Grants Archive

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

An Integrated Approach to Improve Whole Herd Pig Survivability

Year Awarded 2018

FFAR award amount $999,772

Total award amount $1,999,772

Location Des Moines, IA

Matching Funders National Pork Board

Grantee Institution National Pork Board

An estimated 30-35 percent of pigs die before reaching the market and mortality rates are increasing. An interdisciplinary team is studying the causes of swine mortality on commercial farms and finding methods to improve pig survivability.

Automated Computer Vision System for Tracking Individual Pig Activity and Locomotion in Nursery/Finisher Group Housing

Year Awarded 2018

FFAR award amount $49,999

Total award amount $99,998

Location Des Moines, IA

Matching Funders University of Nebraska

Grantee Institution National Pork Board

Technological advances allow livestock producers to capture unprecedented amounts of data about pigs in their care. An interdisciplinary team is developing technology that continually tracks individual pigs and logs information about their activities for future analysis and selection.

Identifying Short-term Solutions for Managing Allium Leafminer in Allium

Year Awarded 2017

FFAR award amount $65,000

Total award amount $130,000

Location Ithaca, NY

Program Rapid Outcomes from Agricultural Research

Matching Funders New York Farm Viability Institute

Grantee Institution Cornell University

The Allium Leafminer (ALM), an invasive fly species, threatens Allium crops such as onions, garlic, leeks, scallions and chives. The emerging pest has the capacity to devastate entire fields. Cornell University researchers are identifying effective insecticides and tactics for controlling pest in Allium crops for both organic and conventional Allium production. The project is also developing best practices for predicting and scouting for ALM and arming growers with the latest information to prevent crop damage.

The Validation of a Novel qPCR Assay for the Detection of Brucella suis

Year Awarded 2017

FFAR award amount $149,136

Total award amount $299,095

Location Laramie, WY

Program Rapid Outcomes from Agricultural Research

Matching Funders University of Wyoming

Grantee Institution University of Wyoming

Swine brucellosis is an infectious disease affecting swine and cattle that can create significant costs for livestock producers. No gold standard test exists for accurately detecting swine brucellosis in living animals. Texas A&M and University of Wyoming researchers are developing a faster, more accurate diagnostic test for detection of swine brucellosis.

Renewal: RIPE: Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency for Sustainable Increases in Crop Yield

Year Awarded 2017

FFAR award amount $15,000,000

Total award amount $45,000,000

Location Urbana-Champaign, IL

Matching Funders Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the U.K. Department for International Development (DFID), University of Illinois

Grantee Institution University of Illinois

Crops are inefficiently at photosynthesis, the process plants use to convert sunlight into energy. Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE) is engineering staple food crops to more efficiently turn the sun’s energy into food to sustainably increase worldwide food productivity.

Shielding U.S. Palm Industries from the South American Palm Weevil Invasion

Year Awarded 2017

FFAR award amount $150,000

Total award amount $300,000

Location Riverside, CA

Program Rapid Outcomes from Agricultural Research

Matching Funders UCR, ISCA, California Date Commission, Bard Valley Medjool Data Growers Association

Grantee Institution ISCA Technologies Inc.

The South American Palm Weevil is threatening California's palm trees and date palm trees. ISCA Technologies and UC Riverside researchers are developing environmentally-friendly pest controls to curb the spread of weevils.

Stolen Kiss – an advanced breeding solution for the animal welfare trait of genetic castration

Year Awarded 2017

FFAR award amount $499,443

Total award amount $514,675

Location St. Paul, MN

Matching Funders DNA Genetics LLC and Open Philanthropy Project

Grantee Institution Recombinetics, Inc.

Male piglets are castrated to improve the quality of meat for consumers, but this practice is also a concerning animal welfare issue. Recombinetics/Acceligen and Hendrix Genetics are using a genome editing method to create swine that remain in a pre-pubertal state, thus eliminating the need for surgical castration. The project aims to eliminate the need for surgical castration and improve animal health, management and meat quality.

Plant-Nanoparticle Hybrids: Optimize Crop Engineering and Nutrient Delivery

Year Awarded 2017

FFAR award amount $300,000

Total award amount $600,000

Location Berkeley, CA

Matching Funders The Regents of the University of California

Grantee Institution University of California Berkely

Genome editing has revolutionized our ability to modify living systems and meet the growing demand for food. However, genetic engineering of mature plants remains a challenge. The Regents of the University of California, Berkeley are optimizing crop engineering and nutrient delivery tools to produce sustainable and high-yielding crops.

Mitigation of Wheat Streak Mosaic Virus in Kansas and U.S. High Plains

Year Awarded 2017

FFAR award amount $50,000

Total award amount $120,623

Location Manhattan, KS

Program Rapid Outcomes from Agricultural Research

Matching Funders KS Wheat Commission

Grantee Institution Kansas Wheat Commission Research Foundation

Although management methods for wheat streak mosaic (WSMV) are known, wheat farmers continue to experience yield and profit losses as a result of WSMV. Kansas State University researchers updating best management practices for wheat farmers threatened by the pathogen and identifying optimal disease resistant wheat varieties.

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

Year Awarded 2017

FFAR award amount $215,999

Total award amount $431,999

Location Davis, CA

Matching Funders Open Philanthropy Project

Grantee Institution University of California Davis

Keel, or breastbone fractures are a prevalent concern when raising hens in cage-free housing systems. University of California, Davis researchers are exploring the impacts of poultry housing design, particularly vertical space, on the prevalence of keel bone injuries in egg-laying hens.

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

170 Grants found

FFAR Vet Fellows Seventh Cohort

ICASA Awards Grants to Develop Animal-Health Monitoring and Diagnostic Technologies

Development of a Vaccine for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) Virus in Cattle

Decision Tools Help Producers Analyze Cost of Swine Mortality for Operations Improvement

Addressing Red Crown Rot in Soybeans

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

Unearthing Maize Genes for Enhanced Nitrogen Use Efficiency & AMF Synergy

Accelerating Perennial Crop Development Through Phenomic & Genomic Selection Applied in Pre-breeding & Advanced Breeding Stages

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 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

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