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

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75 Grants found

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

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

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Advancing Knowledge and Adoption of Climate-Smart Practices in Semi-Arid Perennial Cropping Systems

UC Davis Receives FFAR Grant to Help Improve Vineyard Soil Health

Improving Soil Health on Vineyards

FFAR Awards Grant to Reduce Water Waste in Crop Irrigation

Genetic and microbial determinants of nitrogen fixation in a Sierra Mixe landrace of maize

Increasing Dietary Fiber in Wheat Crop

Protecting Soil Health & Food Safety in Almond Orchards

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A Novel Cell-Surface-Receptor Strategy for Mitigating Mycotoxins

Transforming Wastewater to Crop Fertilizer

Transforming Wastewater to Crop Fertilizer

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A Multi-Source Remote Sensing-Based Framework & Decision-Support Tool for Flash Droughts & Floods Under Climate Change

Using Solar Panels to Enhance Groundwater

Integrating On-farm Solar Arrays to Enhance Groundwater Resources, Produce Energy & Diversify Farm Income

Developing Tomato Lines Resistant to Broomrape, a Critical World-wide Pest

Uniting Urban Agriculture Operations to Increase Food Security

Validation of Efficacy of a Protective DIVA-Compatible Prototype African Swine Fever Virus Vaccine

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

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

FFAR Grant Promotes Sorghum Health Benefits

Cotton-Based Precision Irrigation Improves Sustainability

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

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

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

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

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

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Kansas State University Provides Data on Nitrogen Management Practices in the Great Plains

FFAR Grant Improves Soil Health Through Phosphorus Management

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Nitrogen SAVings through soil hEalth (NSAVE): Leveraging regenerative agriculture to reduce nitrogen inputs, increase farmer profits & mitigate climate change

FFAR Research Tackles Peanut Allergy

High protein aquatic plants for controlled environment indoor farms

Mitigating antibiotic use in aquaculture through vaccination

More Beans (MB): A Next Generation Legume for Healthy Urban Food

High dimensional phenomics and automation to transform cost and timeframe of early stage domestication of wild plants

University of Tennessee Receives FFAR Grant to Help Address Food Waste Challenges

FFAR Grant Addresses Food Waste Reduction Challenges

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Breeding drought & heat tolerant wheat

Enhancing Human Health and Nutrition from Soil to Society Using Quinoa as a Model Crop Species

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New Crops ATLASS (Analytics Telenetwork: for Landscape, Agronomic, and Sociocultural Scalability)

FFAR Awards Cornell University a Grant to Treat Udder Infection in Dairy Cattle

Scalable breeding for plant growth to address the challenges of climate change

FFAR Grant Helps Heat-Stressed Dairy Cows Weather Increasing Temperatures

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Grant Supports Production of Sustainable, Cost-Effective Feed Supplements

FFAR Grant to Develop Vaccine for Tilapia Lake Virus

FFAR & Rodale Institute Enhance Soil Health to Increase Crop Nutrients

Rethinking seafood by-product: A path to provide sustainable nutrition and improve resource utilization

Genome Editing Wheat for Durable & Sustainable Disease Resistance

Accelerated Development of Crops of the Future

FFAR Grant Quantifies Organic Carbon to Improve Agricultural Productivity

FFAR Grant Examines Carbon Farming Effect on Soil Health

FFAR Grant Addressing Surface and Groundwater Pollution on Farms

FFAR and NYSTAR Grant Helps RIT Examine Degradable Mulching Films

Growing Policy From The Ground Up: Building, Deploying, and Testing Networks to Strengthen Urban Food Systems

Precision Irrigation Scheduling for Specialty Crops

FFAR Grant Provides Technical Training to Enhance Soil Health

Addressing future global dairy demand: Targeting the gut-liver axis to promote heat stress resilience in dairy cattle

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

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

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Integration of Small Farmers into Technology-enabled, Rapid-response Fresh Food Supply Chains

Employing Regional Produce Cooperatives to Enhance Household Nutrition and Reduce Food Insecurity

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

Improving Dairy Feed Efficiency, Sustainability and Profitability by Impacting Farmer’s Breeding and Culling Decisions

Prairie Strips for Healthy Soils and Thriving Farms

Protein-Based Thermotolerance Markers for Sustainable Legume Protein Production

Closing the Gap in Delivery of Fruit and Vegetable Benefits

Automated Individual Poultry Vaccination to Aid in Antibiotic Removal

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Advanced Harvest Techniques Facilitate Food Safe Soil Health Practices in Almond Orchards

An Open Source Plant Chemogenomics Set

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

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An Open Source Framework and Community for Sharing Data and Algorithms

Defining Stressors to Manage Plasticity & Quality in Leafy Greens

Enhancing Animal Protein through Crops and Cattle

Fostering Innovative, Sustainable Urban Farming Methods to Meet Food Needs

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Uniting Urban Agriculture Operations to Increase Food Security 

Year Awarded  2023

FFAR award amount   $300,000

Total award amount   $600,667

Location   New York City, NY

Program   Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders   Mother Cabrini Health Foundation, NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business

Grantee Institution   NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business

The New York City urban agriculture community is fragmented, with little understanding of who is growing food and how it is being distributed. Consistent data collection and access is the first step to understanding urban agriculture systems and promoting equitable food access. Led by Marianna Koval, NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business researchers are developing a data collection tool to establish a baseline understanding of local food production in New York City.

Validation of Efficacy of a Protective DIVA-Compatible Prototype African Swine Fever Virus Vaccine 

Year Awarded  2023

FFAR award amount   $1,000,000

Total award amount   $2,645,427

Location   Manhattan, KS

Program   Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders   Elanco Animal Health, Kansas State University, Kansas State University Innovation Partners and MEDIAN Diagnostics, Inc.

Grantee Institution   Kansas State University

African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV) is a highly contagious, fatal disease in pigs that spreads rapidly. There is no commercially available treatment or vaccine for the virus, and the threat to U.S. swine production is significant. To protect U.S. herds, Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine researchers are developing and validating a vaccine to protect pigs from ASFV.

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.