Grants Archive

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

Automated Computer Vision System for Tracking Individual Pig Activity and Locomotion in Nursery/Finisher Group Housing

Year Awarded 2018

FFAR award amount $49,999

Total award amount $99,998

Location Des Moines, IA

Matching Funders University of Nebraska

Technological advances allow livestock producers to capture unprecedented amounts of data about pigs in their care. An interdisciplinary team is developing technology that continually tracks individual pigs and logs information about their activities for future analysis and selection.

Assessing & Expanding Soil Health for Production, Economics, & the Environmental Benefits v2

Year Awarded 2018

FFAR award amount $500,000

Total award amount $1,195,677

Location Morrisville, NC

Matching Funders Soil Health Institute, General Mills, Walton Family Foundation, Monsanto Company, Midwest Row Crop Collaborative, Nestle Purina Petcare, The Nature Conservancy, National Corn Growers Association

The Soil Health Institute is enhancing the adoption of soil health practices by establishing a definitive soil health evaluation program for national deployment.

An Integrated Approach to Improve Whole Herd Pig Survivability

Year Awarded 2018

FFAR award amount $999,772

Total award amount $1,999,772

Location Des Moines, IA

Matching Funders National Pork Board

An estimated 30-35 percent of pigs die before reaching the market and mortality rates are increasing. An interdisciplinary team is studying the causes of swine mortality on commercial farms and finding methods to improve pig survivability.

Development of Environmental Conditioning Practices to Decrease Impacts of Climate Change on Shellfish Aquaculture

Year Awarded 2018

FFAR award amount $877,007

Total award amount $1,754,067

Location Seattle, WA

Matching Funders Jamestown S’Kallam Tribe, University of Washington, Baywater Shellfish Company, University of Rhode Island

University of Washington researchers are improving Pacific geoduck clam production by altering environmental conditions at key stages of the life cycle and identifying genetic markers associated with optimal traits.

Development of a Farmer-Focused Disease Prevention and Preparedness Tool

Year Awarded 2018

FFAR award amount $87,691

Total award amount $183,206

Location Minneapolis, MN

Program Rapid Outcomes from Agricultural Research

Matching Funders Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences Primary Fund

In 2014, a specific a strain of avian influenza, H5N2 HPAI, destroyed nearly 50 million birds, costing the industry more than $3.75 billion. University of Minnesota researchers are developing a nationwide tool to improve outbreak response and help producers mitigate foreign animal diseases on farms.

Developing CRISPR-Cpf1 Genome Editing Technologies for Crop Improvement

Year Awarded 2018

FFAR award amount $282,843

Total award amount $565,686

Location College Park, MD

Matching Funders Syngenta

Plant genome editing can increase agricultural productivity and help agriculture adapt to climate change. University of Maryland-College Park researchers are developing CRISPR-Cas12a based plant genome editing systems with broadened targeting range and improved editing activity and specificity. If successful, these tools could accelerate plant breeding for generating high-productivity crops with stress resistance to climate change.

Crops of the Future Initial Project: Leafy Greens

Year Awarded 2018

FFAR award amount $2,500,000

Total award amount $5,097,530

Location Davis, CA

Matching Funders BASF Vegetable Seeds, Bejo Zaden B.V., Benson Hill Biosystems, Inc., Enza Zaden Research and Development, B.V., Gautier Semences, Keygene, N.V., Progeny Advanced Genetics Inc., Ramiro Arnedo S.A., Rijk Zwaan Zaadteelt en Zaadhandel B.V., Sakata Seed Corporation, Syngenta Crop Protection AG, Takii and Company Ltd., Tanimura & Antle Value Added LLC, Vilmorin S.A.

Downy mildew is a damaging pathogen that threatens the $3 billion lettuce industry, causing losses for farmers in the field and post-harvest and requiring expensive chemical control measures. University of California, Davis researchers are using genomics approaches help leafy green plants resist downy mildew.

Environmental and Nutritional Benefits of Food Recovery and Redistribution: A Pilot Assessment in New York’s Capital Region

Year Awarded 2018

FFAR award amount $433,152

Total award amount $870,998

Location Albany, NY

Matching Funders Bellwether Collaboratory, Capital Roots, The Food Pantries for the Capital District, John Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Radix Ecological Sustainability Center, University at Albany Foundation, the University at Albany School of Public Health—State University of New York

Food recovery programs have the potential to reroute food that would otherwise go to waste to underserved people in the community. University of Albany researchers are creating a computational model to evaluate the components of fresh produce recovery and redistribution.

Effects of Asymptomatic Listeriosis on Dairy Cattle Fecal Microbiota

Year Awarded 2018

FFAR award amount $102,366

Total award amount $207,365

Location Madison, WI

Matching Funders UW Madison Food Recovery

Listeria monocytogenes is a harmful pathogen that can cause severe illness. University of Wisconsin researchers are examining the interactions of L. monocytogenes with cattle gastrointestinal tract microbiota. Although clinical listeriosis is rare, L. monocytogenes is frequently shed by dairy cattle, reflecting a high prevalence of infection.

Ecology and Evolution of Bacterial Leaf Streak of Maize

Year Awarded 2018

FFAR award amount $148,479

Total award amount $296,978

Location Fort Collins, CO

Program Rapid Outcomes from Agricultural Research

Matching Funders Colorado State University

Bacterial leaf streak, a new pathogen in the U.S., is causing yield losses for western corn belt growers. There has been little research on management strategies to limit the spread or severity of bacterial leaf streak. Colorado State University researchers are investigating bacterial leaf streak to better understand the pathogen and how to mitigate it.

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

398 Grants found

FFAR Grant Addresses Emerging Pine Needle Diseases

FFAR Grant Develops Mitigation Tactics for Cocoa Frosty Pod Rot

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

UC Davis Receives FFAR Grant to Help Improve Vineyard Soil Health

Advancing Water Policy for Agricultural Sustainability

Accelerating Breeding Technology to Develop New Crops

Leveraging landrace genomics to rapidly engineer thermotolerant cassava

Using novel genes from wild germplasm to boost protein content in cultivated chickpea

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

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

Project Ella

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

Understanding liver abscess pathogenesis & risk-factors of feedlot cattle reared in conventional beef versus dairy management systems

ICASA: Defining the contribution of acidosis to the liver abscess complex using novel challenge model to delineate impacts of diet composition and feeding management on liver abscess pathogenesis

Metabolomic analysis of blood plasma to identify unique biomarkers indicative of liver abscesses

Associations between feeding & management practices of beef-on-dairy cattle from birth to harvest with liver abscesses

Promoting antimicrobial stewardship through improved understanding of how feedlot cattle are classified based on BRD risk

Antimicrobial Use Monitoring & Benchmarking in U.S. Feedyards

Acoustic Monitoring to Support Mass Cattle Treatment Decisions

Developing a model protocol for tracking antibiotic use & AMR surveillance across a large-scale commercial swine production system

Comparison of a rail-mounted automated power washer to a commercial manual power washing crew in terms of cleanliness, manpower & water usage efficiency

ICASA Grant Analyzes Antimicrobial Data on Farms

An International Collaboration for Combating Fusarium Wilt in Cotton

Advancing the Design and Fabrication of Biopolymer-based Nanocomposites for Sustainable Food Packaging

Field trial of rice gene-edited rice for drought tolerance

FFAR Grant Protects Wheat Yields from Wheat Stem Sawfly

Elucidating the genetic basis for sub-tropical flowering in hemp

Breeding and Characterizing New Cultivars of Grain and Fiber Hemp

Researchers Investigate the Promise of Food Procurement

Irrigation Innovation Consortium Funds Seven Research Projects

An Integrative Approach to Biofortification of Staple Crops

FoodShot Global Challenge #1 Innovating Soil 3.0, Deep Dive GroundBreaker Prize (Colorado)

The Impact of Nutrition and Metabolic Capacity on Honeybee Health

Integrating Community and Modeling Efforts to Evaluate Impacts and Tradeoffs of Food System Interventions

Increasing Motivation and Promoting Persistence in Farmer Conservation

FFAR Grant Develops Premium Strawberry Flavors for Indoor Growing Environments

Novel Farmer-to-Farmer Learning Approaches to Cultivate a Culture of Conservation in the Mississippi River Basin

Equipping Conservation Professionals and Farmers with Tools to Deliver Edge of Field Practices

Integrating Genomics, Milk Spectrometry & Microbial Manipulations to Mitigate Enteric Methane Emissions from Dairy Cattle

Hydrogen Production and Hydrogen Utilization in the Rumen of Beef & Dairy Cattle: Key Rumen Microbiome Measurements to Understand Mechanisms Controlling Methanogenesis & Mitigating Enteric Methane Emissions

Using sensors & psychological profile to increase compliance of wean to market barn biosecurity

Development of an effective & practical biosecurity entrance system

Self-vaccinating pigs to save labor, improve efficacy & enhance biosecurity: Mhp, IAV, Ileitis & Erysipelas evaluations

Determining the economical & epidemiological benefit of cleaning & disinfecting market haul trailers within the U.S. swine industry

Scaling Quantified and Verified Soil Health, Climate and Natural Resources Outcomes from U.S. Agriculture in an Innovative Ecosystem Services Market Program

A holistic approach to improving keel bone health of breeders and commercial layer hens

National Academy of Sciences Prize in Food & Agriculture Research: Huaijun Zhou

Using the power of functional genomics and genetics to reduce keel bone damage

Development of Novel Methanogenesis Inhibitors in Ruminants

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

Kirchner Food Fellowship HBCU 2023-2024 Cohort

Kirchner Food Fellowship Inaugural HBCU Cohort (2021-22)

FFAR Vet Fellows Fifth Cohort

FFAR Vet Fellows Fourth Cohort

FFAR Vet Fellows Third Cohort

FFAR Vet Fellows Second Cohort

FFAR Vet Fellows Inaugural Cohort

FFAR Program Aims to Catalyze Development of Underutilized Crops, India

FFAR Program Aims to Catalyze Development of Underutilized Crops, Davao del Sur, Philippines

FFAR Program Aims to Catalyze Development of Underutilized Crops, England

Food Waste Challenge, Oregon

Food Waste Challenge, Ohio

AgMission™ Funds Global Producers’ Consultation to Improve Climate-Smart Agriculture Adoption

Food Waste Challenge, Florida

Uniting Urban Agriculture Operations to Increase Food Security

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

The Revitalization of Indigenous Crops in the Southwest

Developing circular urban food systems for a rapidly growing desert city

Big Data to Improve and Sustain Wheat End-Use Quality in the Face of Increasingly Variable Climate Scenarios

Evaluating the use of calcium silicate amendments to manage the bioavailability of organic carbon in agricultural soils

Using a novel RNA therapy to tackle dual threat of tomato spotted wilt virus, a pandemic agricultural pathogen and its supervector, thrips

Harnessing mycorrhizal-microbial synergies for agricultural resilience and health

Establish Power-to-Food by Cultivating and Processing Hydrogenotrophic Single Cells to Design New Sustainable Protein Supply Chains Without Arable Land

Food security in the Anthropocene in Islander Communities

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