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

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73 Grants found

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A new methods of managing human waste for improved soil health, carbon sequestration, contaminant removal, and social acceptability 

Year Awarded  2022

Location   Brattelboro, VT

Program   Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders   Cornell University, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County, Rich Earth Institute, University of Michigan

Grantee Institution   Rich Earth Institute

Synthetic fertilizers accelerate crop growth and are commonly used in agriculture; however, these products contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, wastewater is also a source of pollution, and only a fraction of the vast quantity of nutrients flowing through modern wastewater treatment systems is captured for beneficial reuse. A significant portion of regional fertilizer needs could be met by reclaiming the nutrients present in wastewater. The Rich Earth Institute is producing biochar from wastewater material to potentially be used to develop safe, renewable fertilizers that enhance agricultural productivity, support soil health, reduce nutrient pollution and mitigate climate change through soil carbon sequestration.

Transforming Wastewater to Crop Fertilizer 

Year Awarded  2022

FFAR award amount   $330,256

Total award amount   $660,517

Location   Brattelboro, VT

Program   Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders   Cornell University, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County, Rich Earth Institute, University of Michigan

Grantee Institution   Rich Earth Institute

Synthetic fertilizers accelerate crop growth and are commonly used in agriculture; however, these products contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, wastewater is also a source of pollution, and only a fraction of the vast quantity of nutrients flowing through modern wastewater treatment systems is captured for beneficial reuse. A significant portion of regional fertilizer needs could be met by reclaiming the nutrients present in wastewater. Rich Earth Institute is producing biochar from wastewater material to potentially be used to develop safe, renewable fertilizers that enhance agricultural productivity, support soil health, reduce nutrient pollution and mitigate climate change through soil carbon sequestration. This grant furthers the work of a previous FFAR Seeding Solutions grant to Rich Earth Institute

Performance-Based Financing Models for Sustainable Water Management in the Great Lakes Basin 

Year Awarded  2022

FFAR award amount   $600,000

Total award amount   $1,200,000

Location   Ann Arbor, MI

Program   Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders   Great Lakes Protection Fund

Grantee Institution   University of Michigan

Though fertilizer runoff can cause water pollution, the demand for high crop yields often stymies conservation practices. One possible answer lies with encouraging private financiers to incentivize farm sustainability efforts by identifying the full lending risks associated with fertilizer emissions. Researchers are exploring this potential solution by linking a water quality modeling and monitoring system in the Lake Huron drainage basin to sustainability-based financial products for farmers.

FFAR Grant Promotes Sorghum Health Benefits 

Year Awarded  2022

FFAR award amount   $846,991

Total award amount   $1,721,129

Location   Clemson, SC

Program   Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders   Clemson University and Carolina Seed Systems, Inc.

Grantee Institution   Clemson University

(FFAR) is providing a $846,991 Seeding Solutions grant to Clemson University to study sorghum plant properties that enhance beneficial compounds in commercial sorghum, while preserving the crop’s dual use as animal feed.

Plant-Based Precision Irrigation Management for Improved System-Level Sustainability 

Year Awarded  2022

FFAR award amount   $753,206

Total award amount   $1,507,062

Location   Athens, GA

Program   Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders   University of Georgia

Grantee Institution   University of Georgia

Cotton, which contributes billions to the United States’ economy, faces escalating threats from climate change-induced droughts. Cotton growers urgently need water management strategies to maximize productivity while minimizing water use. University of Georgia researchers are developing cotton-based precision irrigation scheduling strategies to ensure optimal water use to improve water use efficiency, ensure yield stability and enhance economic productivity.

Development of new alphaamylase immunoassays to preserve wheat grain value and accelerate breeding for climate resilience 

Year Awarded  2022

FFAR award amount   $835,889

Total award amount   $2,037,107

Location   Pullman, WA

Program   Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders   EnviroLogix, HighLine Grain Growers, The McGregor Company, Washington Grain Commission, Washington State University, The Wheat Marketing Center

Grantee Institution   Washington State University

High levels of alpha-amylase protein in wheat can lead to a low falling number score, a factor that determines the quality and price of wheat. Because alpha-amylase digests starch, wheat with a low falling number score produces flour with lower gelling capacity, causing cakes that fall or sticky bread and noodles, and significantly lowering the price growers receive. If growers cannot detect wheat with a low falling number, the wheat may mix with sound wheat on farms, in grain elevators or during transport, essentially compromising the entire bushel. Washington State University researchers are developing a faster, cheaper and more accurate test that measures alpha-amylase on farms and in elevators, preventing mixing of low and high falling number wheat.

Urban farming at the Water, Food, Energy Nexus: soil health practices with agrivoltaic impacts on crops, soils, carbon, and water 

Year Awarded  2022

FFAR award amount   $880,898

Total award amount   $1,798,114

Location   Claremont, CA

Program   Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders   American Farmland Trust CA, City of Riverside, Climate Resolve, GRID Alternatives, Huerta del Valle, Inland Empire Resource Conservation District (IERCD), The Nature Conservancy, Pacific Biochar Benefit Corporation, Pitzer College, and Pomona College

Grantee Institution   Pitzer College

This research aims to understand the benefits of agrivoltaics—regenerative farming soil practices paired with solar energy production—on a local food system.

UC Davis Receives FFAR Grant to Help Improve Vineyard Soil Health 

Year Awarded  2022

FFAR award amount   $999,003

Total award amount   $2,600,000

Location   Davis, CA

Program   Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders   Jackson Family Wines

Grantee Institution   University of California Davis

Regenerative agriculture, which uses holistic farming and grazing practices to strengthen soil health and crop productivity, may help grape vines become more resilient to changing climate conditions. However, more research is needed to increase adoption of regenerative agriculture practices on vineyards. FFAR awarded a Seeding Solutions grant to the University of California, Davis to assess the effects of regenerative practices on vineyard soil health.

Building a Common Language for Antimicrobial Resistance Between Human & Animal Health 

Year Awarded  2022

FFAR award amount   $216,724

Total award amount   $433,449

Location   Ames, IA

Program   Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders   Merck MSD

Grantee Institution   Iowa State University

To strengthen antimicrobial stewardship within livestock veterinary medicine this research aims to develop a standard method of collecting, reporting and sharing multispecies antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) results for use in human and animal health industries.

Expanding development of a predictive model to quantify the risk reduction associated with specific soil health practices for use by private & public lenders & insurers to incentivize the transition to resilient, climate-smart agriculture 

Year Awarded  2022

FFAR award amount   $715,611

Total award amount   $1,449,610

Location   Grass Valley, CA

Program   Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders   Paul and June Rossetti Foundation, Mighty Arrow Family Foundation, J.M. Kaplan Fund, Great Island Foundation and Records-Johnston Family Foundation

Grantee Institution   Land Core

This research is generating an unprecedented market-based, actuarially-sound model to quantify farm risk mitigation through the adoption of good soil health practices. The model will provide agricultural lenders and insurers who price risk an economic rational to factor in incentives such as better terms or lower loan rates and insurance prices to producers adopting good soil health practices.