Three Federal Agencies Commit $1 Billion to Farm Modernization and Food Safety
March 6, 2026 · 2 min read
Jared Klein
Three federal agencies announced a combined $1 billion-plus investment in farm modernization and food supply safety on February 27, marking the largest coordinated agricultural funding push in years.
The package, tied to Executive Order 14212 establishing the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission, spans USDA, HHS, and EPA with a clear directive: reduce chemical reliance in American farming while boosting production.
$840 Million From USDA Anchors the Package
USDA committed the lion's share: $400 million through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and $300 million through the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), both targeting regenerative conservation practices in FY 2026. A separate $140 million Strengthening Agricultural Systems Program will fund new agricultural product markets, pest and disease solutions, and research into food-related chronic diseases.
Grand Prize Challenges Target Pesticide Alternatives
The remaining $200 million flows through HHS and EPA in the form of grand prize challenges. EPA is offering $30 million for cost-effective alternatives to pre-harvest desiccation — the practice of spraying crops with glyphosate before harvest that has drawn health scrutiny. NIH is putting up $100 million for researchers who can develop better methods for evaluating cumulative chemical exposures on human health. ARPA-H is contributing another $100 million toward technologies that reduce reliance on chemical crop-protection tools altogether.
The three agencies will also develop a joint framework to study cumulative exposure across chemical classes in the food supply, using New Approach Methodologies to replace traditional animal testing.
What Grant Seekers Should Know
The USDA's EQIP and CSP funding is available now for the 2026 marketing year. The grand prize challenges from EPA, NIH, and ARPA-H represent a different application pathway — these are competition-based awards, not traditional grants, and they favor teams with novel technological approaches to pesticide replacement.
Researchers working on electrothermal weeding, robotic cultivation, biological herbicides, or chemical exposure diagnostics should monitor HHS and ARPA-H for solicitation details. Tools like Granted can help match your research focus to these emerging opportunities before the competition windows close.
For in-depth analysis and strategy on positioning for these funds, visit the Granted blog.