Except as otherwise provided in this section, paragraphs (1), (6), (7), and (11) of subsection (b) of section 450i of this title shall apply with respect to the making of grants under this section.

To facilitate the making of research and extension grants under this section in the research and extension areas specified in subsection (e) of this section, the Secretary may appoint a task force for each such area to make recommendations to the Secretary. The Secretary may not incur costs in excess of $1,000 for any fiscal year in connection with each task force established under this paragraph.

The Secretary shall require the recipient of a grant under this section to provide funds or in-kind support from non-Federal sources in an amount at least equal to the amount provided by the Federal Government.

The Secretary may waive the matching funds requirement specified in paragraph (1) with respect to a research project if the Secretary determines that—

Research and extension grants may be made under this section for the purpose of—

Research and extension grants may be made under this section for the purpose of carrying out or enhancing research on ethanol derived from agricultural crops as an alternative fuel source.

Research and extension grants may be made under this section for the purpose of identifying and controlling aflatoxin in the food and feed chains.

Research and extension grants may be made under this section for the purpose of developing enhanced production methods and commercial uses of mesquite.

Research and extension grants may be made under this section for the purpose of investigating enhanced genetic selection and processing techniques of prickly pears.

Research and extension grants may be made under this section for the purpose of studying the population ecology of deer ticks and other insects and pests that transmit Lyme disease.

Research and extension grants may be made under this section for the purpose of developing—

Research and extension grants may be made under this section for the purpose of developing techniques for the eradication of sorghum ergot.

Research and extension grants may be made under this section for the purpose of evaluating the economics of applying innovative technologies for peanut processing in a commercial environment.

Research and extension grants may be made under this section for the purpose of providing research, development, or education materials, information, and outreach programs regarding risk management strategies for dairy producers and for dairy cooperatives and other processors and marketers of milk.

Research and extension grants may be made under this section for the purpose of improving pest management, fiber quality enhancement, economic assessment, textile production, and optimized production systems for short staple cotton.

Research and extension grants may be made under this section for the purpose of—

Research and extension grants may be made under this section for the purpose of developing and evaluating new strains of potatoes that are resistant to blight and other diseases, as well as insects. Emphasis may be placed on developing potato varieties that lend themselves to innovative marketing approaches.

Research and extension grants may be made under this section for the purpose of developing new uses for wood from underused tree species as well as investigating methods of modifying wood and wood fibers to produce better building materials.

Research and extension grants may be made under this section for the purpose of evaluating methods of propagating and developing low-bush blueberry as a marketable crop.

Research and extension grants may be made under this section for the purpose of better use of wetlands in diverse ways to provide various economic, agricultural, and environmental benefits.

Research and extension grants may be made under this section for the purpose of control, management, and eradication of wild pampas grass.

Research and extension grants may be made under this section for the purpose of increasing food safety, including the identification of advanced detection and processing methods to limit the presence of pathogens (including hepatitis A and E. coli 0157:H7) in domestic and imported foods.

Research and extension grants may be made under this section for the purpose of providing research, development, or education materials, information, and outreach programs regarding financial risk management strategies for agricultural producers and for cooperatives and other processors and marketers of any agricultural commodity.

Research and extension grants may be made under this section for the purpose of meeting the needs of commercial producers of ornamental tropical fish and aquatic plants for improvements in the areas of fish reproduction, health, nutrition, predator control, water use, water quality control, and farming technology.

Research and extension grants may be made under this section for the purpose of investigating the genetic aspects of scrapie in sheep.

Research and extension grants may be made under this section for the purpose of developing biological control, management, and eradication methods against nonnative insects, including Lymantria dispar (commonly known as the “gypsy moth”), that contribute to significant agricultural, economic, or environmental harm.

Research and extension grants may be made under this section to develop and distribute new, high-quality, science-based information for the purpose of improving the long-term productivity of forest resources and contributing to forest-based economic development by addressing such issues as—

Research and extension grants may be made under this section for the purpose of control, management, and eradication of tomato spotted wilt virus.

Research grants may be made under this section for the purposes of providing unbiased, science-based evaluation of the risks and benefits to the public and the environment of specific genetically modified plant and animal products. Grants may be used to form interdisciplinary teams to review and conduct research on scientific, social, economic, and ethical issues during the review process, to answer questions raised by the release of new genetically modified agriculture products, to conduct fundamental studies on the health and environmental safety of genetically modified agriculture products (including quantitative risk assessment, the effect of specific genetically modified agriculture products on human health, and gene flow studies), to communicate the risk of genetically modified agriculture products through extension and education programs, and to engage the public and industry in relevant issues.

Research and extension grants may be made under this section for the purpose of validating wind erosion models.

Research and extension grants may be made under this section for the purpose of validating crop loss models.

Research and extension grants may be made under this section for the purposes of evaluating the environmental benefits of land use management tools such as those provided in the Farmland Protection Program.

Research and extension grants may be made under this section for the purpose of better understanding agricultural impacts to air and water quality and means to address them.

Research and extension grants may be made under this section for the purposes of better understanding the impact of revenue and insurance tools on farm income.

Research and extension grants may be made under this section for the purpose of better understanding the economic, environmental, and food systems impacts of agrotourism.

Research and extension grants may be made under this section for the purpose of improving harvesting productivity for fruits and vegetables (including citrus), including the development of mechanical harvesting technologies and effective, economical, and safe abscission compounds.

Research and extension grants may be made under this section for the purpose of enhancing the nitrogen-fixing ability and efficiency of legumes, developing new varieties of legumes that fix nitrogen more efficiently, and developing new varieties of other commercially important crops that potentially are able to fix nitrogen.

Extension grants may be made under this section for the purpose of providing education materials, information, and outreach programs regarding commodity and livestock marketing strategies for agricultural producers and for cooperatives and other marketers of any agricultural commodity, including livestock.

Research and extension grants may be made under this section for the purpose of researching the use of computer models to aid in assessment of best management practices on a watershed basis, working with government, industry, and private landowners to help craft industry-led solutions to identified environmental issues, researching and monitoring water, air, or soil environmental quality to aid in the development of new approaches to local environmental concerns, and working with local, State, and federal officials to help craft effective environmental solutions that respect private property rights and agricultural production realities.

Research and extension grants may be made under this section for the purpose of identifying possible livestock disease threats, educating the public regarding livestock disease threats, training persons to deal with such threats, and conducting related research.

Research grants may be made under this section for the purpose of plant gene expression research to accelerate the application of basic plant genomic science to the development and testing of new varieties of enhanced food crops, crops that can be used as renewable energy sources, and other alternative uses of agricultural crops.

Research and extension grants may be made under this section for the purpose of developing prevention and control methodologies for animal infectious diseases (including evaluation under field conditions in countries in which an animal disease occurs) such as laboratory tests for quicker detection of infected animals and presence of disease, prevention strategies (including vaccination programs), and rapid diagnostic techniques for animal disease agents considered to be risks for agricultural bioterrorism attack.

Research and extension grants may be made under this section to institutions of higher education with demonstrated capacity in basic and clinical obesity research, nutrition research, and community health education research to develop and evaluate community-wide strategies that catalyze partnerships between families and health care, education, recreation, mass media, and other community resources to reduce the incidence of childhood obesity.

Research and extension grants may be made under this section to coordinate and improve research, education, and outreach on, and implementation on farms of, integrated pest management.

Research and extension grants for beef cattle genetics evaluation research may be made under this section to consortia of institutions of higher education that have expertise in beef cattle genetic evaluation research and technology and that have been actively involved for at least 20 years in the estimation and prediction of progeny differences for publication and use by seed stock producer breed associations.

Research and extension grants may be made under this section for the purpose of preventing and eliminating the dangers of dairy pipeline cleaner, including development of safer packaging and transfer mechanisms, outlining accident causes and potential prevention measures, and other means of improving efforts to prevent ingestion of dairy pipeline cleaner.

Research and extension grants may be made under this section for the purpose of development of publicly held plants and animal varieties (including germplasm for identity-preserved markets) and genetic resource conservation activities.

Research grants may be made under this section for the purpose of maintaining acceptable yields under reduced production inputs, implementing marker-assisted breeding strategies and other basic plant genomic technologies to screen for improved plant resistance to diseases, weeds, and insects toward minimizing pesticide use, enhancing food, fiber and energy production, and developing varieties for maximum performance under prevailing conditions, including management for improved soil and water conservation.

Research and extension grants may be made under this section for the purpose of improving the efficiency, productivity, and profitability of specialty crop production in the United States.

The Secretary shall establish a task force pursuant to subsection (b)(2) of this section regarding the control, management, and eradication of imported fire ants. The Secretary shall solicit and evaluate grant proposals under this subsection in consultation with the task force.

The Secretary may make competitive research grants under this subsection to regional and multijurisdictional entities, local government planning organizations, and local governments for the purpose of conducting research for the control, management, and possible eradication of Formosan termites in the United States.

The Secretary may enter into cooperative agreements with regional and multijurisdictional entities, local government planning organizations, and local governments for the purposes of—

In allocating funds made available to carry out paragraph (2), the Secretary shall provide a higher priority for regions or locations with the highest historical rates of infestation of Formosan termites.

The program management of research grants, cooperative agreements, and projects under this subsection shall be conducted under existing authority in coordination with the national formosan ^[1] termite management and research demonstration program conducted by the Agricultural Research Service.