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NREC GRANT PROGRAM TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Background

The purpose of the South Dakota Nutrient Research and Education Council (NREC) grant program is to solicit and publish research of science based nutrient management practices specific to South Dakota to enable producers to effectively manage their resources.  

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Individual awards are based on the application submitted to, and as approved by, the NREC and are subject to the terms and conditions incorporated either directly or by reference to the following.  The principal investigator is responsible for adhering to the terms and conditions included in the following document:  SD NREC Grant Program Terms and Conditions
 

2026 REQUEST FOR INVITED PROPOSALS

Cycle

The funding cycle for projects begins on January 1 and ends on December 31 of each year. Proposals should be prepared on an annual basis (12 months). Multi-year proposals are permitted but will be reviewed and approved on an annual basis. More requirements are provided in the grant program terms and conditions accompanying this request.

 

Research must be done in South Dakota. Out-of-state researchers are encouraged to collaborate with researchers in South Dakota.

 

Only invited proposals will be considered. 

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The SD NREC hereby requests:

  • Researchers to submit 2-page preproposals no later than October 15, 2025 at 11:59 PM CDT.

  • SD NREC may invite researchers to give a brief proposal presentation on December ___, 2025 in Brookings, SD. Notifications will be made at least two weeks in advance. Exclusion from presenting by SD NREC does not preclude projects from receiving funding.

  • Full proposals will be selected, and investigators notified by mid-December 2025.

Topics of Interest

The following topics are provided as examples.  Researchers are encouraged to submit proposals on these or any other nutrient research area.

  • Research and update NPK fertilizer recommendations in:

    • no-till crop production systems for corn, soybeans, and small grains

    • reduced or conventional tillage crop production systems for corn, soybeans, and small grains

  • Research the need for micronutrients and sulfur for corn, soybeans, wheat, and sunflowers

  • Research the use of nitrogen stabilizers for corn and small grains in no-till and reduced tillage crop production situations

  • Research and update the various fertilizer application placement techniques to compare the effectiveness of fertilizer placement on response for crops grown in South Dakota

  • Research the effect of soil type and tile drainage on water quality

  • Research the effect of existing and new best management practices on fertilizers and water quality

  • Research of carbon and how it affects nutrient management

  • Research on soil pH in varied tillage practices

Format 

Preposals should be no longer than two pages, and be in a pdf format, with the following information:

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  • Title: Should convey the focus of the project, and potentially the location(s).

  • PI and collaborators: Include affiliation of the PI and co-PI(s). Include email address and cell phone for the PI.

  • Summary: Provide a brief summary indicating the justification, objectives, planned deliverables, impacts, and proposed funding.  Note: please use non-technical language.

  • Goal and Objectives: List the overall project goal and specific objective

  • Justification Statement: Indicate why this work is needed and the new advances and information expected to be contributed by the project. Also describe the anticipated economic and environmental benefits of your research to producers and the public.

  • Work Plan: Summarize the methods to be applied to achieve the objectives of the proposed project. Also include a description of your plans to communicate results to stakeholders and the public.

  • Timeline: Provide a brief description of the anticipated timetable for the project.

  • Project Budget: Provide estimates for annual and total budget. Indirect costs for facilities and administration may not be included in project budgets. Note: The preproposal budget does not need to be detailed. A detailed budget will be requested in the full proposal competition.

Submission

New for 2026, the preproposal and invited proposal phases are linked under the same competition in InfoReady. Researchers will access a draft of their invited proposal, populated with information from the preproposal, to edit and submit by using the link in the notification email or by going directly to InfoReady, logging in, navigating to “Applications” in the menu bar, and selecting the “2026 South Dakota Nutrient Research and Education Council Invited Proposals” draft from their list of applications.

 

For researchers at South Dakota State University, complete university routing and then submit via InfoReady after logging in with your regular SDState credentials.

 

For researchers from other institutions, go to the SDState InfoReady website located at https://sdstate.infoready4.com. Enter your log in credentials you used to submit the preproposal. You are expected to follow your institution’s applicable rules regarding funding requests.


If you have not used InfoReady already:
You must log in, click on your name (in red - in the upper right hand side) & set up your User Profile.  

 

In the online form, you will be required to provide an abstract that is 150 words or less and written in lay terms. If the proposal is for a new project title, either a one-year project or the first year of what is intended to be a multi-year project, the proposal will be subject to peer review by a panel selected by SD NREC.

Questions/Comments

For questions or comments, contact the Angela Loftesness, South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station at SDSU, (605) 688-6732 or angela.loftesness@sdstate.edu. 

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