Investing in Results for U.S.
Agriculture

FFAR’s investment in soil health research has grown into a powerful example of how farmer-driven science can inform and shape public policy. A collaboration with the Soil Health Institute, Soil Health Partnership and The Nature Conservancy centered on farmers’ needs for effective, widely applicable, low-cost measurements for assessing soil health. Over 2,000 soil samples were collected across North America, covering a wide range of soils, climates, crops and management practices. After analyzing each sample with over 30 measurements, four were identified as the most essential for assessing soil health.

This work ensured that the resulting science reflected farmers’ needs for cost-effective, broadly useful measurements of soil health. The findings, captured in 29 publications and nearly 1,000 citations, were translated directly into practical tools and standards that farmers can use and trust. This standardized set of soil health indicators is now being offered by soil testing laboratories, creating an opportunity for a consistent baseline across the agriculture sector.

Conducting rigorous, science-based research grounded in farmers’ needs elevated this work into policy arenas. The soil health indicators are now referenced in USDA NRCS protocols, and the research has been cited in U.S. House of Representatives hearings and international discussions on conservation and regenerative agriculture.

By embedding farmers’ needs at the center of discovery, FFAR’s model demonstrates that durable policy is most effective when it is grounded in lived experience. It shows that when farmers help identify the research questions, they also help shape the decisions that guide the future of agriculture.

As demand for protein rises, chickpeas offer strong nutritional value, but farmers struggle to produce them competitively. Long growing seasons, higher input costs and processing challenges limit chickpea’s role in the alternative protein market. With FFAR’s support, NuCicer set out to change that.

NuCicer expanded chickpea’s genetic diversity and improved specific traits to create a more competitive, scalable crop. The team developed NC-1, a high-protein, early maturing variety, which is now patented and commercially available with 15,000 acres being planted this year.

NC-1 creates clear economic advantages across the value chain. Farmers benefit from lower seed costs and reduced inputs, including eliminating the need for desiccants, while improving yields. Processors gain efficiency from the higher protein content and lower fat, enabling more protein output with fewer resources and creating opportunities for premium-priced products.

FFAR’s investment helped NuCicer attract an additional $23 million in private funding and accelerate market readiness. An independent analysis projects that, even at moderate adoption levels, the NC-1 variety could generate $41.5 million in economic benefits for growers by 2035.

FFAR’s and NuCicer’s partnership is moving innovation from research to market, delivering practical, profitable solutions for producers and strengthening the U.S. alternative protein industry.