- Author: Kendra T Rose
Dear Colleagues,
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Fertilizer Research and Education Program (FREP) has announced its 2025 Request for Pre-Proposals, inviting innovative project ideas to advance the efficient and environmentally safe use of fertilizers and irrigation in agriculture. This FREP is dedicated to supporting efforts that promote sustainable and effective nutrient and water management practices across California.
FREP is particularly interested in projects that target:
- Outreach, Education, and Demonstration Projects – Focused on enhancing nutrient and irrigation management practices through technical training, certification programs, extension materials, and creating resources for underserved growers and non-English speakers. These projects should aim to improve adoption rates of proven management practices among growers and field staff.
- Research and Demonstration Projects – Geared towards advancing knowledge in areas such as:
- Improving Nutrient and Irrigation Management: Projects might explore the barriers to adopting best practices, the role of organic materials in soil health, and validating tools that optimize Nutrient and/or irrigation water use
- Evaluating Nutrient Loss Pathways: With an emphasis on understanding nutrient movement from the root zone to the environment and mitigating nutrient losses, these projects could cover topics like nutrient loss through runoff and methods for reducing gaseous emissions from fertilizers.
Range of Awards: $75,000 - $100,000 per year
Required match: None
Performance Period: 1-3 years
Pre-Proposal Deadline: December 16, 2024
Full Proposal Deadline: April 14, 2025 (by invite only)
For more information and to access the pre-proposal template, visit CDFA FREP's website.
Thank you.
Kendra Rose, Associate Director, Proposal Development Services
- Author: Kendra T Rose
Dear Colleagues,
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) is now accepting proposals for its Forest Health Research Program, which funds scientific research aimed at enhancing forest health and wildland fire resilience in California. Research proposals should address one or more of the following priority topics, which focus on California's ecosystems and their management:
- Recovery, restoration, regeneration, and reforestation strategies following wildfires and other disturbances in a changing climate.
- Effectiveness of current and alternative management strategies to reduce wildfire impacts and improve hydrologic functions, air quality, biodiversity, and more.
- Ecological monitoring to assess the impacts, effectiveness, and benefits of vegetation treatments.
- Community resilience to wildfires and other ecological disturbances under current and future climate conditions.
- Research centering Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and tribal forest and fire management practices.
- Utilization of forest residues from fuel reduction and forest health treatments.
- Improved prediction of wildland fire behavior, spread, and impacts, especially under extreme weather conditions.
- Cost-benefit analysis for forest restoration, fuel treatments, and wildfire mitigation strategies.
Research Project Categories and Funding:
- Wildfire and Forest Research (General): 2 expected awards; maximum amount of $750,000.
- Demonstration State Forests Research: 1 expected award; maximum amount of $750,000.
- Graduate Student Research: 5 expected awards; maximum amount of $100,000.
- Science Synthesis and Tool Development: 1 expected award; maximum amount of $750,000.
- Special Topics Research: 1 expected award; maximum amount of $500,000.
For more information, please visit the sponsor's website at https://www.fire.ca.gov/what-we-do/grants/forest-health-research-program
Concept Proposals Due: 3 p.m. November 14, 2024
Full Proposals Due: 3 p.m. March 14, 2025 (by Invite Only)
Thank you,
Kendra Rose, Associate Director, Proposal Development Services (OCG)
- Author: Kendra T Rose
Dear Colleagues,
1) USDA NIFA is soliciting pre-applications for the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI). The purpose of the SCRI program is to address the critical needs of the specialty crop industry by awarding grants to support research and extension that address key challenges of national, regional, and multi-state importance in sustaining all components of food and agriculture, including conventional and organic food production systems. Projects must address at least one of five focus areas:
- Research in plant breeding, genetics, genomics, and other methods to improve crop characteristics
- Efforts to identify and address threats from pests and diseases, including threats to specialty crop pollinators
- Efforts to improve production efficiency, handling and processing, productivity, and profitability over the long term (including specialty crop policy and marketing)
- New innovations and technology, including improved mechanization and technologies that delay or inhibit ripening
- Methods to prevent, detect, monitor, control, and respond to potential food safety hazards in the production efficiency, handling and processing of specialty crops
Visit the program web page at Specialty Crop Research Initiative | NIFA (usda.gov) for more information.
Pre-Applications Due: 2:00 P.M. PT, November 8, 2024 (Full applications by invite only)
Project Types:
Coordinated Agricultural Projects (CAPs)
Project period: Up to 5 years
Normally, Federal funds will not exceed $2,000,000 per year (Median award amount: $5,756,354)
Standard Research and Extension Projects (SREPs)
Project period: Up to 5 years
Normally, Federal funds will not exceed $1,000,000 per year (Median award amount: $2,180,834)
Research and Extension Planning Projects
Project period: One year
Federal funds up to $50,000 per project
2) The Center for Produce Safety research program is directed toanswering critical research questions that fill the gaps in our foundational understanding and systems-based implementation in specific areas of food safety practices for fruit, vegetable, and tree nut production, harvest, post-harvest handling, and distribution. The objective is to provide the produce industry with practical, translatable research data that can be used throughout the supply chain.
Please refer to the 2025 CPS Research Priorities on the CPS website.
Award Amount: Research projects cannot exceed $200,000 per year; Proof of concept proposals cannot exceed $50,000.
Pre-Applications Due: November 6, 2024 (Full applications by invite only due 02/06/2025)
Visit the Center for Produce Safety web page at for more information.
Thank you.
Kimberly Lamar, Associate Director, ANR Office of Contracts & Grants (OCG)
- Author: Kendra T Rose
Dear Colleagues,
The California Cherry Board (CCB) is soliciting proposals for research found to be of highest priority by the industry and which will significantly benefit the production and post-harvest handling practices of sweet cherry in California.
Production Research Priorities:
- Pest Management with emphasis on management of spotted wing drosophila (SWD)
- New chemistry
- Timing of application
- Tree Health with emphasis on pre- and postharvest disease biology and management, soilborne and canker diseases, and orchard replant diseases with emphasis on nematode management and alternatives to fumigations.
- Variety Development
- Pruning and Tree Architecture (including mechanical pruning)
- Dormancy/Firmness
- New chemistry
- Heat Stress on Fruit Quality
Post Harvest Research Priorities:
- Marketing/Sales
- Implications of grocery store purchases on applications (i.e. pick-up) instead of in-store
- Consumer Preferences and quality including minimizing Defects, fruit quality attributes such as Brix, Acid content.
- Minimum Maturity and Grade Standards
- Crop management to match market demands
- Stem retention
- Nutrition
Applications Due: September 30, 2024
Please see the RFA for specific details: https://ucanr.edu/sites/anrstaff/files/401773.pdf
Proposal Template: https://ucanr.edu/sites/anrstaff/files/401774.docx
Thank you.
ANR Office of Contracts & Grants (OCG)
- Author: Kendra T Rose
Dear Colleagues,
California Department of Food and Agriculture's (CDFA) is soliciting concept proposals for Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP). SCBGP funds projects that enhance the competitiveness of California specialty crops and is designed to support all sectors of California's specialty crop industry and will fund efforts which improve the performance of California specialty crops within local, domestic, national, and international markets. Specialty crops are fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, and horticulture and nursery crops, including floriculture.
The proposal process for SCBGP consists of two phases. In phase I, concept proposals should be submitted via the specified online tool by concept proposal deadline specified below. Successful concept proposals will be invited to submit a full proposal in December 2024 with a due date in January 2025 (exact dates are yet to be determined).
SCBGP program consists of three funding areas each of which have up to three subcategories. The concept proposals must be aligned with one primary funding category. These are:
- Funding Area I: Market Enhancement
o Category A: Grown in California
- Funding Area II: Access, Education and Training
o Category A: Healthy Specialty Crops for all Californians
o Category B: Equity, Opportunity and Education for all California Specialty Crop Farmers
- Funding Area III: Research
o Category A: Environmental Stewardship, Conservation and Climate Smart Agriculture
o Category B: Plant Health and Pest Management
o Category C: Food Safety (Separate Proposal Solicitation). Please see http://www.centerforproducesafety.org/.
For more information, please visit the sponsor's website at https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/Specialty_Crop_Competitiveness_Grants/ and see the Request for Concept Proposals (RFCP)
Concept Proposal Due: 09/09/2024
Funding Amount: $100,000 to $500,000
Project Duration: up to2 years 8 months with a start date of 11/01/2025
Match: Not required
Thank you.
ANR Office of Contracts & Grants (OCG)