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

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25 Grants found

Increasing Dietary Fiber in Wheat Crop

Year Awarded  2019

FFAR award amount   $479,997

Total award amount   $959,997

Location   Davis, CA

Program   Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders   Bay State Milling, California Wheat Commission, Limagrain Cereal Seeds

Diets lacking fiber can lead to life-threatening health concerns. The federal Dietary Guidelines recommends that women consume 25 grams of fiber daily and men consume 38 grams; yet Americans only consume 30 percent of the recommended daily amount of fiber. University of California, researchers are investigating ways to increase wheat dietary fiber using modified starch synthesis enzymes.

Blackfeet Innovation Pathways to Food Sovereignty: Sustainability through Indigenous Applied Research Partnerships

Year Awarded  2019

FFAR award amount   $998,496

Total award amount   $1,998,146

Location   Bozeman, MT

Matching Funders   Montana Healthcare Foundation

Despite the Blackfeet Nation’s rich agricultural diversity, the Piikani people suffer from diet-related health disparities and persistent poverty. Blackfeet Nation and Montana State University researchers are helping ranchers and farmers make cost-effective management decisions, investigating regional food systems and identifying how tradition Indigenous foods influence Piikani health.

Towards Production of Residue-Free Healthy Fruit Crops

Year Awarded  2018

FFAR award amount   $300,000

Total award amount   $600,000

Location   Prosser, WA

Matching Funders   WSU-Center for Precision and Automated Agricultural Systems, WSU- College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences (CAHNRS), WSU-CAHNRS Biological Systems Engineering Department, WSU Graduate School

Timely insect pest management is critical for quality tree fruit and wine grape production. However, consumers are increasingly alarmed by synthetic pesticide, which leave residues on produce and contaminates the environment. Washington State University researchers are developing and evaluating alternative pest management technologies that aid conventional and organic growers in reducing their reliance on broad spectrum pesticides.

A Coupled Natural-Human System Approach to Solving Locust Plagues

Year Awarded  2018

FFAR award amount   $298,835

Total award amount   $607,729

Location   Tempe, AZ

Matching Funders   ASU-Global Institute of Sustainability

Locusts devastate agriculture globally, especially in subsistence farming communities. Locust outbreaks are unpredictable; however, sustainable land use can keep locusts at bay. Arizona State University researchers are exploring connections between land-use practices and locust outbreaks, while identifying and addressing barriers to sustainable locust management.

Direct Linkage of Dietary Components with Metabolizers in the Microbiota

Year Awarded  2018

FFAR award amount   $299,535

Total award amount   $599,070

Location   Raleigh, NC

Matching Funders   North Carolina State University

Diet effects gut microbiota, which can provide beneficial or detrimental effects in human and animal health. North Carolina State University researchers are linking dietary components to the microbes in intestinal tracts of humans and animals to design diets that foster health-promoting microbes and deprive disease-causing microbes of their food source.

Innovations in the Food Supply Chain to Reduce Food Waste

Year Awarded  2018

FFAR award amount   $188,260

Total award amount   $377,114

Location   Auburn, AL

Matching Funders   Auburn University

Global food loss and waste is a growing threat to food security. Auburn University researchers are reducing food waste in the food supply chain by develop “Functional Ice” for storage and transportation of raw poultry and seafood.

Reducing Food Waste by Reshaping Consumer Behavior Using Data-Informed, Dynamic Economic Incentives

Year Awarded  2018

FFAR award amount   $590,000

Total award amount   $1,564,276

Location   Ithaca, NY

Matching Funders   Department of Food Science at Cornell University, New York State Dairy Promotion Order, Chobani

Consumers often mistakenly interpret “best-by” labels as an expiration date and prematurely discard food that is safe for consumption. Cornell University researchers are developing models that predict milk spoilage and shelf life, as well as the effectiveness of interventions that predict when food spoils and how to prevent consumers from disposing of items that are still safe.

Value-Added and Nutritionally Superior Extruded Foods from Agricultural Waste Streams

Year Awarded  2018

FFAR award amount   $539,962

Total award amount   $1,080,767

Location   Ithaca, NY

Matching Funders   New York Apple Association, Cornell University

Much of fruit and vegetable skins, seeds, cores and stems left behind after food processing becomes a form of agricultural waste known as pomace, which has limited utility and harms the environment. Cornell University researchers are developing a technology to convert this waste into snack foods.

A novel desiccant system enables energy-efficient drying to reduce postharvest loss of agricultural commodities and foods

Year Awarded  2017

FFAR award amount   $790,407

Total award amount   $1,580,814

Location   Davis, CA

Matching Funders   UC Davis Innovation Institute for Food and Health and the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

Moisture must be removed from agricultural products to preserve them for processing. Inadequately dried commodities account for about 60 percent of postharvest food loss worldwide. Insufficient drying can lead to fungi and negative health outcomes in animals and humans. Current drying methods are also highly energy intensive. University of California, Davis researchers are testing Drying Beads, which absorb water without heat. This technology could reduce energy usage by up to 50 percent and lower costs as the beads are reusable.

An Open Source Framework and Community for Sharing Data and Algorithms

Year Awarded  2017

FFAR award amount   $1,066,348

Total award amount   $2,134,079

Location   West Lafayette, IN

Matching Funders   Winfield United, Centricity, AgGateway, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) and Purdue University

Farmers gather data on millions of acres of active farmland, but much of that data is not integrated into decision-making tools to better manage the land. The industry is unable to take full advantage of the vast amounts of data available today. Purdue University researchers are converting agricultural data and algorithms into actionable tools for farmers. This project is translating this wealth of data into real-world applications in agriculture through a community-driven, open source framework.