Grants Archive

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

Adaptive Multi-Paddock (AMP) Grazing Research in the U.S. Southeast

Year Awarded 2017

FFAR award amount $1,250,000

Total award amount $2,500,000

Location Tempe, AZ

Matching Funders McDonalds

Researchers are investigating whether Adaptive Multi-Paddock (AMP) grazing, in relation to widespread continuous grazing practices, contributes to measurable differences in overall soil health, environmental sustainability and farmer profitability within the U.S. Southeast.

A Practical Phenotypic Solution to Reduce Keel & Skeletal Bone Damage in Laying Hens

Year Awarded 2017

FFAR award amount $243,296

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.

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.

A Novel Bioassay for Culturing and Characterizing Fastidious Phytopathogens

Year Awarded 2017

FFAR award amount $299,993

Total award amount $599,986

Location College Station, TX

Matching Funders Southern Garden Citrus

Fastidious pathogens, bacteria that only grow in specific conditions, cause huge agricultural losses and cost farmers billions of dollars annually. Candidatus Liberibacter spp. are fastidious pathogens that cause the potato zebra chip and Citrus greening diseases. Complicating matters, these pathogens are will not grow in laboratory conditions, making it difficult to understand them. To support citrus growers and help other producers manage diseases, Texas A&M AgriLife Research & Extension Center researchers are testing a method of screening for disease resistance genes and chemicals that can combat the pathogens causing citrus greening and potato zebra chip diseases. The research will be translated into disease management strategies that help growers and prevent billions of dollars in annual losses.

Automated Individual Poultry Vaccination to Aid in Antibiotic Removal

Year Awarded 2017

FFAR award amount $800,000

Total award amount $1,600,292

Location Raleigh, NC

Matching Funders Merck Animal Health

Commercial hatcheries often spray vaccines on chicks to prevent disease. This method is imprecise and leaves about 5-20 percent of chicks vulnerable to disease. When disease breaks out, producers must then use antibiotics to treat secondary infections, which reduces overall productivity. By using imaging and robotics technology, Applied Lifesciences & Systems Poultry Inc. is developing a device for vaccinating newly hatched chickens, enhancing bird health, increasing poultry production and reducing the need for antibiotics.

Assessing and Expanding Soil Health for Production, Economic and Environmental Benefits

Year Awarded 2017

FFAR award amount $9,942,268

Total award amount $21,051,546

Location Morrisville, NC

Matching Funders General Mills Foundation Walmart Foundation

Soil health is a critical component of productive agriculture systems, yet there is no standard soil health measurement in the U.S.. Instead, several sets of measurements and methods are used and they often conflict, confusing farmers and conservationists. Researchers are helping the industry adopt standardized measurements to evaluate and improve soil health, while expanding education and tools for farmers, agronomists and landowners.

An Open Source Plant Chemogenomics Set

Year Awarded 2017

FFAR award amount $1,000,000

Total award amount $2,320,000

Location Davis, CA

Matching Funders UC Davis Innovation Institute for Food and Health, the Structural Genomics Consortium, AgBiome and Promega

Drought is a significant concern for farmers, especially rice growers. University of California, Davis researchers are studying genes responsible for drought tolerance in rice. The project is developing and implementing a screening strategy to identify new gene that effect root traits and drought tolerance in rice.

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.

Crops in Silico 1.0

Year Awarded 2017

FFAR award amount $273,138

Total award amount $601,126

Location Urbana-Champaign, IL

Matching Funders The Institute for Sustainability, Energy and Environment at the University of Illinois, NCSA

Environments are changing faster than traditional crop breeding can develop new plant varieties. University of Illinois researchers are developing virtual plant models with the potential to address gaps between food supply and demand in the face of a changing climate. When fully realized, these models will give crop researchers a tool to examine the effects of environmental challenges on a molecular, cellular and organic level within a plant to accurately determine the best targets for genetic engineering.

Cover Crop Germplasm and Breeding in Support of New Cultivar Development Award Agreement

Year Awarded 2017

FFAR award amount $2,200,000

Total award amount $6,600,000

Location Admore, OK

Matching Funders Noble Foundation

Poor soil quality leads to an inadequate supply of nutrients, weeds and soil erosion. Cover crops can improve soil health. Noble Foundation researchers are identifying and using advanced breeding to introduce key traits that improve cover crop performance and improve soil health.

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.