US EPA launches $30 million challenge to help American farmers grow healthy food with fewer chemicals

U.S. EPA announced July 1 an opportunity for the public to help shape a national innovation challenge with up to $30 million in total prize funding.

The challenge will support practical, cost-effective alternatives to conventional chemical crop desiccation, the common practice of spraying pesticides to dry out crops in the final days before harvest.

Grounded in gold-standard science, this effort will help American farmers bring in their harvest with fewer conventional chemicals while protecting human health and the environment.

“This is a win on both ends of the dinner table,” EPA stated. “Families get food grown with fewer conventional pesticides. Farmers get new, science-based tools that lower costs, protect their workers and keep American agriculture strong and competitive in a changing global market.”

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said, “American farmers feed our families, and they deserve the best tools to do that job safely. This challenge backs our farmers, protects the health of American families and helps modernize our farms. By listening to growers, researchers and communities, we can cut exposure risks and make America’s food supply stronger and more resilient.”

EPA said American farmers are critical partners in the success of the “Make America Healthy Again” agenda.

This initiative directly supports the Trump administration’s broader effort to protect human health and modernize U.S. agriculture by promoting resilient, efficient and sustainable-farming systems, according to the agency.

Acting under its legal authority to regulate pesticides and protect human health and the environment, EPA said it is putting real funding behind real-world solutions that bring better science to America’s farms.

Desiccants are pesticides that farmers spray to dry out plants quickly.

They are usually applied in the final weeks before harvest to help a crop ripen evenly and to make harvesting faster and easier.

Common crops often include small grains, pulses (beans and peas), oilseeds, potatoes and cotton.

These tools serve a purpose on modern farms, but because they are applied close to harvest, they can leave residue on food and may carry health risks for the workers who apply them, EPA stated.

“That is exactly why advancing safer, effective alternatives matters,” the agency said. “It protects both the people who grow our food and the families who eat it.”

Many of the solutions EPA hopes to encourage go hand-in-hand with regenerative agriculture—farming that works with nature to build healthier soil, cleaner water and stronger crops.

Integrated pest-management (IPM) practices like smarter crop timing, natural drying methods and precision technology can do the same job as chemical sprays with far less of them and at less cost to farmers.

Less pesticide use means healthier land, healthier farm workers and healthier families, EPA said.

The request for information (RFI) released July 1 will shape the design of the challenge—including its scope, who can take part, how entries will be judged and how new ideas will be tested in the field.

EPA said it is particularly interested in cost-effective solutions that maintain or improve harvest readiness, crop quality and operational efficiency across a range of crop systems, including small grains, pulses, oilseeds, potatoes and cotton.

Possible alternatives include:

• Improved agronomic practices and crop scheduling.

• Mechanical or physical drying methods.

• Biological or lower-risk inputs.

• Precision-agriculture technologies.

• Post-harvest conditioning innovations.

EPA is seeking input from a broad range of stakeholders including growers, producer organizations, equipment manufacturers, researchers, public-health experts, environmental organizations, Tribes and territories, state and local agencies, and any interested member of the public.

The agency is also requesting feedback on barriers to adoption, research gaps, equipment needs, supply-chain considerations and the performance standards necessary for viable alternatives.

In addition, EPA said it welcomes recommendations on challenge design, including prize structure, phased-development approaches and eligible uses of prize funding.

EPA said it encourages concise responses that include contact information, organizational background and relevant experience.

Instructions for submission and additional details can be found under docket number EPA-HQ-OPP-2026-3862 at www.regulations.gov once it is posted. 

The prepublication RFI can be found here.