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

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453 Grants found

International Lettuce Genomics Consortium 4: Pre-competitive Foundational Research for Lettuce Breeding

Reducing the Carbon Footprint of U.S. Beef Cattle Production – a Texas Pilot Program

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Circular Economy That Reimagines Corn Agriculture 

Year Awarded  2024

FFAR award amount   $4,500,000

Total award amount   $9,000,000

Location   Beltsville, MD

Matching Funders   Bayer, Corteva, Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, GoogleX, KWS, Limagrain Field Seeds

Grantee Institution   USDA Agricultural Research Service

Grain production, including corn production, in the United States is highly efficient in terms of labor, cost and land, yet generates massive nitrogen losses that end up in our waterways and generate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that contribute to climate change, while costing farmers money. The CERCA (Circular Economy that Reimagines Corn Agriculture) project led by the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, along with 13 university research partners, is transforming corn production toward a goal of nitrogen circularity by developing corn genetics that both recycles nutrients to decrease fertilizer use and tolerates colder temperatures, so it can be planted earlier in the growing season when soil nitrogen is plentiful.

Japanese Encephalitis Virus Program Six Awards 

Year Awarded  2024

FFAR award amount   $661,355

Total award amount   $1,322,710

Location   Manhattan, KS

Program   Japanese Encephalitis Virus Research Program

Matching Funders   Swine Health Information Center

Epidemiology of JEV in Australian intensive piggeries
PI: Dr. Brendan Cowled, Ausvet Pty Lt

Vector competence and JEV pathogenesis and immunity in domestic pigs
PI: Dr. Angela Bosco-Lauth, Colorado State University

Understanding the threat of wild pigs and mosquitoes for JEV transmission to domestic swine farms
PI: Dr. Daniel Peach, University of Georgia

Building diagnostic capability for Japanese encephalitis virus in the US
PI: Katharine Bossart, Integrated Research Associates, LLC

Development of a pregnant sow model to study the pathogenesis of the emergent Japanese encephalitis virus genotype IV
PI: Dr. Jürgen A. Richt, Kansas State University

Translation of the highly safe, pure & potent IMOJEV® live, attenuated chimeric vaccine against JEV in humans to prevent infection & disease in swine
PI: Thomas Monath; Substipharm Biologics SA

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

Year Awarded  2024

FFAR award amount   $333,516

Total award amount   $667,032

Location   Raleigh, NC

Matching Funders   Bast Fibre Technologies, Inc., IND HEMP, NC State University

Hemp growers strive to produce abundant, easily processed plant stems with high quality fibers, but little is known about the connection between harvest time, environment and fiber quality. Researchers led by NC State University are studying the impacts of harvesting time on fiber hemp and developing knowledge and technologies for fiber hemp processing.

Addressing On-Farm Bird Flu Outbreaks Linked to Wild Waterfowl 

Year Awarded  2024

FFAR award amount   $148,111

Total award amount   $300,222

Location   Davis, CA

Program   Rapid Outcomes from Agricultural Research

Matching Funders   AgriNerds Inc.

Grantee Institution   AgriNerds Inc.

The recent outbreak of H5N1 influenza, commonly called bird flu or avian influenza, originated in the wild bird population and jumped to farms, resulting in the loss of more than 100 million poultry and billions of dollars in the United States. AgriNerds Inc. researchers are identifying outbreak prevention strategies using the WaterFowl Alert Network (WFAN), the world’s first remote sensing tool designed to make daily predictions of where waterfowl roost.

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

Year Awarded  2024

FFAR award amount   $149,662

Total award amount   $299,323

Location   Davis, CA

Program   Rapid Outcomes from Agricultural Research

Matching Funders   University of California, Davis

Grantee Institution   University of California, Davis

Some 90% of the nation’s fresh strawberries are grown in California, but the crop is threatened by the Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. fragariae (Fof) fungus, the rapid spread of which could harm both the availability of the popular fruit and growers’ livelihoods. With a ROAR grant, University of California, Davis researchers are conducting research to better understand and quickly combat the pathogen.

Row Crops to Perennial Pasture: Feeding the World, Conserving Water, Enhancing Soil and Safeguarding the Climate 

Year Awarded  2024

FFAR award amount   $996,165

Total award amount   $1,992,231

Location   Lubbock, TX

Program   Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders   Cactus Feeders and Texas A&M AgriLife

Grantee Institution   Texas A&M AgriLife

This research is developing best management practices that sustainably convert row crop production to perennial forage systems and enhance producer resiliency in the Texas High Plains.

Next-generation Sustainable Weed Management Enabled by Micro-targeted Legged Robots 

Year Awarded  2024

FFAR award amount   $450,000

Total award amount   $531,003

Location   Ithaca, NY

Matching Funders   Cotton Incorporated; NC Small Grain Growers Association, Inc.; Z3 Agriculture

Grantee Institution   Cornell University

Weeds are developing herbicide resistance faster than new herbicides can be created. As a result, farmers face lower profits and yields, while greater chemical use threatens soil and water health. Xiang’s research seeks to replace the costly machinery and large quantities of chemicals used for weed control with AI-powered lightweight robots for targeted weed management. These robots can apply micro levels of herbicide at the site of weed growth, reducing chemical use by 99%, lowering costs and limiting farm workers’ exposure to chemicals. This treatment also minimizes field disturbance by protecting crop roots.

Exploring Novel Promoter Alleles for Multiple Vitamin Biofortification Using a Calli-Derived Somatic Embryo Platform 

Year Awarded  2024

FFAR award amount   $448,852

Total award amount   $539,690

Location   Johnson City, TN

Matching Funders   East Tennessee State University

Grantee Institution   East Tennessee State University

While seeds are rich in energy sources, they lack many micronutrients, including multiple vitamins. Although seeds have the genetic potential to create vitamins, researchers struggle to increase seeds’ nutritional value because the synthesis of many vitamins in seeds are not active. Sun’s research is identifying DNA switches in seeds that, when activated, allow targeted gene editing to create biofortified seeds. Sun is also developing a speedier technique for screening DNA for these switches that avoids the time-consuming seed screening process.

Electrochemically Assisted Biological Nitrogen Fixation for Distributed & Sustainable Fertilizer Production 

Year Awarded  2024

FFAR award amount   $450,000

Total award amount   $450,000

Location   Baltimore, MD

Grantee Institution   Johns Hopkins University

Ammonia is a critical component of commonly used fertilizers, but its production is energy intensive and restricted to large, centralized plants in a few countries. These factors contribute to the agricultural system’s vulnerability to rising energy costs and supply chain disruptions. Rossi’s research is studying the use of renewable energy to stimulate and accelerate ammonia production in bacteria. The research aims to allow localized, on-farm ammonia production, ensuring farmers always have access to a low-cost and readily available fertilizer supply.