Crop-Animal Systems Research RFA

Research Themes Supported

FFAR seeks projects that foster innovation with the potential for transformative impact to crop and animal systems. Through the Thriving Production Systems Priority Area, FFAR funds crop and animal systems research to develop knowledge and tools that support the following themes:

• Crop Resilience & Productivity – Advances research that delivers crop productivity and resilience against biotic and abiotic stress.
• Integrated Animal Health, Welfare & Productivity – Supports research to improve animal health and welfare while maintaining or increasing productivity.
• Economically Viable Systems – Advances research that designs and assesses adaptive production systems to advance farmers’ and ranchers’ profitability now and in the future.
• Agricultural Stewardship – Supports research to cultivate efficient crop and animal systems that protect and restore natural resources.

Research Areas of Interest Supported

The objective of this RFA is to simultaneously advance crop and animal systems. Therefore, applicants must demonstrate how their proposed research aligns with one or more of the above themes to advance both systems. Cross-disciplinary collaborative teams that leverage the strength and expertise of diverse scientific fields are essential to both crop and animal research. Research areas of interest include, but are not limited to the following:

• Resource-efficient animal feed
• Improved animal nutrition
• Bioaccumulation of environmental contaminants (e.g., per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, etc.) in crop and animal systems
• Efficient cycling of nutrients between crops and livestock
• Optimal rotations of crops with grazing periods to maintain soil health, control pests and maximize forage availability for livestock
• Incorporation of circular agriculture principles
• Other relevant topics that advance crop and animal systems

FFAR will not consider applications addressing:

• Research that addresses only crop or animal systems, but not both
• Teams bringing expertise in only one of the two systems
• Research that fully overlaps with the research foci of FFAR’s existing Greener Cattle Initiative (GCI) and the International Consortium for Antimicrobial Stewardship in Agriculture (ICASA)
• Research that is not relevant to the U.S. food and agriculture system

Any individual(s) with the skills, knowledge and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research as Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) may apply to the Crop-Animal Systems RFA through their home institution or organization.

FFAR welcomes applications from all domestic and international higher education institutions, nonprofit and for-profit organizations and U.S. government-affiliated research agencies. The following principles guide FFAR’s international engagement under this RFA:

• The proposal must identify a clear benefit to the U.S. food and agriculture system and a clear pathway to deploy the technology or solution in the U.S.
• FFAR will prioritize research that delivers broader benefits across geographies and production systems.
• FFAR will not support research that addresses a challenge primarily limited to another country or region outside the U.S. or where the technology or solution is not broadly relevant to the U.S.

FFAR recognizes that cross-disciplinary collaborative teams are needed to examine and advance crop-animal systems. Applicants must outline their team’s crop AND animal systems expertise. FFAR will prioritize transformative research to benefit U.S. agriculture and our food supply.

At FFAR’s discretion, we will award up to $4,000,000 in FFAR funding through the Crop-Animal Systems RFA. Individual awards must range from U.S. $300,000 to $1,000,000 of FFAR funds plus matching funds. Projects must have planned durations ranging between 24 and 60 months. Successful projects will receive annual disbursements.

Matching funds are required for this RFA. All grants require matching contributions equal to or greater than the FFAR funding request. Matching funds must come from an entity other than the U.S. Federal Government. Any excess match is welcome, but it will not influence the potential success of an application.

Matching funds cannot supplement or supplant preexisting funds for projects initiated before or during 2024. Matching funds must correspond to line items in the full application budget. At least 50% of matching funds must be a cash match per FFAR’s definition of cash. The remainder may be an in-kind match per FFAR’s definition of in-kind.

The following commodity groups have expressed potential interest in exploring opportunities to provide matching support for relevant research projects. If interested, please email the designated contacts to discuss your proposals and whether matching funds may be available:

The United Soybean Board
Contact: Dr. Keenan McRoberts, Vice President, Strategic Alignment
Kmcroberts@unitedsoybean.org

Dairy Management Inc.
Contact: Dr. Tim Kurt, Senior Vice President, Environmental Research Strategy & Group Lead
Tim.Kurt@dairy.org

More information is available in the RFA.

Applicants must submit a pre-application using FFAR’S Grant Management System. All information provided will be treated as confidential. The most innovative, rigorous and cutting-edge projects with significant potential for advancing FFAR’s mission will be invited to submit a full application. Applicants must submit a pre-application to be invited to submit a full application.

To start a new pre-application, please click here. If you are a new user, register for an account by Clicking the “Create Account” button located under the email address field on the left side of the home page. Once you log in, you may begin working on your pre-application. Please be sure to save your work often by clicking on “Save and Finish Later.” To access a saved pre-application, please do so through the Grant Management Account.

Only pre-applications submitted by the deadline through FFAR’s Grant Management System will be accepted and considered eligible for evaluation. To be fair to all our applicants, FFAR will not grant extensions to applicants who missed the deadlines posted in the Key Dates section.

For questions related to the online submission system, please contact FFAR’s Grant Management team at grants@foundationfar.org or register to attend one of FFAR’s monthly virtual Applicant Office Hours.

For questions related to the Crop-Animal Systems RFA, please email Ryan Comella at rcomella@foundationfar.org and Nikki Dutta at ndutta@foundationfar.org.

FFAR only accepts scientific or programmatic grant inquiries by email. We strive to respond to inquiries within two business days, but our response time depends on the volume of questions received and the complexity of the questions asked. Please note that we do not monitor this mailbox on evenings, weekends or federal holidays.

FFAR offers Grants Management Office Hours for FFAR pre-applicants.