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


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19 Grants found

Audio-Based Monitoring Technology Advances Broiler Chicken Welfare 

Year Awarded   2022

Total award amount   $300,000

Location   Atlanta, GA

Program   SMART Broiler

Matching Funders   McDonald’s Corporation


This project is one of three selected from the six research projects funded in Phase I to receive a total of $1.625 million in Phase II of the SMART Broiler program. In this phase, researchers will optimize hardware and software configurations, advance data management and processing tools for measuring key welfare indicators and justify commercial investment in these new welfare monitoring tools. The technologies will be tested at two broiler producing barns, Tyson Foods Broiler Research Barn in Arkansas and Master Good in Kisvárda, Hungary.

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

Year Awarded   2021

FFAR award amount   $97

Total award amount   $195,140

Location   Lubbock TX

Matching Funders   Texas Tech University


The exact cause of liver abscesses is unknown. However, once they are formed, they are highly susceptible to the Fusobacterium necrophorum (F. necrophorum) bacterium, resulting in major economic loss to producers due to impaired cattle performance and lower carcass value. This research investigates how feedlot beef cattle immune systems react throughout the lifecycle of F. necrophorum. It is identifying potential pathways in which the bacteria subvert the hosts’ defenses during the development of liver abscess to lay the foundation for the formation of novel approaches, such as alternative drugs, that can potentially replace antimicrobials in liver abscess control and prevention strategies.

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

Year Awarded   2021

FFAR award amount   $125

Total award amount   $250,000

Location   Lubbock, TX

Matching Funders   Texas Tech University


The exact cause of liver abscesses is unknown. However, once they are formed, they are highly susceptible to the Fusobacterium necrophorum (F. necrophorum) bacterium, resulting in major economic loss to producers due to impaired cattle performance and lower carcass value. This research investigates the gastrointestinal location, concentration and movement of F. necrophorum and Salmonella enterica, as well as the other organisms that live in the intestines of feedlot cattle with liver abscesses. This first phase of Hales’ research will inform a methodology to reduce F. necrophorum through a direct-fed microbial.

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


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.

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


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. US 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.

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   Belgium

Program   Egg-Tech Prize

Matching Funders   Open Philanthropy


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.

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


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   Germany

Program   Egg-Tech Prize

Matching Funders   Open Philanthropy


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.

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


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.

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

Year Awarded   2018

FFAR award amount   $486,594

Total award amount   $486,594

Location   Midlothian, SC

Program   Layer Hen Keel Bone Health Program

Matching Funders   Open Philanthropy Project 


FFAR awarded one of three Layer Hen Keel Bone Health Program grants to Ian Dunn, research scientist at the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute and collaborators at the major poultry genetics companies Hy-Line and Lohmann Tierzucht, to improve health and productivity of egg-laying hens. Dunn is laying the groundwork for breeding hens with stronger bones by developing a novel X-ray based measurement system adapted for on-farm use.

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