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


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19 Grants found

FFAR Awards $1.4 Million to Purdue University, University of California, Davis and University of Edinburgh Researchers to Improve Health and Productivity of Egg-Laying Hens

Year Awarded   2018

FFAR award amount   $431,998

Total award amount   $431,998

Location   Davis, CA

Program   Layer Hen Keel Bone Health Program

Matching Funders   Open Philanthropy Project


FFAR awarded one of three Layer Hen Keel Bone Health Program grants to Ian Dunn, research scientist at the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute and collaborators at the major poultry genetics companies Hy-Line and Lohmann Tierzucht, to improve health and productivity of egg-laying hens. Dunn is laying the groundwork for breeding hens with stronger bones by developing a novel X-ray based measurement system adapted for on-farm use.

FFAR Awards $1.4 Million to Purdue University, University of California, Davis and University of Edinburgh Researchers to Improve Health and Productivity of Egg-Laying Hens

Year Awarded   2018

FFAR award amount   $490,093

Total award amount   $490,093

Location   West Lafayette, IN

Program   Layer Hen Keel Bone Health Program

Matching Funders   Open Philanthropy Project


FFAR awarded one of three Layer Hen Keel Bone Health Program grants to Ian Dunn, research scientist at the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute and collaborators at the major poultry genetics companies Hy-Line and Lohmann Tierzucht, to improve health and productivity of egg-laying hens. Dunn is laying the groundwork for breeding hens with stronger bones by developing a novel X-ray based measurement system adapted for on-farm use.

Bioindicators for A Sustainable Future: Dancing Honey Bees Communicate Habitats’ Ability to Feed Pollinators

Year Awarded   2018

FFAR award amount   $614,067

Total award amount   $1,228,134

Location   Blacksburg, Virginia

Program   Pollinator Health Fund

Matching Funders   Virginia Tech


To protect honeybees, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University researchers are examining pollinator behavior in different landscapes to determine where and when supplemental forage is most needed to nourish pollinator populations. The research team is also exploring whether honey bee recruitment behavior, which is how a worker tells her nestmates where she collected food, is a reliable indicator of a viable habitat for native pollinators.

Feed the Future Fall Armyworm Tech Prize

Year Awarded   2018

FFAR award amount   $100,000

Total award amount   $200,000

Location   Washington, DC

Matching Funders   Land O’Lakes International Development


Experts estimate that in three years the fall armyworm could cause between $2-$6 billion in losses for maize, an African staple crop. In partnership with U.S. Agency for International Development, FFAR awarded the Feed the Future Fall Armyworm Tech Prize to six winners for digital innovations that help farmers manage the spread of fall armyworm.

Toward Responsible Pacific Bluefin Tuna Mariculture in the United States: Captive Reproduction, Hatchery Research and Product

Year Awarded   2018

FFAR award amount   $945,735

Total award amount   $2,978,942

Location   West Des Moines, IA

Matching Funders   Ichthus Unlimited, LLC, Texas A&M, Spanish Institute of Oceanography, Illinois Soybean Foundation, San Diego Port


At only three percent of its original population, Pacific Bluefin Tuna are on the verge of being placed on the endangered species list. Ichthus Unlimited, LLC is cultivating Pacific Bluefin Tuna eggs to grow juvenile fish, which can then mature on tuna farms. Acquiring tuna eggs from hatcheries, rather than the wild, would reduce overfishing and help stabilize the wild population.

Addressing keel bone fractures in laying hens housed in cage-free aviary systems using nutrition and management interventions

Year Awarded   2017

FFAR award amount   $490,093

Total award amount   $490,093

Location   West Lafayette, IN

Matching Funders   Open Philanthropy Project


Keel, or breastbone fractures are painful and decrease egg production and are a common concern for cage-free hens. Purdue University researchers are assessing the impact of nutritional interventions on the gut microbiome and testing management interventions to reduce keel bone fractures in laying hens housed in cage-free systems.

A practical phenotypic solution to reduce keel and skeletal bone damage in laying hens

Year Awarded   2017

FFAR award amount   $486,594

Total award amount   $486,594

Location   Edinburgh, UK

Matching Funders   Open Philanthropy Project


Keel, or breastbone fractures, which cause pain and decrease egg production, are a challenge to raising hens in cage-free housing systems. To improve the health and productivity of egg-laying hens and prevent these fractures, University of Edinburgh researchers are developing an x-ray-based measurement system for on-farm use to breed hens with stronger bones.  

Consumer Understanding of Advances in Animal Welfare

Year Awarded   2017

FFAR award amount   $50,000

Total award amount   $100,000

Location   West Lafayette, IN

Matching Funders   Food Marketing Institute Foundation and the Animal Agriculture Alliance


Consumers are demanding cage-free egg production and slow-growth broiler chickens and farmers, ranchers and agricultural businesses are responding. However, producers must first understand consumer knowledge, beliefs and willingness-to-pay for these attributes. Purdue University researchers are employing choice modeling techniques to estimate diversity in consumer preferences and willingness-to-pay for cage-free eggs and slow-growth broilers now and in the future.

Impacts of the rearing environment on keel bone integrity, spatial awareness abilities of laying hens

Year Awarded   2017

FFAR award amount   $431,999

Total award amount   $431,999

Location   Davis, CA

Matching Funders   Open Philanthropy Project


Keel, or breastbone fractures are a prevalent concern when raising hens in cage-free housing systems. University of California, Davis researchers are exploring the impacts of poultry housing design, particularly vertical space, on the prevalence of keel bone injuries in egg-laying hens.

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