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

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475 Grants found

Outcome-Based Identification of Best Agronomic Practices to Reduce N Footprint in Agroecosystems

Accelerating Coffee Breeding Through Developing Tools to Screen for Critical Disease & Pest Resistance 

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

Reducing the Carbon Footprint of U.S. Beef Cattle Production – a Texas Pilot Program

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Improving common bean and cowpea productivity and nutritional quality under conditions of reproductive-stage high-temperature stress 

Year Awarded  2021

FFAR award amount   $379,800

Total award amount   $7,229,356

Location   Davis, CA

Program   Increasing Climate Resilience in Crops

Matching Funders   Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Grantee Institution   University of California Davis

Common bean and cowpea are important legumes for food and nutritional security. These crops are susceptible to high temperatures, particularly during their reproductive stage and flower bud formation. This research is determining the effects of different high-temperature stresses on productivity, nutritional quality and physiological traits in genotypes of common bean. The team is also mapping genetic regions affecting heat tolerance traits and screening for these traits in locations with different temperatures and humidity.

Irrigation Innovation Consortium Funds Seven Research Projects 

Year Awarded  2021

FFAR award amount   $533,126

Total award amount   $1,512,550

Location   Fort Collins, CO

Matching Funders   The consortium, which is headquartered at Colorado State University, includes four other U.S. land-grant universities: University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Kansas State University, Texas A&M University and California State University-Fresno. The consortium’s founding and sustaining industry partners are: FFAR, Aqua Engineering, Irrigation Association, JAIN Irrigation, LI-COR, Lindsay Corporation, Northern Water, Valmont, Hunter Industries, Toro, Rubicon, Colorado Corn Growers Association and Senniger Irrigation Inc.

Grantee Institution   Colorado State University

As freshwater resources become ever more precious, research in irrigation technology is critically needed to maximize efficiency. Water use efficiency is necessary to ensure resiliency in agricultural and landscape systems. The Irrigation Innovation Consortium is awarding seven grants tat enable industry and the public sector co-develop, test, prototype and improve equipment, technology and decision-support systems. 

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

Year Awarded  2021

FFAR award amount   $966,273

Total award amount   $1,939,773

Location   Salina, KS

Program   Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders   The Land Institute, The Perennial Agriculture Project

Grantee Institution   The Land Institute

Next-generation perennial grains are domesticated as nutrient-dense crops that can diversify the food supply, increase soil health and reduce irrigated water use. However, researchers do not have enough time and resources to conduct the conventional field research essential to develop reliable future seed supplies and optimize management practices. The Land Institute is implementing a civic science program to work with volunteers, farmers and land-grant extension programs to strategically collect data on cultivating next-generation perennial grains at small scales and test civic science as a method for advancing next-generation crop domestication.

The Real-time Pen-side Detection of Bovine Respiratory Disease by Chemical Analysis 

Year Awarded  2021

FFAR award amount   $151,082

Total award amount   $302,164

Location   Beltsville, MD

Matching Funders   VRCS, Trace VOC, LLC,

Grantee Institution   USDA-ARS

USDA-ARS researchers are analyzing gases emitted from cattle’s breath, known as volatile organic compounds (VOC), to identify signatures associated with early-stage BRD infection. This will enable researchers to develop models and a real-time classifier for disease detection, informing antimicrobial use and other interventions to preserve animal health.

Field-deployable biosensors for antibiotic stewardship 

Year Awarded  2021

FFAR award amount   $250,000

Total award amount   $500,000

Location   Lafeyette, IN

Matching Funders   Tyson Foods, Purdue University, McDonalds, Five Rivers Cattle Feeding, LLC, Cactus Operating, LLC

Grantee Institution   Purdue University

BRD treatment strategies are complicated by the emergence of antibiotic resistance in pathogens. Purdue University researchers are developing a pen-side biosensor that uses DNA amplification to identify genetic markers of antibiotic resistance.

A rapid chute-side antibiotic resistance detection tool to improve antimicrobial stewardship and optimize risk management while controlling bovine respiratory disease 

Year Awarded  2021

FFAR award amount   $301,416

Total award amount   $602,833

Location   College Station, TX

Matching Funders   Texas A&M University, Next Generation Biotech, Five Rivers, Cactus Feeders

Grantee Institution   Texas A&M University

This research is developing a rapid handheld diagnostic to evaluate antibiotic resistance in samples from feedyard cattle suffering from bovine respiratory disease (BRD), an ailment that costs U.S. producers approximately $1 billion annually. Information on the resistance of pathogens to different antimicrobials will enable the selection of appropriate treatment strategies for optimal health outcomes, minimizing potential public health consequences.

Predictive model development to promote science- based, strategic metaphylaxis administration in beef operations 

Year Awarded  2021

FFAR award amount   $213,637

Total award amount   $427,268

Location   Manhattan, KS

Matching Funders   Veterinary and Research Consulting Services, Microsoft, Innovative Livestock Services, Hy Plains Feedyard, BeefAlliance / Five Rivers Cattle Feeding

Grantee Institution   Kansas State University

Kansas State University is using the ICASA grant to develop a predictive model that informs metaphylaxis decision-making. White is developing machine learning predictive models to determine cattle’s BRD risk by combining many sources of information available at the time of feedyard placement.

Development of a science-based management strategy to reduce the use of antimicrobials in high-risk beef cattle 

Year Awarded  2021

FFAR award amount   $200,000

Total award amount   $400,000

Location   Lubbock, TX

Matching Funders   Texas Tech University

Grantee Institution   Texas Tech University

A prevalent and economically consequential disease affecting cattle is bovine respiratory disease (BRD), which affects about 20 percent of cattle and costs producers $800-900 million annually. A common approach to controlling BRD is metaphylaxis, in which a group of animals receive antibiotics simultaneously to manage the disease in a population. This research is developing a science-based management strategy that administers metaphalyaxis to only the animals that need treatment.

A Novel Platform Technology for Biologicals with Antimicrobial & Regenerative Properties Based on the Stem Cell Repertoire of Secreted Biomolecules 

Year Awarded  2021

FFAR award amount   $642,202

Total award amount   $1,400,000

Location   Ithaca, NY

Program   Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders   New York Farm Viability Institute, Elanco

Grantee Institution   Cornell University

Mastitis, a common and costly udder infection in dairy cattle is a major economic problem for dairy farmers. Cornell University researchers are exploring compounds secreted by stem cells as a potential therapy for mastitis.

Sustainable Production of High-Performance Feed Supplements 

Year Awarded  2021

FFAR award amount   $653,035

Total award amount   $1,410,000

Location   St. Paul, MN

Program   Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders   Launch Minnesota, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, private equity financing and Sasya, Inc.

Grantee Institution   University of Minnesota

As consumer demand for animal protein increases, meat producers are under tremendous pressure to increase productivity, while maintaining profitability. As a result, many producers rely on feed supplements to encourage faster growth, reduce disease and improve feed efficiency. This Seeding Solutions grant awarded to Sasya, Inc. supports the development of sustainable, cost-effective, multi-species feed supplements that are safe for livestock, the environment and human consumption.