FSIS FERN Cooperative Agreements

The summary for the FSIS FERN Cooperative Agreements grant is detailed below. This summary states who is eligible for the grant, how much grant money will be awarded, current and past deadlines, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) numbers, and a sampling of similar government grants. Verify the accuracy of the data FederalGrants.com provides by visiting the webpage noted in the Link to Full Announcement section or by contacting the appropriate person listed as the Grant Announcement Contact. If any section is incomplete, please visit the website for the Food Safety Inspection Service, which is the U.S. government agency offering this grant.
FSIS FERN Cooperative Agreements: The Food Emergency Response Network (FERN) currently comprises federal, state, and local government regulatory laboratories with varying capacities to perform threat agent testing. The FERN division in USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is seeking to award up to 20 cooperative agreements targeting state, local, and tribal FERN labs to continue its program of providing capacity and capability for biothreat and biosafety food testing. The agreements will enhance the ability to analyze for microbiological, radiological and chemical threat agents utilizing FERN and other methods to improve laboratory capacities for food defense assignments and outbreak response. The agreements will support FERN threat agent method training, supplies required by the selected methods, and the possible purchase of equipment and reimbursement of personnel expenses. All cooperative agreements are on a 1 year funding cycle. However, we expect to renew the awards of successful laboratories, without competition, for a total of 5 years of funding contingent on continued Agency funding of the program.

These cooperative agreements are highly competitive and the selections of laboratories for the program, as well as actual funding for each lab selected, will be based on an evaluation of that lab’s specific proposal, past performance in the program (if applicable), and other relevant criteria (geographical considerations, testing capability, testing capacity, laboratory accreditation etc.). Furthermore, the program will differ from previous years by increasing funding at laboratories that meet the highest qualifications ( Level 1/primary) while providing lessor funding to several other laboratories (Level 2/surge) to support continued testing and maintenance of capacity and capability. Applications submitted for this program should be specifically written to the level of funding appropriate for the applicant’s laboratory based on the qualifications below.
Federal Grant Title: FSIS FERN Cooperative Agreements
Federal Agency Name: Food Safety Inspection Service
Grant Categories: Agriculture Food and Nutrition
Type of Opportunity: Discretionary
Funding Opportunity Number: USDA-FSIS-03102015
Type of Funding: Cooperative Agreement
CFDA Numbers: Information not provided
CFDA Descriptions: Information not provided
Current Application Deadline: Apr 20, 2015
Original Application Deadline: Apr 20, 2015
Posted Date: Mar 10, 2015
Creation Date: Mar 10, 2015
Archive Date: May 20, 2015
Total Program Funding:
Maximum Federal Grant Award: none
Minimum Federal Grant Award: none
Expected Number of Awards: 20
Cost Sharing or Matching: No
Applicants Eligible for this Grant
Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)
Additional Information on Eligibility
State, local and tribal FERN member labs
Grant Announcement Contact
Marcus Head Staff Officer Phone 706-546-2336
federal government email system

Food Safety Inspection Service 301-504-5742

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