Grants Archive

Awarded Grants
Below is a listing of our awarded grants that tackle big food and agriculture challenges.

Investigating the re-integration of organic food crops & animal production on above & belowground diversity, soil health, farm resilience & food safety.

Year Awarded 2023

Total award amount $199,256

Location West Lafayette, IN

Matching Funders The Organic Center

Grantee Institution Purdue University

Dr. Moriah Bilenky is investigating how integrated cropping systems on organic fields can reduce input costs and enhance biodiversity above and below ground. Specifically, Bilenky and her team are investigating the impacts of adding small ruminants to an integrated cropping system on soil health, microbiome health and presence of food pathogens on vegetable farms. The researchers aim to identify integrated cropping system best practices and plan to disseminate educational materials to increase adoption of these practices.

Rodale Institution

Year Awarded 2023

Total award amount $96,694

Location Kutztown, PA

Matching Funders The Organic Center

Grantee Institution Rodale Institution

This Prize allows the Rodale Institute to expand its online educational portal to further reach and train farmers and agricultural professionals across the U.S. Specifically, the Institute is creating greater access to its online course “Transition to Certified Organic Agriculture” by translating it into Spanish, creating a scholarship program to provide free access to their online courses and expanding the types of courses offered.

Oregon Tilth

Year Awarded 2023

Total award amount $63,173

Location Corvallis, OR

Matching Funders The Organic Center

Grantee Institution Oregon Tilth

This 2023 Prize allows Oregon Tilth to train additional farmers and agriculture professionals in organic certification, organic regulations, production practices and profitability tools. The Prize also funds convenings for organic certifiers that explore ways to streamline linkages between the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service support and the organic certification process. Lastly, the Prize supports the Know Your Cost to Grow program, an online curriculum and cost calculation app developed to help producers develop and utilize cost information.

Kalona Regenerative Network Producer Education Training Program

Year Awarded 2023

Total award amount $77,777

Location Kalona, IA

Matching Funders The Organic Center

Grantee Institution Kalona Regenerative Network

Kalona Regenerative Network is educating farmers to use regenerative and organic farming methods to restore ecosystem health, grow more nutrient dense food and create profitable farms. With this Prize, KRN is offering organic certification in-house and implementing a pay-what-you-can and scholarship model for their Producer Education Program. The Prize also supports accessible education and guidance to help producers and consumers drive change within the U.S. food system.

A new methods of managing human waste for improved soil health, carbon sequestration, contaminant removal, and social acceptability

Year Awarded 2022

Location Brattelboro, VT

Program Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders Cornell University, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County, Rich Earth Institute, University of Michigan

Grantee Institution Rich Earth Institute

Synthetic fertilizers accelerate crop growth and are commonly used in agriculture; however, these products contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, wastewater is also a source of pollution, and only a fraction of the vast quantity of nutrients flowing through modern wastewater treatment systems is captured for beneficial reuse. A significant portion of regional fertilizer needs could be met by reclaiming the nutrients present in wastewater. The Rich Earth Institute is producing biochar from wastewater material to potentially be used to develop safe, renewable fertilizers that enhance agricultural productivity, support soil health, reduce nutrient pollution and mitigate climate change through soil carbon sequestration.

Increasing Water Productivity, Soil Carbon, and Sustainability of Integrated Multi-Crop Systems Using Field-Scale Research

Year Awarded 2022

FFAR award amount $7,657,633

Total award amount $16,362,948

Location Manhattan, KS

Matching Funders Bayer Crop Science, Iowa State University, Kansas State University, LandScan, LI-COR, Mississippi State University, The Ohio State University, The University of Kansas

Grantee Institution Kansas State University

Increasing crop yields while improving soil and watershed health requires understanding how agriculture management interacts with local environmental conditions. To date, this research remains fragmented and limited in scope. Kansas State University researchers are tackling these knowledge gaps and improving precision agriculture through an expansive study across the U.S. Corn Belt and Great Plains exploring how crop, soil and water management affect the soil microbial communities that drive agroecosystem functions. This project will investigate how combinations of cover crops, nitrogen, crop rotation and tillage, and water management under variable soil water conditions influence soil microbial communities that drive nutrient availability and loss.

Advancing DEI in Sharing Carbon & Ecosystems Services Information

Year Awarded 2022

FFAR award amount $100,000

Total award amount $200,000

Location Madison, WI

Matching Funders American Society of Agronomy (ASA), the Crop Science Society of America (CSSA) and the Soil Science Society of America

Grantee Institution Alliance of Crop, Soil and Environmental Science Societies- Grants has this institution on file as "Tri-Societies"

This investment is building inclusivity and accessibility into the Tri-Societies’ new educational website Decode 6. This free, educational website–named for carbon, the sixth element on the periodic table–provides resources in carbon and ecosystem services and their respective markets for the agricultural and environmental sectors.

Integration of Agroforestry as a Transformative Solution to Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in Organic Farms

Year Awarded 2022

Total award amount $200,000

Location Knoxville, TN

Matching Funders The Organic Center

Grantee Institution University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture

The 2022 Organic Center-FFAR joint Organic Research Program awardee, Dr. Sindhu Jagadamma, is investigating how growing trees on organic farms and transforming organic waste from those farms into high-value compost naturally and cost-effectively mitigates climate change and reduces the carbon footprint of organic farms. She will conduct the study at Caney Fork Farms, a Tennessee certified organic farm, and develop and disseminate educational materials to improve producers’ knowledge of these and other innovative farm management approaches to increase their adoption throughout the Southeast.

Oregon Tilth

Year Awarded 2022

Total award amount $50,000

Location Corvallis, OR

Matching Funders The Organic Center

Grantee Institution The Organic Center

The Organic Training for Agricultural Professionals Prize supports the continued success of Oregon Tilth’s conservation, transition and farm viability education and will train additional farmers and agriculture professionals in organic certification, organic regulations, production practices and profitability tools. It will also facilitate the convening of organic certifiers to explore ways to streamline linkages between USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service support and the organic certification process.

Enhancing Tools to Model Climate and Environmental Impacts in Organic Agriculture Systems

Year Awarded 2022

Total award amount $77,022

Location Madison, WI

Matching Funders The Organic Center

Grantee Institution University of Wisconsin, Madison

The 2022 Organic Center-FFAR joint Organic Research Program awardee, Dr. Erin Silva, is investigating how to improve existing carbon and nutrient modeling tools and create new ones to better reflect organic farming management practices and reduce climate change impact. She will share the results with agricultural professionals and policymakers to inform where further research is needed to better understand the impacts of organic farming methods on climate and environmental stewardship.

Awarded GrantsBelow is a listing of our awarded grants that tackle big food and agriculture challenges.

90 Grants found

Row Crops to Perennial Pasture: Feeding the World, Conserving Water, Enhancing Soil and Safeguarding the Climate

Determinants of Persistent Cover Crop Adoption and Dis-Adoption to Inform More Effective Farmer Incentives for Durable Adoption

FoodShot Global Challenge #4 Water GroundBreaker Prize (Indiana)

FoodShot Global Challenge #4 Water GroundBreaker Prize (United Kingdom)

FoodShot Global Challenge #4 Water GroundBreaker Prize (Arizona)

Fast-Track On-Farm Impact from the Cool Soil Initiative to Enhance the Climate Resilience of Australia’s Grain Producers

Accelerating the Adoption of Climate Resilient Regenerative Agricultural Practices Across the Wheat and Maize Value Chain in the Mexican Bajío

Co-development of Innovative Prairie Cover Crop Strategies to Drive Adoption of Regenerative Climate Smart Agriculture in Key Sourcing Regions

AgMission™ Funds Global Youth Consultation to Co-Create Agricultural Solutions with Young Farmers

AgMission™ Funds Global Producers’ Consultation to Improve Climate-Smart Agriculture Adoption

Advancing Knowledge and Adoption of Climate-Smart Practices in Semi-Arid Perennial Cropping Systems

UC Davis Receives FFAR Grant to Help Improve Vineyard Soil Health

Improving Soil Health on Vineyards

FFAR Awards Grant to Reduce Water Waste in Crop Irrigation

Protecting Soil Health & Food Safety in Almond Orchards

Transforming Wastewater to Crop Fertilizer

Increasing Motivation and Promoting Persistence in Farmer Conservation

Novel Farmer-to-Farmer Learning Approaches to Cultivate a Culture of Conservation in the Mississippi River Basin

Equipping Conservation Professionals and Farmers with Tools to Deliver Edge of Field Practices

A Multi-Source Remote Sensing-Based Framework & Decision-Support Tool for Flash Droughts & Floods Under Climate Change

Integration of Agroforestry as a Transformative Solution to Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in Organic Farms

Scaling Quantified and Verified Soil Health, Climate and Natural Resources Outcomes from U.S. Agriculture in an Innovative Ecosystem Services Market Program

Using Solar Panels to Enhance Groundwater

Integrating On-farm Solar Arrays to Enhance Groundwater Resources, Produce Energy & Diversify Farm Income

Protecting Florida Corn from Tar Spot Outbreak

A Deeper Dive: Linking Below-Ground Soil & Water Quality with Above-Ground Productivity in Organic Systems to Enhance Economic Viability & Ecosystem Resiliency

Iowa State University Organic Agriculture Program (ISU OAP)

Investigating the re-integration of organic food crops & animal production on above & belowground diversity, soil health, farm resilience & food safety.

Rodale Institution

Oregon Tilth

Oregon Tilth

Kalona Regenerative Network Producer Education Training Program

A new methods of managing human waste for improved soil health, carbon sequestration, contaminant removal, and social acceptability

Increasing Water Productivity, Soil Carbon, and Sustainability of Integrated Multi-Crop Systems Using Field-Scale Research

Advancing DEI in Sharing Carbon & Ecosystems Services Information

Enhancing Tools to Model Climate and Environmental Impacts in Organic Agriculture Systems

University of Wisconsin-Madison Organic Grain Resource and Information Network

OATS (Organic Agronomy Training Service)

FoodShot Global Challenge #3 Bioactive Foods GroundBreaker Prize (Champaign, Illinois)

Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE) Reinvestment

Performance-Based Financing Models for Sustainable Water Management in the Great Lakes Basin

FoodShot Global Challenge #3 Bioactive Foods GroundBreaker Prize (Maryland)

FoodShot Global Challenge #3 Bioactive Foods GroundBreaker Prize (Massachusetts)

Expanding OpTIS, a remote sensing tool to accelerate soil health and climate-smart practices

Cotton-Based Precision Irrigation Improves Sustainability

Plant-Based Precision Irrigation Management for Improved System-Level Sustainability

Tuskegee University Endowment

AgMission CIAT Grant Evaluates the Risk of Climate Disruption for Key Crops across Geographies

Grant Quantifies Farm Risk Mitigation Through Improved Soil Health

Adaptive Multi-Paddock (AMP) Grazing Research in the U.S. Northern Great Plains

Adaptive Multi-Paddock (AMP) Grazing Research in the U.S. Southeast

Expanding development of a predictive model to quantify the risk reduction associated with specific soil health practices for use by private & public lenders & insurers to incentivize the transition to resilient, climate-smart agriculture

FFAR-OCP Disruptive Fertilizer Technology Fellowship First Cohort

Dairy, Soil & Water Regeneration Grant Promotes Integrated Research to Support Dairy Industry Commitment to Sustainability

U.S. Dairy Net Zero Initiative: Improving Dairy On-Farm Sustainability through Improved Soil Health and Manure Management

Mapping Trees in Future Climates: Integrating Knowledge, Data and Tools to Enhance Agroforestry Adoption for Climate Resilience

Kansas State University Provides Data on Nitrogen Management Practices in the Great Plains

Nitrogen SAVings through soil hEalth (NSAVE): Leveraging regenerative agriculture to reduce nitrogen inputs, increase farmer profits & mitigate climate change

Quantifying the Advantages of Multi-Paddock (AMP) Grazing in the U.S. Southeast & Northern Great Plains

AgMission/Precision Conservation Management MOU

FFAR Grant Examines Management Practices Effect on Soil Health

FoodShot Global Challenge #2 Precision Protein, Deep Dive GroundBreaker Prize (Netherlands)

FoodShot Global Challenge #1 Innovating Soil 3.0, Deep Dive GroundBreaker Prize (Netherlands)

FoodShot Global Challenge #2 Precision Protein, Deep Dive GroundBreaker Prize (South Carolina)

FFAR and OFRF Renew Partnership to Improve Soil Health Research

Irrigation Innovation Consortium Funds Seven Research Projects

FoodShot Global Challenge #1 Innovating Soil 3.0, Deep Dive GroundBreaker Prize (Colorado)

New Crops ATLASS (Analytics Telenetwork: for Landscape, Agronomic, and Sociocultural Scalability)

FFAR & Rodale Institute Enhance Soil Health to Increase Crop Nutrients

OFRF and FFAR Fund Research to Enhance Organic Potato Nutrition

Conservation of an Endophytic Insect-pathogenic Fungus for Plant Protection in Organic Cropping Systems.

Cover Crops for Soil Health: Demonstration of On-Farm Trial

Biosolarization: Harnessing the Sun and Organic Matterfor Weed Control

FFAR Grant Examines Carbon Farming Effect on Soil Health

FFAR Grant Addressing Surface and Groundwater Pollution on Farms

Precision Irrigation Scheduling for Specialty Crops

FoodShot Global Challenge #1 Innovating Soil 3.0, Deep Dive GroundBreaker Prize (Maine)

FFAR Grant Provides Technical Training to Enhance Soil Health

Awarded Grants
Below is a listing of our awarded grants that tackle big food and agriculture challenges.