USDA Awards First Research Facilities Act Funds to 34 APLU Member Institutions

Washington, DC – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced it awarded the first Research Facilities Program grants to universities to address deferred maintenance at agricultural research facilities, a longstanding advocacy priority for the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. Of the 36 institutions to receive USDA funding, 34 of them are APLU member institutions.

“We applaud the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture for making its first awards as part of the Research Facilities Act Program, said APLU President Waded Cruzado. “This investment will help ensure U.S. agricultural research remains at the cutting edge, accelerating breakthroughs that help U.S. farmers and ranchers, support economic growth, and bolster U.S. food security. We thank Congress for appropriating these funds and USDA for administering grants, which are critical to addressing a deferred maintenance backlog. We urge policymakers to make substantial sustained investment in these facilities to keep U.S. agriculture at the leading edge.”

The awards come following a June meeting with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins and U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, Cruzado, and more than two dozen APLU member presidents and chancellors. During the meeting, the university and government officials had a positive and constructive conversation about a myriad of agriculture and higher education issues, including the need for more federal support to address deferred maintenance at agricultural research facilities.

APLU spearheaded efforts to address the deferred maintenance backlog, championing legislative efforts to bolster investment in critical agricultural research infrastructure. A 2021 APLU-sponsored study found $11.5 in needed repairs and renovations at the buildings and supporting facilities at schools of agriculture authorized to receive U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) research funding, which informed the development of the Research Facilities Act.

The initial tranche of Research Facilities Act grants were awarded to these 34 APLU member institutions:

• Arkansas State University 
• University of Nevada, Reno 
• Clemson University 
• Colorado State University  
• Iowa State University of Science and Technology 
• Kentucky State University 
• Louisiana State University Agricultural Center 
• Michigan State University 
• Mississippi State University 
• North Carolina State University 
• North Dakota State University 
• Oregon State University 
• Regents of New Mexico State University 
• Regents of the University of Idaho 
• South Dakota State University 
• Texas Tech University 
• The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station 
• The Regents of the University of California  
• The State University of New Jersey 
• University of Arkansas 
• University of Arkansas, Research and Extension Center 
• University of Connecticut 
• University of Houston 
• University of Kentucky Research Foundation 
• University of Maryland 
• University of Maryland Eastern Shore 
• University of New Hampshire 
• University of Tennessee at Martin 
• University of Washington 
• Utah State University 
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University 
• Virginia State University 
• West Texas A&M University 
• West Virginia State University Research and Development Corporation