FREP Grant Program (Fertilizer Research and Education Program)

About this program

California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Fertilizer Research and Education Program (FREP) funds outreach, education, demonstration, and research projects that advance environmentally safe and agronomically sound use and handling of fertilizing materials, awarding up to $100,000/year for research and up to $75,000/year for outreach/education/demonstration. The program uses a competitive two‑phase process: brief pre‑proposals (submitted in December) are reviewed by a Technical Advisory Subcommittee and selected applicants are invited to submit full proposals (due in April) for final approval. FREP does not support proprietary product development, testing, or promotions; grantees must submit annual and final reports, provide annual interpretive summaries, conduct at least three outreach activities per year, present at the FREP conference, and accept that 10% of funds are withheld until final deliverables are approved.