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

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30 Grants found

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

Year Awarded  2018

FFAR award amount   $590,000

Total award amount   $1,564,276

Location   Ithaca, NY

Matching Funders   Department of Food Science at Cornell University, New York State Dairy Promotion Order, Chobani

Consumers often mistakenly interpret “best-by” labels as an expiration date and prematurely discard food that is safe for consumption. Cornell University researchers are developing models that predict milk spoilage and shelf life, as well as the effectiveness of interventions that predict when food spoils and how to prevent consumers from disposing of items that are still safe.

Towards Production of Residue-Free Healthy Fruit Crops

Year Awarded  2018

FFAR award amount   $300,000

Total award amount   $600,000

Location   Prosser, WA

Matching Funders   WSU-Center for Precision and Automated Agricultural Systems, WSU- College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences (CAHNRS), WSU-CAHNRS Biological Systems Engineering Department, WSU Graduate School

Timely insect pest management is critical for quality tree fruit and wine grape production. However, consumers are increasingly alarmed by synthetic pesticide, which leave residues on produce and contaminates the environment. Washington State University researchers are developing and evaluating alternative pest management technologies that aid conventional and organic growers in reducing their reliance on broad spectrum pesticides.

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

Year Awarded  2018

FFAR award amount   $539,962

Total award amount   $1,080,767

Location   Ithaca, NY

Matching Funders   New York Apple Association, Cornell University

Much of fruit and vegetable skins, seeds, cores and stems left behind after food processing becomes a form of agricultural waste known as pomace, which has limited utility and harms the environment. Cornell University researchers are developing a technology to convert this waste into snack foods.

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

Year Awarded  2017

FFAR award amount   $790,407

Total award amount   $1,580,814

Location   Davis, CA

Matching Funders   UC Davis Innovation Institute for Food and Health and the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

Moisture must be removed from agricultural products to preserve them for processing. Inadequately dried commodities account for about 60 percent of postharvest food loss worldwide. Insufficient drying can lead to fungi and negative health outcomes in animals and humans. Current drying methods are also highly energy intensive. University of California, Davis researchers are testing Drying Beads, which absorb water without heat. This technology could reduce energy usage by up to 50 percent and lower costs as the beads are reusable.

An Open Source Framework and Community for Sharing Data and Algorithms

Year Awarded  2017

FFAR award amount   $1,066,348

Total award amount   $2,134,079

Location   West Lafayette, IN

Matching Funders   Winfield United, Centricity, AgGateway, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) and Purdue University

Farmers gather data on millions of acres of active farmland, but much of that data is not integrated into decision-making tools to better manage the land. The industry is unable to take full advantage of the vast amounts of data available today. Purdue University researchers are converting agricultural data and algorithms into actionable tools for farmers. This project is translating this wealth of data into real-world applications in agriculture through a community-driven, open source framework.

Closing the Gap in Delivery of Fruit and Vegetable Benefits

Year Awarded  2017

FFAR award amount   $999,716

Total award amount   $2,005,846

Location   Raleigh, NC

Matching Funders   Dole Foods Company, Standard Process Inc., NC State University

An estimated 87 percent of Americans do not eat the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables per day. North Carolina State University researchers are identifying breeding practices to improve the nutritional density of common fruits and vegetables in consumer products. This research is helping food companies develop products that more effectively deliver the health benefits of fruits and vegetables.

Diet, the human gastrointestinal microbiome and metabolic health

Year Awarded  2017

FFAR award amount   $299,744

Total award amount   $599,488

Location   Urbana-Champaign, IL

Matching Funders   The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

The microbiome in human guts and diet are linked to public health issues including obesity, liver disease and diabetes. While the microbiome is susceptible to changes in diet, there is a dearth of knowledge on how specific foods effect microbiome and how diet and the microbiome are related to disease treatment and prevention. University of Illinois researchers are furthering general understanding of how foods impacts health. The project is providing information that will help consumers to make healthful food choices.

Innovation at the Nexus of Computational, Membrane and Plant Biology

Year Awarded  2017

FFAR award amount   $300,000

Total award amount   $600,000

Location   Urbana-Champaign, IL

Matching Funders   The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

Modern agriculture uses large amounts of fertilizer to maximize crop yield. However, up to 70 percent of applied Nitrogen is not absorbed by plants, resulting in extensive air and water pollution. The current understanding of the Nitrogen process in plants is limited by the lack of information at the molecular level. University of Illinois researchers are developing new approaches to understand the plant nitrogen uptake process.

Individually-targeted incentives, diet quality and health outcomes among adults

Year Awarded  2017

FFAR award amount   $300,000

Total award amount   $600,000

Location   Kingston, RI

Matching Funders   University of Rhode Island

Despite efforts, diet has proven resilient to change and new approaches are needed to prevent diet-related illness. University of Rhode Island researchers are exploring whether individually targeted incentives can increase the adoption of healthier food patterns to cost-effectively improve health. Researchers are using an individual’s past food choices to inform the targeted food incentives to improve food quality purchases.

Using Eye Tracking to Better Understand Food Choices

Year Awarded  2016

FFAR award amount   $300,000

Total award amount   $600,000

Location   Ithaca, NY

Matching Funders   ADM Animal Nutrition, Evonik Nutrition & Care GmbH

When consumers make food choices, they choose between nutritional content and more immediate attributes, such as taste. Cornell University researchers are promoting healthier food choices by highlighting certain attributes of food choices through laboratory and field experiments.