Dear Colleagues,
1) The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) in partnership with Dairy Management Inc. (DMI) and Zoetis is soliciting proposals for the Dairy Health, Efficiency & Resource Dynamics (Dairy HERD). The Dairy HERD Initiative aims to support research to advance our understanding of the interrelationships among dairy health/management and welfare, economics and the environment.
Supported Areas of Research:
The objective of Dairy HERD is to advance research that will enable U.S. dairy and stakeholders to design and use innovations supporting animal health and management, economic viability and improved environmental outcomes. Dairy HERD recognizes that cross-disciplinary collaborative teams that leverage the strength and expertise of diverse scientific fields may be needed to examine the complex relationships among dairy health and management, economics and the environment.
Dairy HERD will support following research objectives
- Economics analyses related to potential reductions in the prevalence of animal health conditions in the context of the associated environmental outcomes.
- Develop or improve decision-support tools and/or models through an enhanced understanding of feedback loops and trade-offs amongst animal health and herd management, economics and environmental outcomes
- Examine and quantify the impact of dairy cow and heifer health on environmental outcomes
Dairy HERD will not consider applications addressing:
- Research that seeks to increase milk production or to reduce environmental impacts only by increasing milk production efficiency;
- Research that requires the use of grant funds to install equipment on one or more farms
- Research that is not relevant to U.S. dairy production systems.
Key Details:
- Award range: $500,000-$1,000,000
- Total amount available: $1,300,000
- Required match: Not required but encouraged
- Performance Period: Up to 2 years
- Proposal Deadline: 5 p.m. EST on June 25, 2025.
For more information and to access the proposal template, visit FFAR Dairy HERD website.
2. The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service is seeking applications for its Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP). FMPP’s purpose is to support the development, coordination, and expansion of direct producer-to-consumer markets to increase access to and availability of locally and regionally produced agricultural products.
FMPP funds projects that develop, coordinate, and expand direct producer-to-consumer markets to help increase access to and availability of locally and regionally produced agricultural products. The program focuses on:
- Supporting and promoting domestic direct producer-to-consumer (including direct producer-to-retail, direct producer-to-restaurant, and direct producer-to-institutional marketing) marketing such as farmers markets, roadside stands, agritourism activities, community-supported agriculture (CSA) programs, or online sales;
- Encouraging the development of value-added agricultural products;
- Developing marketing strategies for producers of local food and value-added products;
- Facilitating regional food chain coordination development;
- Promoting new business opportunities and marketing strategies to reduce on-farm food waste;
- Responding to changing technology needs in direct producer-to-consumer marketing; and
- Covering expenses related to costs incurred in obtaining food safety certification and improvements to food safety practices and equipment.
Key Details
| Project Type | Duration (Months) | Start Date | End Date | Minimum Award | Maximum Award |
Turnkey Projects (Both Types) | 24 | September 30, 2025 | September 29, 2027 | $50,000 | $100,000 |
| Capacity Building | 36 | September 30, 2025 | September 29, 2028 | $50,000 | $250,000 |
| Community Development Training and Technical Assistance | 36 | September 30, 2025 | September 29, 2028 | $100,000 | $500,000 |
- Eligibility: See the eligibility section for details
- Total amount available: $11,000,000, 245 expected number of awards
- Required match: 25%
- Proposal Deadline: June 27, 2025 – 11:59 p.m. ET
For more information and to access the proposal template, visit the Farmers Market Promotion Program website and RFA.
3. The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service is seeking applications for its Regional Food System Partnerships (RFSP). The purpose of this program is to support partnerships that connect public and private resources to plan and develop local and regional food systems.
RFSP projects help connect public and private resources to plan and develop local or regional food systems. The RFSP focuses on making local or regional food economies stronger and more resilient.
Applicants must partner to promote the development of local or regional food systems. The partners will work together to set priorities, connect resources and services, and track progress towards shared goals.
Partnerships receiving a grant may:
- Determine the size and scope of the local or regional food system where their project goals and activities will take place.
- Coordinate with AMS to receive technical assistance.
- Conduct outreach and educate to get others involved in the partnership agreement and eligible activities.
Key Details
| Project Type | Duration (Months) | Start Date | End Date | Minimum Award | Maximum Award |
| Planning & Design | 24 | September 30, 2025 | September 29, 2027 | $100,000 | $250,000 |
| Implementation & Expansion | 36 | September 30, 2025 | September 29, 2028 | $250,000 | $1,000,000 |
- Eligibility: See the eligibility section for details. Note: UC ANR is ineligible to apply as the lead applicant this year.
- Total amount available: $4,500,000, 75 expected number of awards
- Required match: 25%
- Proposal Deadline: June 27, 2025 – 11:59 p.m. ET
For more information and to access the proposal template, visit the RFSP Website and RFA.
4. The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service is seeking applications for its Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP). LFPP’s purpose is to support the development, coordination, and expansion of local and regional food business enterprises that engage as intermediaries in indirect producer-to-consumer marketing to increase access to and availability of locally and regionally produced agricultural products.
LFPP funds projects that develop, coordinate, and expand local and regional food business enterprises that engage as intermediaries in indirect producer to consumer marketing to help increase access to and availability of locally and regionally produced agricultural products. The program focuses on:
- Supporting the processing, aggregation, distribution, and storage of local and regional food products that are marketed locally or regionally, including value-added agricultural products.
- Encouraging the development of value-added agricultural products.
- Assisting with business development plans and feasibility studies.
- Developing marketing strategies for producers of local food and value-added products.
- Facilitating regional food chain coordination and mid-tier value chain development.
- Promoting new business opportunities and marketing strategies to reduce on-farm food waste.
- Responding to changing technology needs in indirect producer-to-consumer marketing; and
- Covering expenses related to cost incurred in obtaining food safety certification and improvements to food safety practices and equipment.
Key Details
| Project Type | Duration (Months) | Start Date | End Date | Minimum Award | Maximum Award |
| Planning | 24 | September 30, 2025 | September 29, 2027 | $25,000 | $100,000 |
| Turnkey Projects (Both Types) | 24 | September 30, 2025 | September 29, 2027 | $50,000 | $100,000 |
| Implementation | 36 | September 30, 2025 | September 29, 2028 | $100,000 | $500,000 |
- Eligibility: See the eligibility section for details
- Total amount available: $11,000,000, 320 expected number of awards
- Required match: 25%
- Proposal Deadline: June 27, 2025 – 11:59 p.m. ET
For more information and to access the proposal template, visit the Local Food Promotion Program website and RFA.
Thank you.
Kendra Rose, Associate Director, ANR Proposal Development Services