The California Department of Food and Agriculture is pleased to announce the solicitation process to award the 2025 CalAgPlate grant program funds that promote agricultural education and leadership activities for students at K-12, post-secondary, and adult education levels.
Donor Name: California Department of Food and Agriculture
State: California
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 10/09/2025
Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000
Grant Duration: 2 Years
Details:
The CalAgPlate program is funded with proceeds generated through the sale of specialized, agricultural-themed license plates through the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).
Goals
The CalAgPlate program is devoted to enhancing youth agricultural programs to further support agricultural education, career education, career training, and leadership development goals. The CalAgPlate program goals are:
- Agricultural Education: Increase the availability of and access to agricultural education in communities throughout the state to provide participants with an enriched understanding of agricultural production, business management, and the diverse environmental complexities associated with farming (i.e., air and water).
- Agricultural Career Awareness and Development: Encourage more students to enter the farming profession through greater recognition and promotion of the skills needed for agricultural production including marketing, computer/electrical/mechanical engineering, and agricultural/environmental science.
- Agricultural Career Training: Further develop opportunities and programs for agricultural career training that links private agricultural businesses with participants to provide practical experience and mentorships for those individuals interested in an agricultural profession.
- Agricultural Leadership Development: Enhance youth and adult leadership development activities and professional skill sets through educational and leadership experiences that expose participants to government, private business and non-profit organizations that work on agricultural policy
Categories
- Agricultural Education
- In this funding category, CDFA will consider projects that enhance and benefit agricultural education opportunities for students and educators
- Agricultural Career Awareness, Development and Training
- In this funding category, CDFA will consider projects that advance, promote, and support agricultural career development and training for high school and college students.
- Agricultural Leadership Development
- In this funding category, CDFA will consider projects that provide leadership experiences and skills for participants that encourage agricultural leadership development
Funding Information
CDFA anticipates that up to $200,000 will be awarded to projects to support agricultural education and training. Applicant organizations may only submit one grant proposal to the CalAgPlate program.
- Tier 1 – California Adopted Agricultural Education Programs
- Tier 1 grant awards range from $10,000 to $170,000 per project
- Tier 2 – Local/Community/State Agricultural Education Programs
- Tier 2 grant awards range from $2,500 to $10,000 per project.
Project Period
The maximum grant duration is one (1) year, six (6) months and grant funds cannot be expended before January 1, 2026, or after June 30, 2027.
Eligibility Criteria
For Tier 1 – California Adopted Agricultural Education Programs
- Up to 85 percent ($170,000) of total available grant award funding is reserved for the California FFA Association; the non-profit organization that represents state-adopted Agricultural Education Programs.
For Tier 2 – Local/Community/State Agricultural Education Programs
- This Tier is open to non-profit organizations, as well as state, local, and Indian tribal government agencies within California which promote and administer agricultural education and leadership programs targeting K-12, post-secondary, and adult education. Individual schools and school districts are encouraged to partner with eligible non-profit organizations. Institutes of higher learning are ineligible to directly apply, however, they can partner with eligible organizations on a proposed CalAgPlate project.
For more information, visit CDFA.
