Grants Archive

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

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.

Novel Tools for Engineering Apomixis in Soybean

Year Awarded 2024

FFAR award amount $1,950,000

Total award amount $4,050,000

Location Washington, D.C.

Matching Funders Bayer, KWS, United Soybean Board

Grantee Institution Wageningen University & Research

Although hybrid seeds outperform their parents in yield, this advantage does not transfer to the hybrids’ offspring. Breeders must continually cross-pollinate to develop the next generation of hybrids. Because soybeans reproduce through self-pollination, the structure of the soybean flower makes cross-pollination difficult and expensive. The ApoSoy project seeks to develop a cost-effective hybrid soybean system through a process called apomixis, which creates seeds that are genetic clones of the parent.

Understanding Plant Parasitic Nematode Virulence Mechanisms: A Valuable Approach to Expedite Breeding Durable & Broad-spectrum Crop Resistance

Year Awarded 2024

FFAR award amount $449,989

Total award amount $449,989

Location New Haven, CT

Grantee Institution Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station Research Foundation

Root-knot nematodes are parasitic worms that infect economically important crops by attacking plant roots, reducing yields or even destroying entire fields. Traditional plant breeding has struggled to produce crop varieties with broad, lasting resistance. Rocha’s research studies the molecular genetics of plant nematode interactions to develop plants that use RNA to target proteins produced by nematodes, preventing the parasite from developing in the root.

Novel Biobased Antiviral Treatments for Bee Pollinator Health

Year Awarded 2024

FFAR award amount $449,493

Total award amount $449,493

Location Albany, CA

Grantee Institution USDA-ARS Pollinator Health Unit, Davis

Honey bees are essential agricultural pollinators that are threatened by a constant flux of interacting stressors. Viral pathogens are strongly linked to managed bee colony losses worldwide. Antiviral treatments are needed to support beekeeping industries and uphold crucial pollination services. Ricigliano’s lab is developing bee antiviral treatments that are cost-effective, scalable and do not rely on synthetic chemicals. The project incorporates biotechnological approaches and natural product-based treatments to improve bee immunity and virus resistance.

Integrating Genomic Prediction with Crop Modeling to Develop Climate-Resilient Cultivars

Year Awarded 2024

FFAR award amount $448,491

Total award amount $448,491

Location Fayetteville, AR

Grantee Institution University of Arkansas

Plant breeding and improved agriculture practices have increased crops’ yields and nutrition, but severe weather events threaten crop losses and food insecurity. The current genomic prediction models that plant breeders use to develop crops that can withstand weather stresses struggle to make accurate predictions about future weather conditions. To address this, Fernandes is developing machine-learning genomic prediction models that directly integrate crop growth models, which include plant physiology and environmental interactions. The genomic model and crop growth model will inform each other to generate enhanced yield predictions across current and potential future weather scenarios.

Grant Improves Stress Tolerance in Carrots

Year Awarded 2024

FFAR award amount $500,000

Total award amount $1,000,000

Location Davis, CA

Matching Funders Bayer, Bejo Zaden, Enza Zaden, Rijk Zwaan, Takii Seed Vilmorin Mikado

Grantee Institution University of California, Davis

Carrot growers face a variety of both climate and biological threats, including water access and diseases such as Alternaria leaf blight (Alternaria), a disease that can reduce yield by 40-60%. Some cultivated carrots are partially resistant to Alternaria but still require frequent fungicide applications to fully protect crops from this disease. University of California, Davis researchers are tapping into the genetic diversity of wild carrots to breed Alternaria resistance and the ability to grow in water-deficient conditions into cultivated carrots.

Pangenome-based Identification of Genetic Variants Conferring Stress Resistance in Tomato Wild Relatives, and Efficient Transfer to Cultivated Tomato

Year Awarded 2024

FFAR award amount $994,561

Total award amount $2,063,835

Location Ithaca, NY

Matching Funders Meiogenix

Grantee Institution Boyce Thompson Institute

Tomatoes are an important economic and nutritional crop, but they are vulnerable to stresses from extreme weather and disease, which puts food security and farmers’ profits at risk. This research is harnessing wild tomatoes’ genetic diversity to improve cultivated tomato varieties. The research is focusing on resistance to drought and early blight disease, two significant challenges facing tomato growers worldwide.

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

181 Grants found

Protecting Cattle from Asian Longhorned Tick

Six H5N1 Risk to Swine Research Awards

Japanese Encephalitis Virus Program Six Awards

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

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

Novel Tools for Engineering Apomixis in Soybean

FFAR Vet Fellows Sixth Cohort

Understanding Plant Parasitic Nematode Virulence Mechanisms: A Valuable Approach to Expedite Breeding Durable & Broad-spectrum Crop Resistance

Novel Biobased Antiviral Treatments for Bee Pollinator Health

Pangenome-based Identification of Genetic Variants Conferring Stress Resistance in Tomato Wild Relatives, and Efficient Transfer to Cultivated Tomato

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

Applied Innovation of Myoinositol to Improve Cattle Fertility & Sustainability of Cattle Production Systems

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

Transforming Dairy Cattle Lameness Management through a Combination of Artificial Intelligence-Powered Video Analytics & Genomic, Epidemiological & Extension Approaches

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

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

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