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The ASPCA awarded $250,051 through its 2026 Fund to End Factory Farming to five projects in Iowa, North Dakota, Nebraska and other parts of the United States. The grants support research, public outreach and policy work on pasture-based farming and the effects of industrial agriculture.
The ASPCA awarded $250,051 in 2026 through its Fund to End Factory Farming, funding five projects across the country focused on factory farming’s effects on rural communities, workers, animals and food systems. The projects will use research, public materials, farm visits and policymaker outreach to promote discussion of pasture-based and other more humane farming practices.
The grants support work by the Iowa Food System Coalition, the Dakota Resource Council, the State Innovation Exchange, the Socially Responsible Agriculture Project and Nebraska Communities United. The ASPCA says the awards are intended to support projects that question whether industrial agriculture provides a safe and abundant food supply and to show possible benefits of more humane alternatives.
The Iowa project, funded through the Iowa Farmers Union Education Fund as fiscal sponsor, will produce interactive maps, reports and podcasts about pasture-based farms and their relationship to Iowa’s local economies and rural communities. In North Dakota, the Dakota Resource Council plans to publicize local opposition to proposed factory farms through studies, public reports and media outreach addressing risks to communities and local environments.
The other three projects focus on policy, farmer accounts and community research. State Innovation Exchange will arrange pasture-based farm visits, policy workshops and data for U.S. policymakers considering funding opportunities. The Socially Responsible Agriculture Project’s Grower Storytelling Initiative will collect and share interviews with former contract growers. Nebraska Communities United plans to use research on the environmental and personal costs of industrial agriculture to build support for independent, sustainable farming, according to the ASPCA’s grant announcement.
How the Grants Target Farm Policy
The awards direct $250,051 to five separate efforts that aim to influence public understanding and policymaking around farming. Their work ranges from local reporting and research to farm visits and interviews, giving communities, farmers and policymakers different ways to examine the impacts of industrial agriculture and the alternatives available in their regions.
The potential reach is broader than the individual projects if their findings are taken up by local audiences or policymakers. The ASPCA says the grants are meant to add to evidence supporting more humane farming. That is the organization’s stated aim; the announcement does not provide independent evaluations of the projects’ expected impact or demonstrate that the grants will change policy or farming practices.
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A Grant Program Established in 2022
The ASPCA established its Fund to End Factory Farming in 2022. The organization says the fund supports ideas that move away from factory farming and toward more humane alternatives, and that previous awards have backed projects demonstrating the benefits of those practices. The 2026 announcement identifies five selected projects and a combined award total, but does not provide a year-by-year funding history or the size of earlier grant rounds.
The ASPCA frames the latest grants around risks it associates with factory farming, including possible effects on food safety, rural economies, farmers and other workers, and animals. The funded projects approach those concerns through local and policy-focused work. The announcement describes their plans; it does not include detailed research findings from the projects or a comparison of farming systems’ outcomes.
“The fund was formed to support bold ideas for moving away from factory farming and toward more humane alternatives.”
— ASPCA
Project Outcomes Remain Unknown
The announcement does not specify how much funding each grantee received, when individual projects will begin or end, or how the ASPCA will measure their results. It also does not provide project budgets, detailed research methods or independent assessments of the claims about factory farming’s effects.
The projects are described as plans, not completed findings. It remains unclear whether their work will result in new local policies, additional funding for pasture-based farms, changes in public opinion or measurable shifts in farming practices. The ASPCA’s broad claims about risks and benefits should be distinguished from evidence that these particular projects have yet to produce.
Applications Expected to Reopen in 2027
The funded groups are expected to carry out the activities described in the announcement, including publishing materials, holding workshops and sharing interviews and research. The ASPCA did not provide project schedules or specific public release dates. It says people can join its Factory Farming Task Force to receive notice when the next application period opens in 2027.
Updates from the grantees and any later reporting from the ASPCA may clarify what the projects produce and whether their findings affect communities or policy. Until then, the confirmed development is the award of the grants and the planned scope of the five projects.
Key Questions
How much did the ASPCA award in 2026?
The ASPCA says it awarded $250,051 in total through its Fund to End Factory Farming. It did not give a breakdown of the amount awarded to each project.
Which groups received grants?
The five recipients are the Iowa Food System Coalition, the Dakota Resource Council, the State Innovation Exchange, the Socially Responsible Agriculture Project and Nebraska Communities United. The Iowa grant recipient is the Iowa Farmers Union Education Fund, acting as fiscal sponsor for the coalition.
What will the grants support?
Plans include materials on Iowa pasture-based farms, outreach about proposed factory farms in North Dakota, farm visits and policy workshops, interviews with former contract growers, and research in Nebraska on industrial agriculture’s environmental and personal costs.
When can organizations apply for the next round?
The ASPCA says it expects to notify its Factory Farming Task Force when the next application period opens in 2027. It has not provided a specific opening date in the announcement.
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