Call for Letters of Intent and Full Proposal

Grain Farmers of Ontario aims to address the research needs for barley, corn, oat, soybean, and wheat through four overall priority areas: 1) Agronomy and Production, 2) Weeds, Diseases and Insect Pests, 3) Crop Quality and Utilization, and 4) 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.

$10,000 to $90,000 per year with a median budget of around $30,000 • Maximum project length is 5 years
 
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:
  
- Develop integrated weed, disease, and insect pest management strategies that consider multiple management options, biology and epidemiology of the pest, and prevention of pest resistance to trait and pesticide control measures. Of particular interest are projects addressing tar spot in corn and white mould in soybeans.
- 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 effective crop residue management practices to minimize residue challenges, and maximize crop production, profitability and environmental sustainability under minimal tillage/no-till.
 
To be considered for funding, all project ideas must be submitted at the Letter of Intent (LOI) stage. LOI's should target research in barley, corn, oat, soybean, and wheat project ideas targeting one or more specific priorities within our four broad priority areas listed above. Grain Farmers of Ontario strongly encourages partnerships amongst research institutions and with other funding agencies, where relevant. It is important to express specifically how your research idea will benefit Ontario’s barley, corn, oat, soybean and wheat farmers, and to use plain language when describing your project.