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Flockfocus – Developing Automated Surveillance Tools to Safeguard Chicken Welfare (2022) 

Year Awarded  2022

FFAR award amount   $1,000,000

Location   Belfast, Northern Ireland

Program   SMART Broiler

Matching Funders   McDonald’s Corporation and Moy Park

Grantee Institution   Queen’s University Belfast

Existing methods for assessing animal welfare rely on human observation and subjective scoring which can be inaccurate and time consuming.This research is transferring intelligent surveillance techniques used for tracking humans to provide real time monitoring of individual birds within a flock. This camera-based technology, called FlockFocus, represents a significant improvement to monitoring technology currently available to the industry and has the potential for revolutionizing animal welfare in other sectors.

OPTICFLOCK: Welfare benefits of automated assessment of broiler chicken welfare 

Year Awarded  2022

FFAR award amount   $325,000

Location   Oxford, United Kingdom

Program   SMART Broiler

Matching Funders   McDonald’s Corporation, Munters and Tyson Foods

Grantee Institution   University of Oxford

Existing methods for assessing animal welfare rely on human observation and subjective scoring which can be inaccurate and time consuming.This research is refining and extending the testing of a novel camera and computer system called OPTICFLOCK. The project is comparing key welfare outcomes, including hockburn, foot pad lesions and lameness, in commercial flocks managed with or without the technology and incorporates strategies to facilitate producer adoption of OPTICFLOCK technology.

FoodShot Global Challenge #2 Precision Protein, Deep Dive GroundBreaker Prize (Netherlands) 

Year Awarded  2021

Total award amount   $150,000

Location   Wageningen, Netherlands

Program   FoodShot Global Challenge

Matching Funders   FoodShot Global

Grantee Institution   Wageningen University

FoodShot Global’s GroundBreaker Prize recognizes rising scientific stars whose research has identified technological and ecological tools that enable farmers to optimize yields and the long-term health of the land. Dr. Hannah Van Zanten received $150,000 for developing a European circular food systems model (CiFoS), which is now extending to a global model. The extended model can ultimately benefit U.S. farmers and agricultural stakeholders.

SKY HIGH Consortium Agreement 

Year Awarded  2021

FFAR award amount   $1,061,576

Total award amount   $6,630,342

Location   Wageningen, The Netherlands

Matching Funders   Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions, Bayer, Bosman Van Zaal, Certhon, Dutch Research Council, Fresh Forward, Grodan, GrowX, Own Greens, Signify, Solynta, Unilever, Van Bergen Kolpa Architects

Grantee Institution   Wageningen University

SKY HIGH: Vertical Farming, a revolution in plant production, is a program to advance vertical farming by researching plant genetics and indoor growing conditions that help crops thrive and enhance desired qualities.

Noninvasive Wellness Monitoring of Broiler Growout Using Continuous Audio Analytics 

Year Awarded  2020

FFAR award amount   $180,000

Total award amount   $445,000

Location   Atlanta, Georgia

Program   SMART Broiler

Matching Funders   McDonald’s Corporation, Tyson Foods, Fielddale Farms and Amazon

Grantee Institution   AudioT

Existing methods for assessing animal welfare rely on human observation and subjective scoring which can be inaccurate and time consuming. AudioT researchers are developing audio-based monitoring tools that analyze bird vocalizations and alert farmers to broiler welfare and behavior concerns.

Innovative On-Farm Broiler Welfare Assessment Using Imaging Techniques 

Year Awarded  2020

FFAR award amount   $500,000

Total award amount   $610,000

Location   Wageningen, Netherlands

Program   SMART Broiler

Matching Funders   McDonald’s Corporation, Plukon Food Group, CLK GmbH and Utrecht University

Grantee Institution   Wageningen University & Research

Existing methods for assessing animal welfare rely on human observation and subjective scoring which can be inaccurate and time consuming. Researchers are using an affordable camera-based system and artificial intelligence that automatically and continuously monitors broiler chickens' gait and welfare, ultimately increasing farmer productivity and profitability. This grant was awarded through our SMART Broiler research initiative.

Flockfocus – Developing Automated Surveillance Tools to Safeguard Chicken Welfare 

Year Awarded  2020

FFAR award amount   $310,738

Total award amount   $310,738

Location   Belfast, Northern Ireland

Program   SMART Broiler

Matching Funders   McDonald’s Corporation and Moy Park

Grantee Institution   Queens University Belfast

Existing methods for assessing animal welfare rely on human observation and subjective scoring which can be inaccurate and time consuming. Queen’s University Belfast researchers are developing a vision-based system to monitor large numbers of birds and track individual activity patterns.

OpticFlock: Automated Monitoring of Broiler Chicken Behavior That Prioritizes Animal Welfare 

Year Awarded  2020

FFAR award amount   $232,063

Total award amount   $232,063

Location   Oxford, United Kingdom

Program   SMART Broiler

Matching Funders   McDonald’s Corporation, Munters and Tyson Foods

Grantee Institution   University of Oxford

Existing methods for assessing animal welfare rely on human observation and subjective scoring, which can be inaccurate and time consuming. University of Oxford researchers are testing a novel camera/computer system, called OPTICFLOCK, inside chicken houses to monitor bird behavior and alert producers to early signs of welfare issues, like foot pad lesions and lameness.

Crop Innovation & Business 

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Sunlight over an agricultural field.

Third breakthrough demonstrates photosynthetic hacks can boost yield, conserve water