The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is accepting pre-proposals for the 2025 Fertilizer Research and Education Program (FREP) grant cycle until Monday, Dec. 16, 2024.

Pre-proposal submissions must align with at least one of the designated priority research areas and use the provided pre-proposal template. Detailed information about the 2025 FREP grant cycle, including timelines, priority research areas and required templates, can be found on the program’s grant webpage here.

All pre-proposals will be reviewed by the Fertilizer Inspection Advisory Board’s Technical Advisory Subcommittee (TASC). Applicants whose pre-proposals are selected by TASC will be invited to develop full proposals.

About FREP

FREP’s competitive grant program funds proposals that advance fertilization and irrigation practices and minimize environmental impacts of fertilizing materials. The 2025 request for pre-proposals (RFP) includes several initiatives put forth by the department to help effectively manage irrigation water and fertilizing materials in California agriculture.

Since 1990, the FREP Grant Program has funded more than 270 projects, investing over $31 million in research, outreach and education projects focusing on irrigation and nutrient management practices in California. 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, please send email inquiries to [email protected].