California Ag Network

Tag: Fertilizer Research and Education Program

  • CDFA Accepting Pre-Proposals for 2026 Fertilizer Research and Education Grant Cycle

    Sacramento, March 23, 2026 – The California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Fertilizer Research and Education Program (FREP) is now accepting pre-proposals for the 2026 grant cycle. FREP’s competitive grant program funds proposals that advance efficient nutrient and irrigation management practices that minimize environmental impacts through research, demonstration, education and training.

    This year’s priorities include: outreach, education, and demonstration projects focused on increasing the adoption of efficient crop nutrient and irrigation management practices and technologies; evaluating challenges and barriers to adoption of management practices; the role of organic input materials in soil nutrient management; demonstrating and/or validating management practices that optimize nutrient and/or irrigation water use; filling knowledge gaps for nutrient and irrigation management in specific crops; understanding nutrient movement from the root zone; and mitigation strategies to reduce nutrient losses.

    California’s agricultural communities are diverse and many have historically lacked access to resources and information needed to help them successfully run their businesses. CDFA encourages projects that include demonstrable benefits for socially disadvantaged farmers and farm workers, including groups whose members have been subjected to racial, ethnic, or gender discrimination.

    Applicants are invited to submit pre-proposals to FREP by April 27, 2026. Pre-proposals should be aligned with at least one of the identified funding priorities and use the provided pre-proposal template. Further information on the 2026 FREP RFP, including timelines, funding priorities, and templates are available on the Grant Program web page at www.cdfa.ca.gov/is/ffldrs/frep/CompetitiveGrantProgram.html

    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.

    Since 1990, FREP has funded more than 280 projects, investing over $32 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 FREP@cdfa.ca.gov. — By the California Department of Food and Agriculture

  • California’s FREP/WPHA Conference Comes To Modesto On November 1-2, 2017

    Sacramento, Calif., (September 29, 2017) – The California Department of Food and Agriculture’s (CDFA) Fertilizer Research and Education Program (FREP) and the Western Plant Health Association (WPHA) are hosting their 25th annual fertilizer research conference at the DoubleTree Hotel in Modesto, California, on November 1 and 2, 2017.

    This event brings together industry professionals and academic researchers to learn about the latest research and sound management of fertilizing materials.

    This year’s conference agenda includes information on nitrogen and irrigation management, as well as micronutrients, soil salinity, the role of nutrients in pest management, nitrogen reporting, nutrient education projects, and more. In the afternoon of the first day of the conference, a poster session will showcase a dozen ongoing research projects across California.

    Continuing education units (CEUs) for Certified Crop Advisers (CCAs), Pest Control Advisers (PCAs), and Central Valley growers are available for the conference. Registration is $110 per day or $180 for both days; currently enrolled students pay only $75 per day or $110 for both days.

    To view the agenda, register online, and see the approved CEUs, please visit the conference website: https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/IS/ffldrs/frep/FREPConference.html.

    For more information about the 2017 conference or FREP, please contact program staff at frep@cdfa.ca.gov or (916) 900-5022.

    Since 1990, the Fertilizer Research and Education Program has funded more than 200 research projects focusing on California’s vital and environmentally sensitive cropping systems. A database of completed and ongoing research is publically available at: www.cdfa.ca.gov/go/frep.