The Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) today announced the launch of the Resilient Agriculture Finance and Insurance Research Collaborative, a research initiative to advance finance and insurance solutions that benefit U.S. farmers and ranchers. The Research Collaborative will solicit initial research proposals in January 2026. Interested applicants are strongly encouraged to register for an interactive webinar on December 11, 2025 at 2 pm EST that will provide an opportunity for researchers to build new relationships with industry partners.
“U.S. farmers are facing increasingly challenging weather and economic conditions, making it more difficult to consistently and profitably grow the crops that sustain both their livelihoods and our food system,” said Vincent Gauthier, Senior Manager for Climate-Smart Agriculture at EDF. “This critical research collaborative will help shape financing and insurance solutions that enable farmers to invest in practices that boost their resilience and access the coverage they need to support this transition.”
The Resilient Agriculture Finance and Insurance Research Collaborative will support finance and insurance innovations that provide producers and agribusinesses with science-based strategies that strengthen soil health, improve water use efficiency, and build farmer resiliency to extreme weather events.