research grants to help farmers manage aflatoxin issues. Letters of intent from principal investigators, co-principal investigators, and collaborators-and not exceeding the $100,000 per year limit-will be accepted by the Aflatoxin Mitigation Center of Excellence (AMCOE) no later than Friday, November 29, 2024. For more information about the review process, evaluation criteria and program eligibility, click here.

AMCOE's Competitive Grants Program offers research grants for projects focused on solving profit-robbing aflatoxin issues for farmers. The program was developed by a consortium of southern state corn checkoff boards to provide a unified approach to funding projects affecting growers across the region. NCGA serves as the management structure in order to leverage more dollars for solving aflatoxin issues and to build strong regional teams which would be highly competitive for federal, public, and private funding.

"Corn growers are steadfast in their commitment to delivering safe, top-quality products to consumers," said Texas grower and AMCOE Committee Chair Charles Ring. "Thanks to AMCOE's initiatives, we've achieved meaningful progress in identifying and reducing risks from aflatoxin and other mycotoxins. Our competitive grants program is fueling innovative research and equipping our industry with better tools and solutions to address these challenges."

Projects funded through AMCOE's grant program for 2025 should focus on one of these three priority research areas:

1. Methodologies and technologies that prevent and/or defend against the presence of aflatoxin
2. In-field mitigation measures
3. Post-harvest strategies

While corn farmers in southern states experience aflatoxin challenges every year, these challenges may present themselves in any corn region of the United States when the crop comes under stress. Therefore, the benefits of such research-particularly as outlined in the three priority areas-are truly national in scope. Proposals will be considered regardless of the party's geographic region. Any state wishing to provide additional funding for AMCOE is encouraged to do so.