USDA-ARS Forage Legume Breeding Internship

Organization

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

USDA-ARS-MWA-

10/23/2026 3:00:00 PM Eastern Time Zone

Applications are reviewed on a rolling-basis.

A research opportunity is currently available with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), located at the U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center (USDA-ARS) in Madison, WI on the University of Wisconsin - Madison campus. The U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center provides scientific solutions to all aspects of U.S. dairy systems to make them more productive and profitable.

The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific in-house research agency with a mission to find solutions to agricultural problems that affect Americans every day from field to table. ARS will deliver cutting-edge, scientific tools and innovative solutions for American farmers, producers, industry, and communities to support the nourishment and well-being of all people; sustain our nation’s agroecosystems and natural resources;

and ensure the economic competitiveness and excellence of our agriculture. The vision of the agency is to provide global leadership in agricultural discoveries through scientific excellence.

This opportunity will provide participants a hand-on experience in forage legume breeding. Participants will gain practical knowledge in all aspects of forage breeding including phenotypic and genotypic evaluation of plants, plant pollination and seed production, research plot establishment and evaluation, and greenhouse tasks associated with plant breeding.

Participants will be trained in plant breeding techniques and participate in breeding, plant handling, plant maintenance, pollination, and data collection activities.

The mentor for this opportunity is Heathcliffe Riday (heathcliffe.riday). If you have questions about the nature of the research, please contact the mentor(s).

2026. Start date is flexible and will depend on a variety of factors.

The appointment will initially be for five months but may be renewed upon recommendation of ARS and is contingent on the availability of funds.

The appointment is full time or part time. The mentor is very flexible in terms of scheduling and number of hours spent with the project per week. Availability for full days during the growing season (Apr/May to Sep/Oct) during daylight hours will be necessary.

The participant will receive a monthly stipend commensurate with educational level and experience. The anticipated stipend range is $750.00 - $3,000.00 monthly depending on level of participation.

This opportunity is available to U.S. citizens only.

This program, administered by ORAU through its contract with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to manage the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), was established through an interagency agreement between DOE and ARS. Participants do not become employees of USDA, ARS, DOE or the program administrator, and there are no employment-related benefits. Proof of health insurance is required for participation in this program.

Health insurance can be obtained through ORISE.

Connect with ORISE...on the GO! Download the new ORISE GO mobile app in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store to help you stay engaged, connected, and informed during your ORISE experience and beyond!

Please visit our Program Website. After reading, if you have additional questions about the application process, please email ORISE.ARS.Midwest and include the reference code for this opportunity.

The qualified candidate should be currently pursuing or have received an associate's or bachelor's degree in the one of the relevant fields. Degree must have been received within the past three years or anticipated to be received by start of appointment.

• Individuals with an interested in plant breeding.
• Students who can participate 40/week in this opportunity during the growing season months (Apr/May to Sep/Oct).
• Individuals interested in continuing participation part time during (Nov to Mar).
• Participants having a current driver's license and own vehicle is preferred but not required.

All documents must be in English or include an official English translation.

Sara Beth

• Citizenship: U.S. Citizen Only
• Degree:
  Associate's Degree or Bachelor's Degree received within the last 36 months or currently pursuing.
• Discipline(s):
  • Life Health and Medical Sciences
  • Agricultural Sciences
  • Agriculture
  • Agronomy and Crop Science
  • Bioinformatics
  • Biology (General)
  • Botany
  • Cellular and Molecular Biology
  • Computational Biology
  • Ecology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Genetics, including Genome Sciences
  • Horticulture
  • Plant Sciences