Sponsor

Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO)

Program

Barley, corn, oat, soybean, and wheat research [1]

Description

Investment in research is a long-term strategic initiative of the Grain Farmers of Ontario for the benefit of all barley, corn, oat, soybean, and wheat farmers. Ontario’s grain farmers have sponsored and participated in decades of practical research that has resulted in economic gains and improved agricultural sustainability for Ontario farmers and the Ontario environment. The goal is to invest in research and support innovation and knowledge transfer that will enhance farmer member profitability and sector competitiveness.

Grain Farmers of Ontario aims to address the research needs for barley, corn, oat, soybean, and wheat through four overall priority areas: Agronomy and Production; Weed, Disease and Insect Pests; Crop Quality and Utilization; and Breeding and Genetics.  Within each priority area, Grain Farmers of Ontario invests funds in projects of high priority to Ontario farmers, strives to maximize public sector research investment, and encourages private sector research investment. One notable change this year is that GFO has incorporated into several priorities additional components pertaining to carbon and greenhouse gas emission (GHG) impacts. 

Each year Grain Farmers of Ontario identifies specific priorities toward which it would like to target increased research investment. This year, Grain Farmers of Ontario is placing a particular emphasis on research proposals targeting the following research priorities:

• Integrate 4R nutrient stewardship practices for commercial fertilizer with other nutrient sources (e.g., cover crops, manure application, biosolids) and validate 4R practices to improve farm profitability and reduce N losses and GHG emissions per unit of crop production.
• Develop integrated weed, disease, and insect pest management strategies that consider multiple management options, biology of the pest, and prevention of pest resistance to trait and pesticide control measures.
• Explore revolutionary grain drying technologies to substantially improve grain drying efficiency and explore agronomic solutions for drydown to improve profitability of corn production and reduce GHG emissions.
• Quantify the impact of standard field practices on soil health and develop strategies to profitably improve or maintain soil health.

Additional research priorities are listed on the GFO website [1].

Maximum Project Value

Budget requests to GFO should be reasonable for the proposed work and proportional to the estimated benefit to Ontario’s grain farmers. Budget requests to GFO typically range between $10,000 to $90,000 per year with a median budget of around $25,000.

Indirect Costs

25%

Project Duration

Maximum project length is five years and projects cannot start prior to April 1, 2022.

Special Notes

Please note that research activities carried out in the context of COVID-19 need to adhere to the University of Guelph COVID-19 research principles, policies, guidelines and processes as they may be updated from time to time and communicated on the Office of Research web-page [2].

How to Apply

To be considered for funding, all project ideas must be submitted at the Letter of Intent (LOI) stage. If new issues or opportunities arise after the LOIs are due and warrant a rapid research response, please contact GFO and they will consider these on a case-by-case basis.

The LOI form and instructions are attached.

Attachment(s)

Attachment	Size
2022 Research Call for LOI Form & Instructions [5]	26.58 KB