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FoodShot Global Challenge 

OFRF and FFAR Announce Grants to Advance Soil Health Research 

FFAR & OFRF Grant to Enhance Soil Health 

FFAR Grant Examines Carbon Farming Effect on Soil Health 

Year Awarded  2020

FFAR award amount   $616,178

Total award amount   $1,281,584

Location   Petaluma, CA

Program   Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders   Mad Agriculture and Colorado State University

Grantee Institution   Point Blue Conservation Science

Through sustainable farming techniques, carbon can be stored long term in the soil, a process referred to as carbon sequestration. Employing carbon farm practices can further improve soil health and environmental health by increasing carbon sequestration. Knowledge gaps about commonly recommended management practices make it difficult to quantify how the carbon farm process affects carbon levels. Providing additional information about this process will help resource managers and policymakers prioritize programs and funding.

Grant Outcome

This project created a practical guide called Range-C to help track carbon in rangeland soils and turned it into training materials now used by field staff and technical service providers across more than 70 properties in seven states. The team also shared their data and findings with California state agencies to help improve tools that estimate carbon storage, supporting better land management decisions.

FFAR Partners with FoodShot Global to Launch Two Challenges 

FFAR Grant Addressing Surface and Groundwater Pollution on Farms 

Year Awarded  2020

FFAR award amount   $316,000

Total award amount   $632,231

Location   Avondale, AZ

Program   Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders   Stroud Center and the Science Technology and Research Institute of Delaware (STRIDE)

Grantee Institution   Stroud Water Research Center

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of chemical compounds used in hundreds of applications. Due to their high thermal stability, resistance to chemical degradation and related waste disposal, PFAS is an environmental concern. Stroud Center researchers, in collaboration with STRIDE Center for PFAS Solutions, are examining the occurrence and migration of biosolid-derived PFAS in soil and water on agricultural fields.

Grant Outcome

Researchers tested soils, biosolids, groundwater and nearby waters on farms and found that fields treated with biosolids had higher levels of PFAS than untreated fields. The study highlighted the need for careful selection biosolids-based fertilizers to protect farmland and water quality.

FFAR Awards Grant to Reduce Water Waste in Crop Irrigation 

Year Awarded  2020

FFAR award amount   $650,000

Total award amount   $1,300,000

Location   Davis, CA

Program   Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders   University of California, Davis

Grantee Institution   University of California Davis

Sensors currently available to growers to measure plant water status are prohibitive. UC Davis researchers are developing a small sensor sensitive enough to measure as little as a one percent change in leaf thickness and volumetric water content at the same time. These two measurements provide growers with clear, consistent data to calculate the plant’s water status.

Can biochar help adapt agriculture to hotter, dryer conditions? 

Portrait of Shelby Hoglund.

Shelby Hoglund

2018-2021 FFAR Fellow

Mobilizing Farmers, Ranchers and Scientists as Window of Opportunity Narrows on Climate Change 

Precision Irrigation Scheduling for Specialty Crops 

Year Awarded  2019

FFAR award amount   $500,000

Total award amount   $1,323,242

Location   Boulder, CO

Program   Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders   The University of Arizona Yuma, Center of Excellence for Desert Agriculture, University of California, Western Growers Association

Grantee Institution   GeoVisual Analytics

Farmers growing specialty crops deal with a multitude of complexities such as lacking access to cost-effective irrigation guidance tools. Specialty crops are often over-irrigated which can jeopardize food security. GeoVisual Analytics researchers are improving irrigation guidance and grower adoption of precision irrigation technologies by analyzing data and field measurements.