Grants Archive

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

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.

Spatializing the Environmental Impacts of U.S. Dairy Supply Chains

Year Awarded 2019

FFAR award amount $65,000

Total award amount $130,000

Location Washington, D.C.

Matching Funders Walton Family Foundation, McDonald's

Grantee Institution World Wildlife Fund

Dairy farming and milk production, although essential to the agricultural economy, release greenhouse gas emissions and impact local water bodies. University of Minnesota’s NorthStar Initiative for Sustainable Enterprise (NorthStar) researchers are developing localized research models to identify local solutions that improve efficiency and environmental sustainability, information on environmental impacts.

Development of Prevention, Detection and Response Strategies for the Asian Lognhorned Tick (Haemaphysalis longicornis)

Year Awarded 2019

FFAR award amount $150,000

Total award amount $300,000

Location Knoxville, TN

Program Rapid Outcomes from Agricultural Research

Matching Funders University of Tennessee

Grantee Institution University of Tennessee Institute for Agriculture

The increasing prevalence of the invasive longhorn tick threatens American farmers, livestock, companion animals and wildlife. University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture researchers are mapping the tick's spread and developing response strategies to protect farmers, ranchers and their animals.

Evaluation of feed additives to mitigate the risk of viral-contaminated feed to pigs

Year Awarded 2019

FFAR award amount $150,000

Total award amount $300,000

Location Pipestone, MN

Program Rapid Outcomes from Agricultural Research

Matching Funders ADM Animal Nutrition, Antiox, Kemin Industries, PMI Nutrition Additives, Swine Health Information Center

Grantee Institution Pipestone Veterinary Services

Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS), Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea (PED) virus and Seneca Valley A (SVA) are deadly swine diseases that can spread through contaminated animal feed. Pipestone Applied Research is testing ten commercially available disease mitigants, or feed additives, to assess whether these mitigants can deactivate these and other swine diseases.

Addressing future global dairy demand: Targeting the gut-liver axis to promote heat stress resilience in dairy cattle

Year Awarded 2019

FFAR award amount $736,392

Total award amount $1,470,000

Location Ithaca, NY

Matching Funders AB Vista, Adisseo, Balchem Corporation, Berg + Schmidt, Elanco, Phibro Animal Health, Vetagro

Grantee Institution Cornell University

Heat-stressed dairy cows cost the American dairy industry an alarming $1.5 billion annually. Dairy cows are unable to efficiently produce milk when their body temperatures rise above normal. Heat-stress is also associated with reduced fertility and increases in diseases. Cornell University researchers are identifying nutrition-based solutions that improves dairy cows’ ability to adapt to extreme heat.

National Academy of Sciences Prize in Food and Agriculture Research: Elizabeth Ainsworth

Year Awarded 2019

Total award amount $100,000

Location Washington, D.C.

Matching Funders Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Grantee Institution USDA-ARS

Dr. Elizabeth Ainsworth, a U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service researcher and adjunct professor at the School of Integrative Biology at the University of Illinois, is the 2019 recipient of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Prize in Food and Agriculture Sciences. Ainsworth’s pioneering research focuses on how the world will eat in the face of climate change and other threats.

Crops of the Future: Corn Drought Resistance

Year Awarded 2019

FFAR award amount $900,000

Total award amount $1,800,000

Location Madison, WI

Matching Funders Inari, KWS, Syngenta

Grantee Institution University of Wisconsin Madison

Drought is a primary limitation to crop production that impacts future food security. Researchers at the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System are enhancing genetic characterization and prediction of drought response in maize.

Crops in Silico 3.0

Year Awarded 2019

FFAR award amount $2,500,000

Total award amount $5,000,000

Location Urbana-Champaign, IL

Matching Funders The Institute for Sustainability, Energy and Environment at the University of Illinois, NCSA

Grantee Institution University of Illinois

University of Illinois researchers are developing a suite of virtual plant models that examine the effects of environmental challenges on a molecular, cellular and organ level within a plant to accurately determine the best targets for genetic engineering. This second grant allows researchers to continue building a computational platform that integrates multiple models to study a whole plant virtually.

Stopping A New Threat to The Lettuce Industry in Florida: Fusarium Wilt

Year Awarded 2018

FFAR award amount $67,892

Total award amount $135,806

Location Gainesville, FL

Program Rapid Outcomes from Agricultural Research

Matching Funders University of Florida

Grantee Institution University of Florida

Fusarium Wilt is a fungus that threatens the $70 million Floridian lettuce industry. University of Florida researchers are developing disease management practices and training lettuce growers to better manage cross contamination to reduce the spread of this disease.

Improving Dairy Feed Efficiency, Sustainability and Profitability by Impacting Farmer’s Breeding and Culling Decisions

Year Awarded 2018

FFAR award amount $1,000,000

Total award amount $1,999,999

Location East Lansing, MI

Program Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding

Grantee Institution Michigan State University

Feeding dairy cows accounts for more than half of total dairy farm costs. Dairy farmers could significantly reduce feed costs by selecting cows that produce the same or more milk while consuming less feed. Michigan State University researchers are monitoring dairy cows’ body temperature, feeding behavior and locomotion, along with milk spectral data, to predict feed intake and gather data from thousands of cows to allow farmers to select the most efficient cows.

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

164 Grants found

FFAR Rapid Funding Develops Pest Management Program for Sweet Corn

FFAR Rapid Research Develops H5N1 Waste Stream Surveillance Tool

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

Leveraging landrace genomics to rapidly engineer thermotolerant cassava

Using novel genes from wild germplasm to boost protein content in cultivated chickpea

Genetic and microbial determinants of nitrogen fixation in a Sierra Mixe landrace of maize

Japanese Encephalitis Virus Program Six Awards

Improving Fiber Hemp Quality Through Enhanced Retting Probiotics & Appropriate Harvest Timing

Improving Hemp Quality Through Harvest Timing & Enhanced Processing

Addressing On-Farm Bird Flu Outbreaks Linked to Wild Waterfowl

Rapid Response to Novel Resistance-Breaking Strain of Pathogenic Fusarium oxysporum in Cultivated Strawberry

Grant Improves Stress Tolerance in Carrots

Decreasing Pulmonary-Associated Mortality in Feedlot Cattle Using Refined Case Definitions & Predictive Analytics, Emphasizing Acute Interstitial Pneumonia & Late Day BRD

Metabolomic analysis of blood plasma to identify unique biomarkers indicative of liver abscesses

Associations between feeding & management practices of beef-on-dairy cattle from birth to harvest with liver abscesses

Promoting antimicrobial stewardship through improved understanding of how feedlot cattle are classified based on BRD risk

Antimicrobial Use Monitoring & Benchmarking in U.S. Feedyards

FFAR Vet Fellows Sixth Cohort

FFAR Rapid Research Builds Diagnostic Tools & Vaccine for Avian Metapneumovirus

FFAR Research to Protect Vegetable Crops from Invasive Pest

Protecting Vegetable Crops from Invasive Pests

A Novel Cell-Surface-Receptor Strategy for Mitigating Mycotoxins

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

Understanding liver abscess pathogenesis & risk-factors of feedlot cattle reared in conventional beef versus dairy management systems

ICASA: Defining the contribution of acidosis to the liver abscess complex using novel challenge model to delineate impacts of diet composition and feeding management on liver abscess pathogenesis

Acoustic Monitoring to Support Mass Cattle Treatment Decisions

An International Collaboration for Combating Fusarium Wilt in Cotton

Field trial of rice gene-edited rice for drought tolerance

Elucidating the Genetic Basis for Sub-Tropical Flowering in Hemp

Breeding & Characterizing New Cultivars of Grain & Fiber Hemp

Integrating Genomics, Milk Spectrometry & Microbial Manipulations to Mitigate Enteric Methane Emissions from Dairy Cattle

Hydrogen Production and Hydrogen Utilization in the Rumen of Beef & Dairy Cattle: Key Rumen Microbiome Measurements to Understand Mechanisms Controlling Methanogenesis & Mitigating Enteric Methane Emissions

Evaluation of the Efficacy, Agronomic Fit & Environmental Fate of Biopesticides for Management of Economically Important Diseases & Arthropod Pests of Hemp

A holistic approach to improving keel bone health of breeders and commercial layer hens

Developing Tomato Lines Resistant to Broomrape, a Critical World-wide Pest

Enabling African Scientists: The African Plant Breeding Academy CRISPR Course

Development of Novel Methanogenesis Inhibitors in Ruminants

Investigating Natural Nitro-Compounds as a Viable Strategy to Reduce Enteric Methane Emission from Ruminants

Grant Investigates Naturally Occurring Compound to Reduce Enteric Methane Emissions

FFAR Vet Fellows Fifth Cohort

FFAR Vet Fellows Fourth Cohort

FFAR Vet Fellows Third Cohort

Validation of Efficacy of a Protective DIVA-Compatible Prototype African Swine Fever Virus Vaccine

Identifying Proteins Required for Immunity to ASFV

Analyzing the Efficacy of Live-vectored Prototype ASFV Subunit Vaccines

Assessment of the Available Literature & Gap Analysis on the Use of Industrial Hemp as an Animal Feed

Multistate Characterization of Agronomic Performance of Hemp Cultivars, Including Sterility of New Triploid Cultivars

Impact of Spectra & Intensity of LED Supplemental Lighting on Morphology, Growth, Flower Yield & Phytochemical Content of Cannabis Sativa

Breeding & Genetics of Disease Resistance, Flowering Time & Cannabinoid Content in Hemp

Analysis of Terpenes & Neutral Cannabinoids Using Gas Chromatograph/Mass Spectrometry & Genotyping of Hemp Using the SureSelect System

FFAR Grant Promotes Sorghum Health Benefits

ICASA: Antimicrobial Use Monitoring and Benchmarking in U.S. Feedyards

ICASA: Liver abscesses in feedlot cattle; further delineation of the etiology and pathogenesis

ICASA: Fecal microbiota transplant to reduce post-weaning diarrhea and antibiotic use

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

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

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

ICASA: Improving the efficacy of vaccination against mycoplasma hyosynoviae by identifying optimal application times

Improving the Efficacy of Vaccination Against Mycoplasma Hyosynoviae by Identifying Optimal Application Times

ICASA: Risk Factors for Lameness in Finishing Pigs

ICASA: Development of a non-invasive model to induce liver abscess formation in cattle

Wean-to-Harvest Biosecurity Program

Noninvasive Wellness Monitoring of Broiler Growout Using Continuous Audio Analytics (2022)

Fecal Microbiota Transplant to Reduce Post Weaning Diarrhea & Antibiotic Use

Risk Factors for Lameness in Finishing Pigs

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

Defining the Contribution of Acidosis to the Liver Abscess Complex Using a Novel Challenge Model to Delineate Impacts of Diet Composition & Feeding Management on Liver Abscess Pathogenesis

Further Delineation of the Etiology and Pathogenesis of Liver Abscesses in Feedlot Cattle

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

High protein aquatic plants for controlled environment indoor farms

Mitigating antibiotic use in aquaculture through vaccination

More Beans (MB): A Next Generation Legume for Healthy Urban Food

High dimensional phenomics and automation to transform cost and timeframe of early stage domestication of wild plants

Creating Science-Based Strategies for Gene Editing Communications

FFAR Awards Cornell University a Grant to Treat Udder Infection in Dairy Cattle

Scalable breeding for plant growth to address the challenges of climate change

FFAR Grant Helps Heat-Stressed Dairy Cows Weather Increasing Temperatures

Improving Protein Content & Quality in Peas

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