Farmer-to-Farmer 2025 NOFO
On this page:
- Overview
- Who can apply
- Eligible Area
- How to apply
- Contact information
- Request for Applications and Budget Development Template
- Helpful Documents and Training Links
The EPA Gulf of America Division (GAD) is announcing the availability of funds and solicits applications to improve water quality and/or habitat through collaboration with America’s farmers. Applications must align with the Administration's “Powering the Great American Comeback” initiative and align with EPA statutory authorities. Applications should also align with GAD’s statutory authority (see Section 3.C) for demonstration projects that prevent, reduce, or eliminate nutrient pollution. Activities must take place within the Gulf of America watershed and/or within the United States contiguous zone in the Gulf of America. This opportunity is targeted to organizations described in Section 2.A. that are committed to supporting American farmers and preventing, reducing, or eliminating nutrient pollution while remaining good stewards of tax dollars.
Eutrophication caused by excess nutrients is a continuing and growing challenge in water bodies with profound implications for public health, water quality, and the economy. Waterways across much of North America transport large quantities of excess nutrients to the Gulf of America and contribute to the development of hypoxic conditions, or low dissolved oxygen. Large hypoxic areas, often called “dead zones,” can result in fish kills, a general decrease in aquatic life, and challenges for commercial and recreational fishermen. Regenerative farming practices are needed across the Mississippi watershed to reduce the nutrient concentrations entering the Gulf of America.
Farmers are often the first line of defense in reducing nonpoint source pollution of nutrients across America’s working lands. They have developed innovative practices and leadership models to share their knowledge with others. By funding new or experimental techniques and emphasizing data collection and farmer engagement, the Farmer-to-Farmer program can help producers test and scale regenerative practices. Additionally, regenerative agriculture practices can play a key role in improving water quality and habitat. As defined in USDA’s NRCS Regenerative Pilot Program, regenerative agriculture is a conservation management approach that emphasizes natural resources through improved soil health, water management, and natural vitality for the productivity and prosperity of American agriculture and communities. This approach closely aligns with Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Strategy, which states EPA will promote and incentivize farming solutions that focus on soil health and stewardship of the land. This includes, but is not limited to, prioritizing practices that farmers want and trust, such as: Prescribed Grazing, Soil Health Systems, Improved Pollinator Management, and Water Management to keep working lands profitable and productive. This approach also aligns with the MABA Strategy, by promoting responsible stewardship of natural resources while driving economic growth, and encouraging responsible, voluntary conservation efforts. The innovative management of working lands through regenerative agriculture offers a unique opportunity to restore land health, improve long-term productivity, and ensure American grown production for the future.
This funding opportunity seeks applications that propose a water quality and/or habitat improvement project designed for one of the four focus areas listed below and located in within the Gulf of America watershed. Activities proposed in the Gulf of America must be limited to the United States contiguous zone in the Gulf of America(see Figure 1 and Section 9 in the NOFO). The list below includes a brief summary statement of the four focus areas. A more detailed description of what is required for each focus area is provided later in this section.
- Farmer-to-Farmer Mentorship: Projects must focus on Farmer-to-Farmer mentoring (knowledge transfer) and incentives that help farmers adopt regenerative farming practices over 3-5 years.
- Demonstrating Regenerative Farming Benefits through Monitoring: Assess the effects of new or existing regenerative farming practices and/or the adoption of innovative technology on nutrient reduction/erosion to watersheds.
- Innovative Technologies for Regenerative Farming: Develop, improve, and/or demonstrate farming practices and/or innovative technologies that improve water quality by reducing nutrient and/or erosion.
- Habitat Improvement for Nutrient and Soil Management: Work collaboratively with farmers to protect habitat through habitat creation, restoration, and/or enhancement.
Along with selecting a focus area, all applicants are encouraged to incorporate the development, utilization, or expansion of innovative technologies in at least one of the following areas:
- Demonstrate how artificial intelligence (AI) and/or machine learning (ML) can be utilized to enhance water quality or habitat monitoring, management, or restoration efforts throughout the Gulf of America watershed.
- Develop new or expand the capability of existing innovative technology (including precision agriculture technologies like robotics, yield monitoring and mapping, in-ground and proximity sensors, etc.) to improve water quality and/or habitat monitoring, management, or restoration.
- Deploy Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (“UAV,” i.e., drone) for critical project activities, assessment of successes within the targeted farms and watersheds, and/or communication during mentorship.
Focus Area 1: Farmer-to-Farmer Mentorship
Farmers are more likely to adopt regenerative practices when there is a strong network of support (financial, technical, and peer) available and when information comes from a trusted source. Applications submitted under this focus area should help farmers adopt regenerative farming practices over 3-5 years through Farmer-to-Farmer mentoring (knowledge transfer) and incentives. Projects should improve water quality through demonstration of regenerative farming practices and/or technology (new or existing) that reduce nutrient loss and/or erosion. Applicants are encouraged to increase efficacy of projects through other complimentary projects that will support a greater outcome for all projects. All applicants should identify how their proposed demonstration project could lead to cost savings and economic benefits for farmers.
Applications under this focus area must propose a Farmer-to-Farmer mentoring project and include details on the following:
- Create a mentoring plan that will help farmers develop and adopt regenerative farming strategies. Mentoring and participating farmers should have compatible farming operations or attributes to ensure that knowledge shared is relevant and increases the likelihood of success.
- Describe regenerative agriculture practices that enhance nutrient retention on farmland.
- Describe how incentives will be utilized to promote long term adoption of regenerative farming practices by farmers. The project plan should explain how incentives will help farmers accept risks associated with the new strategy and help offset costs of the regenerative farming methods being adopted.
- Track and report the duration regenerative farming practices are used and estimate the nutrient load reduction. Consider contacting the relevant Nonpoint Source Program to learn about models currently used to estimate pollutant loads and reductions needed to result in improved water quality at the watershed scale.
- Demonstrate benefits that adopted regenerative farming practices will have on participating farms (soil/water/costs/etc.).
- Incorporate group events (e.g. farm days) to highlight the lessons learned by all participating farmers. Events should initially take place on mentor farms and later move to participant farms as sustainable practices are adopted. Describe how sharing tangible benefits of adopted practices will increase adoption of practices into the future and thus perpetually reduce nutrient loss.
Focus Area 2: Demonstrating Sustainable Farming Benefits through Monitoring
To improve regenerative farming practices and to maximize nutrient reduction, long term monitoring efforts are necessary to understand which strategies are best suited for different regions. Applications submitted under this focus area should examine the effects of new or existing regenerative farming practices, and/or adoption of new or existing innovative technology, on nutrient reduction and erosion in watersheds. Projects should improve farmer and water quality knowledge by describing how monitoring will generate new and/or expand existing datasets that will determine which innovative strategies or technologies are best suited to reduce nutrient pollution and erosion in the future. Monitoring can be completed in fields, water segments, water bodies, watersheds, or offshore to demonstrate the effects these farming strategies or technologies will have on water quality. Applicants are encouraged to increase efficacy of projects through other complimentary projects what will support a greater outcome for all projects. Applicants should identify how monitoring efforts could lead to cost savings and economic benefits in the future.
Applications under this focus area must propose a monitoring project and include details that address the following:
- Define the monitoring objective.
- Describe the geographic area where monitoring efforts will occur.
- Explain why and how, including frequency, each parameter will be monitored for the duration of the project.
- Identify where and which specific regenerative farming practices and/or innovative nutrient reducing technologies have been or will be used that will be the basis for the monitoring effort.
- Describe how the dataset will benefit stakeholders. (e.g. cost savings, economic benefit, environmental benefits, water quality improvement, improved soil health, best practice selection, etc.).
Focus Area 3: Innovative Technologies for Regenerative Farming
Farmers are more likely to adopt regenerative farming practices and/or innovative technologies with direct benefits that are observable. Applications submitted under this focus area should develop, improve, and/or demonstrate farming practices and/or innovative technologies that improve water quality by reducing nutrient loss and/or erosion. Applicants are encouraged to increase efficacy of projects through other complimentary projects that will support a greater outcome for all projects. Applicants should identify how their project plan could lead to cost savings and economic benefits in the future.
Applications under this focus area must propose a demonstration project focused on Innovative Technologies for Regenerative Farming and include details that will focus on the following areas.
- Describe the regenerative farming practices and/or innovative technologies that will be developed, improved, and/or demonstrated.
- Discuss observable results that will support increased adoption of regenerative practices and/or technologies.
- Describe how the application of practices and/or technologies may be scaled to different locations (local or regional) to increase environmental benefit/s.
- Describe cost savings and economic benefits resulting from practices and/or technologies (e.g. nutrients recaptured and applied as fertilizer may reduce fertilizer expenses in the future).
Focus Area 4: Habitat Improvement for Nutrient and Soil Management
Farmers have strong stewardship ethics but must balance stewardship with cost effectiveness. Applications submitted under this focus area should provide a plan to collaborate with farmers in protecting habitat through habitat creation, restoration, and/or enhancement. Projects should describe how specific habitat/s will be created, restored, and/or enhanced and how they will improve water quality by reducing nutrients and/or erosion. Applicants are encouraged to increase efficacy of projects through other complimentary projects that will support a greater outcome for all projects. Applicants should identify how their project plan could lead to cost savings and economic benefits in the future.
All applications must propose a project focused on creation, restoration, and/or enhancement of habitat and include the following details:
- Describe how specific habitat/s will be created, enhanced, and/or restored that reduce nutrient loss and erosion.
- Describe how the resulting habitat will improve water quality by reducing nutrients and/or erosion.
- Design a monitoring plan that will highlight the water quality benefits of the project.
- Explain how the project and water quality benefits are transferrable to other locations.
- Describe any ancillary benefits of project activities (e.g. benefits to: habitat connectivity, wildlife corridors, pollinators, critical habitats, threatened and endangered species, floodplain connectivity, wilding land, etc. expanded access to outdoor recreation, including hunting or fishing, and/or contributions to recovering America's fish and wildlife populations).
It is anticipated that up to approximately 30 awards will be made under this announcement. The amount of funding is expected to be between $1,500,000 to $2,500,000 per award, depending on Agency funding levels, the quality of applications received, agency priorities, and other applicable considerations. Awards funded under this opportunity are expected to have a 5-year project period.
It is anticipated that 6-8 awards may be made for each focus area: Farmer-to-Farmer Mentorship, Demonstrating Regenerative Farming Benefits through Monitoring, Innovative Technologies for Regenerative Farming, or Habitat Improvement for Nutrient and Soil Management. The actual award amounts and number of projects awarded may differ from the estimated amounts for many reasons, including: the number of meritorious applications received, agency priorities, and funding availability. Additionally, EPA reserves the right to increase or decrease (including decreasing to zero) the total number of awards and/or the number of awards under each priority or change the ratio of assistance agreements it awards among the focus areas.
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Eligible entities are consistent with definitions at 2 CFR 200.1.
Applications must be submitted through Grants.gov: EPA-I-R4-GAD-2025-FARMER
For questions, contact Matt Beiser (GAD-NOFO@epa.gov).
Request for Applications and Budget Development Template
Farmer to Farmer 2025 NOFO (pdf)
Suggested Budget Template (xlsx)
- Applications must include detailed budget information in addition to the mandatory SF-424A form. Use of the suggested budget table template is highly recommended (not mandatory).
Helpful Documents and Training Links
- Please review the NOFO, Q&A, and Common Errors document prior to submitting a question. If the answer to your question is not found in those documents, please submit your question to GAD-NOFO@epa.gov.
Training