New Innovator in Food & Agriculture Research Award

The New Innovator in Food & Agriculture Research Award is a grant from the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) that recognizes and supports early-career researchers making significant contributions to food and agricultural science. FFAR uses a nomination-based process, with nominations due by March 18, 2026 at 5 p. m.

EDT. The award is contingent on funding availability. FFAR operates public-private research consortia addressing challenges in sustainable agriculture, fertilizer efficiency, cattle methane emissions, antimicrobial stewardship, and indoor farming.

This award targets innovative researchers advancing food systems science.

New Innovator in Food & Agriculture Research Award Request for Applications - Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research - Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research Your browser does not support the video tag.

Learn more about What We Do We Establish Research Consortia Efficient Fertilizer Consortium Greener Cattle Initiative International Consortium for Antimicrobial Stewardship in Agriculture Crops of the Future, a public-private collaborative, expands our knowledge of the traits that give rise to characteristics crops need to adapt to a changing future.

The Efficient Fertilizer Consortium is a public-private partnership that funds research to advance enhanced efficiency and novel fertilizer products and practices that are environmentally beneficial and agronomically productive. The Greener Cattle Initiative is an industry-oriented research consortium that will award approximately $5 million over the next five years to support research to mitigate enteric methane emissions from cattle.

This audacious consortium provides global nutrition while also curbing the escalating climate crisis. The International Consortium for Antimicrobial Stewardship in Agriculture (ICASA) advances research on antimicrobial stewardship in animal agriculture. This public-private partnership promotes the judicious use of antibiotics and improves animal welfare.

Precision Indoor Plants (PIP), a public-private partnership, helps food producers grow flavorful, nutritious food indoors. The consortium’s audacious research increases our ability to produce quality crops that are valuable and desired by consumers.

Applicant & Grantee Resources Our Funding & Approval Process Public-Private Partnerships Invest in Research with Us FFAR » New Innovator in Food & Agriculture Research Award Contingent on Funding Availability New Innovator in Food & Agriculture Research Award Contingent on Funding Availability Nominations due March 18 by 5 p. m. EDT February 11, 2026 at 12 p.

m. EST March 18, 2026 at 5 p. m.

EDT Nominees are invited to submit full proposals: Open only to individuals nominated by their institutions. April 29, 2026 by 5 p. m.

EDT About the New Innovator Award The New Innovator in Food & Agriculture Research Award provides early-career scientists the investment needed to propel them into successful research careers. Young faculty in the sciences often struggle to secure grant funding. FFAR established the New Innovator Awards to launch the careers of promising scientists whose research addresses significant food and agriculture challenges.

These awards allow the grantees to focus exclusively on research without the pressure of securing additional funding. FFAR grants New Innovator Awards to faculty members in a tenure-track position no longer than three years and who are within eight years of receiving their Ph. D.

The award goes to individuals with the creative ideas, skills, knowledge and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research program. Eligible candidates must also conduct research that aligns with our Priority Areas .

FFAR wishes to advise interested applicants that it has limited programmatic funds remaining and cannot make any awards selected through this Request for Applications (RFA) until additional funds are allocated to the Foundation. FFAR is proceeding with this RFA to ensure that the Foundation can quickly launch new projects should new funding be allocated. Any selections will be contingent on the availability of funds.

FFAR strongly encourages potential applicants to consider FFAR’s current funding situation when deciding whether to apply for the 2026 New Innovator Award. Individuals with significant research experience prior to obtaining their faculty position are not eligible for this award.

For the purpose of this funding opportunity, significant research experience is defined as a nominee that has been awarded a substantial research grant (three to five years of support) or has received project funding totaling over $1 million within the time of their tenure position, or has been awarded similar career development awards with similar budgetary scopes.

Each applicant can receive from FFAR up to $150,000 per year for a maximum of three years totaling a $450,000 investment. To further support the grantees, and allow them to fully focus on their research, matching funds are not required for this program.

FFAR welcomes applications from all domestic institutions: Institutions of higher education (including public or state-controlled institutions and private institutions) Nonprofit and for-profit research organizations Government-affiliated research agencies In keeping with FFAR goals to reach a broad range of institutions and individuals who participate in its programs, FFAR welcomes applications from the full range of higher education institutions, including colleges and universities of various sizes and across geographic regions.

Institutions may submit one nominee to the 2026 New Innovator Award program. Faculty members at eligible institutions with the creative ideas, skills, knowledge and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research program as Principal Investigator (PI) are invited to work with their institution to develop an application for support.

FFAR welcomes applications from all applicants who meet the following eligibility criteria: The nominated faculty member must have been hired on or after August 1, 2022 , for a tenure-track or equivalent position and may work in any discipline or any department within the institution. Preference will be given to individuals near the onset of their independent research career and who are within eight (8) years of receiving a Ph. D.

or equivalent degree. Individuals with significant research experience prior to obtaining their faculty position will not be considered for this award.

For this funding opportunity, significant research experience is defined as a nominee that has been awarded a substantial research grant (three to five years of support) or has received project funding totaling over $1M within the time of their tenure position or has been awarded similar career development awards with similar budgetary scopes. The proposed research application must directly benefit U.S. agricultural interests.

FFAR recognizes that agriculture and food sciences are highly complex, requiring individuals from a variety of disciplines to realize the potential in each field or research area. Particularly for early-stage investigators, collaborators are often essential for success.

While this award is given to an outstanding early-career investigator, applicants should include information regarding any essential collaborators and include letters of support from those collaborators. In these letters, the collaborators should comment on the potential of the individual to achieve success. What do I need to know about this opportunity?

FFAR wishes to advise interested applicants that it has limited programmatic funds remaining and cannot make any awards selected through this Request for Applications (RFA) until additional funds are allocated to the Foundation. FFAR is proceeding with this RFA to ensure that the Foundation can quickly launch new projects should new funding be allocated. Any selections will be contingent on the availability of funds.

FFAR strongly encourages potential applicants to consider FFAR’s current funding situation when deciding whether to apply for the 2026 New Innovator Award. FFAR requests up to $450,000. 00 are available for all proposed projects, contingent on funding availability.

There is no maximum on the amount of matching funds that may be included in the total budget. Projects up to 36 months in length are eligible for funding. Contingent project start dates range from January 1, 2027 to March 1, 2027.

Successful projects will receive disbursements contingent upon meeting reporting requirements (see Section VIII). Key budget considerations are noted below, and additional budgetary guidelines can be found on FFAR’s website . Applicants are encouraged to contact FFAR’s Grants Team at grants@foundationfar.

org to discuss any concerns. Matching funds are optional for this funding opportunity. Lack of matching funds will not influence the review of the application.

Matching funds must meet FFAR’s Matching Funds Guidelines , noting that they cannot be from a U.S. federal government entity. No more than 50% of the required match may be in-kind contributions. Funds already committed as a match or dedicated to another project cannot be offered as a match.

Matching funds must correspond to project costs in the budget justification. Salaries of Principal Investigator(s) are allowed for time not covered by institutional or other grant funds. Tuition cannot be charged as a direct cost for FFAR awards.

FFAR funds cannot be used for building construction and/or commercial scaling. A maximum of 15% of direct costs may be used for indirect costs (IDC), including subcontracts, if applicable. Please see FFAR’s Indirect Costs Policy for more details.

Reasonable budgets work in favor of the applicant. Budgets that are not commensurate with the proposed work or poorly justified will negatively affect the overall evaluation of the application. FFAR anticipates granting up to ten (10) awards, contingent on receiving additional funding.

The actual number of awards will depend on the quality and budgets of successful applications. FFAR reserves the right to negotiate all or none of the applications received for funding consideration under this opportunity. All applications must be submitted by the deadline date through FFAR’s online application Grant Management System.

Applications submitted outside of this system will not be considered. If you already have an account, you may start a new application . If you are a new user, register for an account by clicking the “Create Account” button located under the Sign In button on the bottom right side of the page.

Once you log in, you may begin working on your application. Please be sure to save your work often. To access a saved application, please do so through your Grant Management Account .

Only applications submitted by the deadline through FFAR’s Grant Management System will be accepted and considered eligible for evaluation. To be fair to all our applicants, FFAR will not grant extensions to applicants who missed the deadlines posted in the Key Dates section. FFAR will review nominations against eligibility criteria.

Only those meeting the criteria will be invited to submit full applications. Email invitations will be sent to those eligible by March 25, 2026. For questions related to the online submission system, please contact FFAR’s Grants Management Team at grants@foundationfar.

org . FFAR’s Grants Office Hours are held the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 12:00pm ET; interested attendees should register in advance. For questions related to the New Innovator Award program, please contact Dr. LaKisha Odom at lodom@foundationfar.

org . FFAR strives to respond to inquiries within two (2) business days, but our response time depends on the volume of questions received and the complexity of the questions asked. Please note that we do not monitor mailboxes in the evenings, weekends or federal holidays.