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

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26 Grants found

Rapid and Non-invasive Egg Sex Indentification Using Artficially Intelligent Platform

A Microchip-based Chemical Sensor For Early-Stage in Ovo Sex Determination of Layer Chicks

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

Multidimensional Spectral Mapping for Sex Determination of Avian Eggs

Feed the Future Fall Armyworm Tech Prize

En-ovo Sex Determination By Fiber Optic Volatiles Analysis and Machine Learning

A multiplexed chemical sensor system to automate non-invasive, in-ovo sex determination for the poultry industry

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

ICASA: Pathogen-host interaction during the development of liver abscesses; local and systemic immune and metabolic responses during Fusobacterium necrophorum challenges

ICASA: Novel Strategies to Improve Understanding of Liver Abscess Formation and Mitigation in Beef Cattle

Novel Strategies to Improve the Understanding of Liver Abscess Formation in Beef Cattle

Developing Multifunctional & Durable Agro-based Food Packaging to Reduce Toxic Plastic Waste & Sustainably Advance a Bioeconomy

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Better Deal for Data

Pathogen-Host Interaction During the Development of Liver Abscesses; Local & Systemic Immune & Metabolic Responses During Fusobacterium Necrophorum Challenges

Impacts of the Rearing Environment on Keel Bone Integrity, Spatial Awareness Abilities of Laying Hens

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

Consumer Understanding of Advances in Animal Welfare

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

Modeling for genomic, blood & microbiological markers for liver abscesses in fed beef cattle

Orthogonal Nano-Engineering (ONE) for Rational Design of Food Contact Surfaces

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

Development of a Non-Invasive Model to Induce Liver Abscess Formation in Beef Cattle

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Project Ella 

Year Awarded  2023

Total award amount   $495,990

Location   Leiden, The Netherlands

Program   Egg-Tech Prize

Matching Funders   Open Philanthropy

Grantee Institution   In Ovo

Commercially, chicks can only be sexed after they hatch, requiring producers to devote time and resources to incubating male chicks, only to cull them. This research is further developing and scaling in-ovo sexing technology that measures a naturally occurring biomarker within the embryos’ waste fluid. This fluid differs between the sexes, allowing sorting the eggs by sex on the ninth day of development with high accuracy.

High-throughput in-ovo sexing of chicken eggs using hyperspectral imaging & Raman spectroscopy 

Year Awarded  2023

Total award amount   $499,331

Location   De Klomp, The Netherlands

Program   Egg-Tech Prize

Matching Funders   Open Philanthropy

Grantee Institution   HatchTech Group

Commercially, chicks can only be sexed after they hatch, requiring producers to devote time and resources to incubating male chicks, only to cull them. This research team is using molecular imaging technology to develop a commercially applicable optical technique for sexing hatching eggs by extracting and analyzing small droplets of the embryos’ fluid at the eighth day of incubation.

ICASA: Pathogen-host interaction during the development of liver abscesses; local and systemic immune and metabolic responses during Fusobacterium necrophorum challenges 

Year Awarded  2022

FFAR award amount   $97,400

Total award amount   $195,140

Location   Lubbock, TX

Matching Funders   Texas Tech University

Grantee Institution   Texas Tech University

Texas Tech University researchers are identifying potential pathways in which the bacteria subvert the hosts’ defenses during the development of liver abscess to lay the foundation for the formation of novel approaches, such as alternative drugs, that can potentially replace antimicrobials in liver abscess control and prevention strategies.

ICASA: Novel Strategies to Improve Understanding of Liver Abscess Formation and Mitigation in Beef Cattle 

Year Awarded  2022

FFAR award amount   $125,000

Total award amount   $250,000

Location   Lubbock, TX

Matching Funders   Texas Tech University

Grantee Institution   Texas Tech University

Texas Tech University researchers are investigating the gastrointestinal location, concentration and movement of F. necrophorum and Salmonella enterica, as well as the other organisms that live in the intestines of cattle with liver abscesses. This first phase of this research will inform a methodology to reduce F. necrophorum through a direct-fed microbial.

Better Deal for Data 

Year Awarded  2024

FFAR award amount   $749,999

Total award amount   $1,503,964

Location   Palo Alto, CA

Matching Funders   Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, Tech Matters, Skoll Foundation

Grantee Institution   Tech Matters

United States farmers and ranchers often struggle to access the data they need to justify and implement science-driven practices that enhance the productivity and health of their land. Tech Matters’ Better Deal for Data project seeks to research and design farmer data management tools to ensure wider access to knowledge that can increase productivity and profit for farmers and ranchers.

Pathogen-Host Interaction During the Development of Liver Abscesses; Local & Systemic Immune & Metabolic Responses During Fusobacterium Necrophorum Challenges 

Year Awarded  2021

Total award amount   $195,140

Location   Lubbock TX

Matching Funders   Texas Tech University

Grantee Institution   Texas Tech University

The exact cause of liver abscesses is unknown. However, once they are formed, they are highly susceptible to the Fusobacterium necrophorum (F. necrophorum) bacterium, resulting in major economic loss to producers due to impaired cattle performance and lower carcass value. This research investigates how feedlot beef cattle immune systems react throughout the lifecycle of F. necrophorum. It is identifying potential pathways in which the bacteria subvert the hosts’ defenses during the development of liver abscess to lay the foundation for the formation of novel approaches, such as alternative drugs, that can potentially replace antimicrobials in liver abscess control and prevention strategies.

Impacts of the Rearing Environment on Keel Bone Integrity, Spatial Awareness Abilities of Laying Hens 

Year Awarded  2017

FFAR award amount   $215,999

Total award amount   $431,999

Location   Davis, CA

Matching Funders   Open Philanthropy Project

Grantee Institution   University of California Davis

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.

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

Grantee Institution   Purdue University

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.

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, VA

Program   Pollinator Health Fund

Matching Funders   Virginia Tech

Grantee Institution   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.

Novel Strategies to Improve the Understanding of Liver Abscess Formation in Beef Cattle 

Year Awarded  2021

Total award amount   $250,000

Location   Lubbock, TX

Matching Funders   Texas Tech University

Grantee Institution   Texas Tech University

The exact cause of liver abscesses is unknown. However, once they are formed, they are highly susceptible to the Fusobacterium necrophorum (F. necrophorum) bacterium, resulting in major economic loss to producers due to impaired cattle performance and lower carcass value. This research investigates the gastrointestinal location, concentration and movement of F. necrophorum and Salmonella enterica, as well as the other organisms that live in the intestines of feedlot cattle with liver abscesses. This first phase of Hales’ research will inform a methodology to reduce F. necrophorum through a direct-fed microbial.