CDFA ACCEPTING PROPOSALS FOR 2020 FERTILIZER RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PROGRAM GRANTS

SACRAMENTO, December 5, 2019 - The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Fertilizer Research and Education Program (FREP) is now accepting proposals for the 2020 grant cycle. FREP’s competitive grant program funds research and education to advance the efficient use of fertilizer materials and reduce environmental impacts associated with them.

Two Requests for Proposals (RFPs) are being released for 2020:

1. The Regular RFP includes initiatives put forth by CDFA to help effectively manage agricultural fertilizers. Priorities include: technical education, demonstrating and/or validating management practices that optimize nutrient and irrigation management, addressing barriers to adoption of management practices, filling knowledge gaps in nitrogen management for specific crops, research on the role of organic input materials in soil nutrient management, and understanding and investigating mitigation strategies for nitrogen losses.

2. The Special RFP solicits research on nitrogen removal values for specific Central Coast crops for which there is no research basis for establishing nitrogen removal coefficients.

Applicants are invited to submit proposals to FREP by Friday, January 31, 2020. Two-page concept proposals are required for the Regular RFP. The Special RFP requires 15-page, full proposal submissions. Proposals should align with at least one of the identified priority research areas.

Further information on both of the 2020 FREP Requests for Proposals, including timelines, application criteria, priority research areas, and examples of successful proposals are available on the FREP Grant Program web page at: www.cdfa.ca.gov/is/ffldrs/frep/CompetitiveGrantProgram.html
 
All proposals will be reviewed by peer reviewers and the Fertilizer Inspection Advisory Board’s Technical Advisory Subcommittee (TASC). For the Regular RFP, concept proposals that are selected by the TASC will be invited for development into full project proposals. For the Special RFP, selected full proposals will be awarded.

Since 1990, FREP has funded more than 240 research projects, investing more than $20 million in research and outreach projects focusing on California’s important and environmentally sensitive cropping systems. A database of completed and ongoing research is available on the FREP Research web page at www.cdfa.ca.gov/go/FREPresearch.
 
For more information, send email inquiries to FREP@cdfa.ca.gov.

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