FVI Research and Education Grant

The FVI Research and Education Grant aims to enhance the economic viability of New York's farms through innovative research and educational outreach. By funding projects that demonstrate clear benefits to farmers, the program seeks to improve farm practices, foster industry innovation, and support the adoption of new technologies. With approximately $1.5 million awarded each round, the initiative emphasizes collaboration with farmers to address production challenges and encourage data-driven decision-making.

The research and education grant program is the foundation of our organization; the work it solicits and funds is how the organization’s mission–to create and share knowledge to improve the economic viability of NY’s farms–is operationalized.
Agriculture is constantly changing and NYFVI believes it is critical for farmers to have sound science and effective educational outreach to help them evolve their practices. Competitive proposals require clear relevance to NY’s agricultural community, demonstrated producer support, and the ability to deliver farm-level economic impact over time.
This RFP is aligned with NYFVI’s five strategic priorities which are structured as outcomes:

• Improve Individual Farm’s Operating PracticesFoster Industry InnovationIncubate New IdeasImprove Routes to Market and Marketing PracticesDevelop Human Capital

While all of the outcomes are important, the NYFVI board is particularly interested in proposals that accelerate practice adoption. Ideas include, but are not limited to:
Projects that show farmers the economic value of practices for their business.Demonstrating the value of new technology and tools. How will your work show farmers which new tools or practices are most valuable, and in which situations?Increasing the use of data-based decision-making on farms.
Projects must work with NYS farmers and measure outcomes and impacts to benefit agriculture in New York State. Potential applicants are encouraged to gather information from farmers about their production challenges and areas of opportunity, to ensure their proposal will resonate with reviewers.
Grant Size and Duration: In each FVI grant round approximately $1.5M is awarded through a competitive process. Farmer review panels evaluate the proposals, and the NYFVI farmer board makes all the final funding decisions; projects can range from $15K-$125K with work carried out over 6 months to 2 years.