Awarded Grants
Below is a listing of our awarded grants that tackle big food and agriculture challenges.

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24 Grants found

Rapid and Non-invasive Egg Sex Indentification Using Artficially Intelligent Platform

A Microchip-based Chemical Sensor For Early-Stage in Ovo Sex Determination of Layer Chicks

FFAR Awards $1.4 Million to Purdue University, University of California, Davis and University of Edinburgh Researchers to Improve Health and Productivity of Egg-Laying Hens

Multidimensional Spectral Mapping for Sex Determination of Avian Eggs

Feed the Future Fall Armyworm Tech Prize

En-ovo Sex Determination By Fiber Optic Volatiles Analysis and Machine Learning

A multiplexed chemical sensor system to automate non-invasive, in-ovo sex determination for the poultry industry

ICASA: Pathogen-host interaction during the development of liver abscesses; local and systemic immune and metabolic responses during Fusobacterium necrophorum challenges

ICASA: Novel Strategies to Improve Understanding of Liver Abscess Formation and Mitigation in Beef Cattle

Novel Strategies to Improve the Understanding of Liver Abscess Formation in Beef Cattle

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Better Deal for Data

Pathogen-Host Interaction During the Development of Liver Abscesses; Local & Systemic Immune & Metabolic Responses During Fusobacterium Necrophorum Challenges

Impacts of the Rearing Environment on Keel Bone Integrity, Spatial Awareness Abilities of Laying Hens

Addressing keel bone fractures in laying hens housed in cage-free aviary systems using nutrition and management interventions

Consumer Understanding of Advances in Animal Welfare

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Bioindicators for A Sustainable Future: Dancing Honey Bees Communicate Habitats’ Ability to Feed Pollinators

Modeling for genomic, blood & microbiological markers for liver abscesses in fed beef cattle

Orthogonal Nano-Engineering (ONE) for Rational Design of Food Contact Surfaces

Toward Responsible Pacific Bluefin Tuna Mariculture in the United States: Captive Reproduction, Hatchery Research and Product

Development of a Non-Invasive Model to Induce Liver Abscess Formation in Beef Cattle

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Rapid and Non-invasive Egg Sex Indentification Using Artficially Intelligent Platform 

Year Awarded  2019

FFAR award amount   $400,000

Total award amount   $400,000

Location   Minneapolis, MN

Program   Egg-Tech Prize

Matching Funders   Open Philanthropy

Grantee Institution   University of Minnesota

As only female chicks are used for egg production, male chicks are culled after hatching. FFAR's Egg-Tech Prize is developing technology that can determine a chick’s sex before it hatches so male egg can be used for other purposes. A University of Minnesota researcher is analyzing 3D scanner to analyze the geometric shape of the eggs and the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to identify the sex of the egg. This project is one of the six Phase I winners, who received funding to develop the necessary technology to compete for the Prize.

A Microchip-based Chemical Sensor For Early-Stage in Ovo Sex Determination of Layer Chicks 

Year Awarded  2019

FFAR award amount   $400,000

Total award amount   $400,000

Location   Davis, CA

Program   Egg-Tech Prize

Matching Funders   Open Philanthropy

Grantee Institution   SensIT Ventures

As only female chicks are used for egg production, male chicks are culled after hatching. FFAR's Egg-Tech Prize is developing technology that can determine a chick’s sex before it hatches so male egg can be used for other purposes. SensIT Venture Inc. researchers are developing a chemical sensor chip to detect the volatiles and using machine learning to classify the eggs by gender. This project is one of the six Phase I winners, who received funding to develop the necessary technology to compete for the Prize.

Multidimensional Spectral Mapping for Sex Determination of Avian Eggs 

Year Awarded  2019

FFAR award amount   $269,030

Total award amount   $457,919

Location   Morrisville, NC

Program   Egg-Tech Prize

Matching Funders   Open Philanthropy

Grantee Institution   Microscale Devices LLC

As only female chicks are used for egg production, male chicks are culled after hatching. FFAR's Egg-Tech Prize is developing technology that can determine a chick’s sex before it hatches so male egg can be used for other purposes. Researchers at Microsale Devices LLC are using multidimensional spectral mapping technology that shoots waves of light at the egg and detects the refracted light patterns. Artificial intelligence will be employed to develop an optical fingerprint, or signature, that can determine the sex of eggs. This project is one of the six Phase I winners, who received funding to develop the necessary technology to compete for the Prize.

Orbem.ai: Magnetic Resonance Imaging Meets Artificial Intelligence for Automated and Non-invasive in Ovo Sex Determination 

Year Awarded  2019

FFAR award amount   $400,000

Total award amount   $1,149,911

Location   Munich, Germany

Program   Egg-Tech Prize

Matching Funders   Open Philanthropy

Grantee Institution   Orbem AI

As only female chicks are used for egg production, male chicks are culled after hatching. FFAR's Egg-Tech Prize is developing technology that can determine a chick’s sex before it hatches so male egg can be used for other purposes. Scientists at Orbem Ai are developing specialized technology to examine the organ development of embryos and detect physical differences between the males and females. This project is one of the six Phase I winners, who received funding to develop the necessary technology to compete for the Prize.

Innovative Techniques for Fast in Ovo Sexing in Poultry By Detection of Gender Specific Volatiles 

Year Awarded  2019

FFAR award amount   $316,370

Total award amount   $650,842

Location   Leuven, Belgium

Program   Egg-Tech Prize

Matching Funders   Open Philanthropy

Grantee Institution   KU Leuven

As only female chicks are used for egg production, male chicks are culled after hatching. FFAR's Egg-Tech Prize is developing technology that can determine a chick’s sex before it hatches so male egg can be used for other purposes. KU Leuven scientists are developing a non-invasive ovo sexing technique that registers volatile organic compounds passing that pass through the eggshell during incubation. This project is one of the six Phase I winners, who received funding to develop the necessary technology to compete for the Prize.

Feed the Future Fall Armyworm Tech Prize 

Year Awarded  2018

FFAR award amount   $100,000

Total award amount   $200,000

Location   Washington, D.C.

Program   Rapid Outcomes from Agricultural Research

Matching Funders   Land O’Lakes International Development

Grantee Institution   Land O Lakes International Development

Experts estimate that in three years the fall armyworm could cause between $2-$6 billion in losses for maize, an African staple crop. In partnership with U.S. Agency for International Development, FFAR awarded the Feed the Future Fall Armyworm Tech Prize to six winners for digital innovations that help farmers manage the spread of fall armyworm.

En-ovo Sex Determination By Fiber Optic Volatiles Analysis and Machine Learning 

Year Awarded  2019

FFAR award amount   $396,763

Total award amount   $396,763

Location   Gainesville, FL

Program   Egg-Tech Prize

Matching Funders   Open Philanthropy

Grantee Institution   USDA-ARS

As only female chicks are used for egg production, male chicks are culled after hatching. FFAR's Egg-Tech Prize is developing technology that can determine a chick’s sex before it hatches so male egg can be used for other purposes. U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agriculture Research Service researchers are using fiber optics and machine learning to analyze of volatiles and determine differences between male and female eggs. This project is one of the six Phase I winners, who received funding to develop the necessary technology to compete for the Prize.

A multiplexed chemical sensor system to automate non-invasive, in-ovo sex determination for the poultry industry 

Year Awarded  2023

Total award amount   $494,956

Location   Davis, CA

Program   Egg-Tech Prize

Matching Funders   Open Philanthropy

Grantee Institution   SenseIT Ventures, Inc.

Commercially, chicks can only be sexed after they hatch, requiring producers to devote time and resources to incubating male chicks, only to cull them. Yearly, over six billion male layer chicks are culled when hatched because there is no commercial use for them. This research team is continuing development of an innovative microchip-based chemical sensor that captures volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released from individual eggs as early as eight days into incubation. Machine learning can interpret the VOCs to classify eggs by gender. This research is supporting the integration of microchip sensors with a custom automated egg handling machine that sorts the sexed eggs.

A Practical Phenotypic Solution to Reduce Keel & Skeletal Bone Damage in Laying Hens 

Year Awarded  2017

FFAR award amount   $243,296

Total award amount   $486,594

Location   Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Matching Funders   Open Philanthropy Project

Grantee Institution   University of Edinburgh

Keel, or breastbone fractures, which cause pain and decrease egg production, are a challenge to raising hens in cage-free housing systems. To improve the health and productivity of egg-laying hens and prevent these fractures, University of Edinburgh researchers are developing an x-ray-based measurement system for on-farm use to breed hens with stronger bones.  

Project Ella 

Year Awarded  2023

Total award amount   $495,990

Location   Leiden, The Netherlands

Program   Egg-Tech Prize

Matching Funders   Open Philanthropy

Grantee Institution   In Ovo

Commercially, chicks can only be sexed after they hatch, requiring producers to devote time and resources to incubating male chicks, only to cull them. This research is further developing and scaling in-ovo sexing technology that measures a naturally occurring biomarker within the embryos’ waste fluid. This fluid differs between the sexes, allowing sorting the eggs by sex on the ninth day of development with high accuracy.