The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) is accepting applications for the Efficient Fertilizer Consortium (EFC) 2024 Request for Applications (RFA). This funding opportunity supports research field trials that evaluate the agronomic performance and environmental impact of enhanced efficiency fertilizers (EEFs). Projects may span two to five years, with the intent to generate impactful, scalable insights across various climates, cropping systems, and soil types. The maximum funding per project is up to $1,000,000, with optional matching funds allowed. The EFC initiative prioritizes real-world application and producer decision-making support through data-driven and globally relevant research.

The EFC RFA opened the pre-application (Letter of Intent) on October 30, 2024, with submissions due by December 11, 2024, at 5:00 PM ET. Only applicants who are approved and invited based on their pre-application may submit a full proposal. Invitations for full application submission will be sent by February 5, 2025, and the full application deadline is March 26, 2025, at 5:00 PM ET. Award notifications are expected in summer 2025, with projects anticipated to begin in fall 2025 or winter 2026.

Research priorities include stacking EEFs with field management practices such as cover cropping and 4R Nutrient Stewardship, studying nutrient carryover effects, identifying optimal EEFs for various conditions, and exploring fertilizer technologies such as enzyme inhibitors, slow- and controlled-release fertilizers, biofertilizers, and nanofertilizers. Applications must include evaluations of agronomic performance, nutrient use efficiency, and preferably nutrient losses to the environment such as nitrous oxide emissions, leaching, or runoff.

Applicants must follow EFC’s Field Trial Guidelines for Evaluating Enhanced Efficiency Fertilizers and provide comprehensive project design, including justification for fertilizer products, trial locations, methodology, and controls. Applications should address scalability, reproducibility, and potential barriers to adoption. EFC will not fund product development, specialty crop research (excluding potatoes and tomatoes), life cycle or socioeconomic analyses, or modeling-only projects.

Eligible applicants include domestic and international higher education institutions, nonprofits, for-profit entities, and government-affiliated research agencies. Individuals with the necessary skills and institutional support may apply. Pre- and full applications must be submitted through FFAR’s Grant Management System. Evaluation criteria for full proposals include qualifications of the research team, project design and relevance, anticipated outcomes, and plans for data dissemination and addressing adoption barriers.

For more information, applicants are encouraged to review the RFA and contact FFAR’s program representatives. The main contacts for this opportunity are Dr. Sarah Lyons at slyons@foundationfar.org and the Grants Team at grants@foundationfar.org.