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

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453 Grants found

Protecting Cattle from Asian Longhorned Tick

Six H5N1 Risk to Swine Research Awards

Japanese Encephalitis Virus Program Six Awards

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FFAR Vet Fellows Seventh Cohort

New Innovator in Food & Agriculture Research Award

Periodic Table of Food Initiative

ICASA Awards Grants to Develop Animal-Health Monitoring and Diagnostic Technologies 

Determining Environmental and Biological Conditions Influencing Lettuce Discoloration, Yield and Leaf Quality

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Development of a Vaccine for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) Virus in Cattle

A Deeper Dive: Linking Below-Ground Soil & Water Quality with Above-Ground Productivity in Organic Systems to Enhance Economic Viability & Ecosystem Resiliency

Iowa State University Organic Agriculture Program (ISU OAP)

FFAR Awards $2 Million Grant to Improve Sustainability in Corn Production

Decision Tools Help Producers Analyze Cost of Swine Mortality for Operations Improvement

Impact of Prairie on Reducing Interacting Stressors on Pollinator Health

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Addressing Red Crown Rot in Soybeans

FFAR Rapid Funding Develops Pest Management Program for Sweet Corn

FFAR Rapid Research Develops H5N1 Waste Stream Surveillance Tool

Advancing Knowledge and Adoption of Climate-Smart Practices in Semi-Arid Perennial Cropping Systems

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

Improving Soil Health on Vineyards

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

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Circular Economy That Reimagines Corn Agriculture

Improving Fiber Hemp Quality Through Enhanced Retting Probiotics & Appropriate Harvest Timing

Targeted On-Demand Disease Management Practices/Therapies

National Academy of Sciences Prize in Food & Agriculture Research: Rodolphe Barrangou

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Improving Hemp Quality Through Harvest Timing & Enhanced Processing

FFAR Fellows Program 2024 Cohort

Major enhancement of U.S. swine industry preparedness and responses to large-scale infectious foreign animal diseases through harmonizing biosecurity plans and advancing interpretable machine learning

The Queen Exposome And Its Influence on Downstream Colony Disease Response

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Addressing On-Farm Bird Flu Outbreaks Linked to Wild Waterfowl

Rapid Response to Novel Resistance-Breaking Strain of Pathogenic Fusarium oxysporum in Cultivated Strawberry

Grant Improves Stress Tolerance in Carrots

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Row Crops to Perennial Pasture: Feeding the World, Conserving Water, Enhancing Soil and Safeguarding the Climate

Next-generation Sustainable Weed Management Enabled by Micro-targeted Legged Robots

Exploring Novel Promoter Alleles for Multiple Vitamin Biofortification Using a Calli-Derived Somatic Embryo Platform

Electrochemically Assisted Biological Nitrogen Fixation for Distributed & Sustainable Fertilizer Production

Understanding Plant Parasitic Nematode Virulence Mechanisms: A Valuable Approach to Expedite Breeding Durable & Broad-spectrum Crop Resistance

Novel Biobased Antiviral Treatments for Bee Pollinator Health

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

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

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

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

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Water & Soil Sustainability for Nutritious Rice Production

Perennial Grain Staple Foods Program

Determinants of Persistent Cover Crop Adoption and Dis-Adoption to Inform More Effective Farmer Incentives for Durable Adoption

Pangenome-based Identification of Genetic Variants Conferring Stress Resistance in Tomato Wild Relatives, and Efficient Transfer to Cultivated Tomato

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

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

Development of Prevention, Detection and Response Strategies for the Asian Lognhorned Tick (Haemaphysalis longicornis)

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Transforming Dairy Cattle Lameness Management through a Combination of Artificial Intelligence-Powered Video Analytics & Genomic, Epidemiological & Extension Approaches

Decreasing Pulmonary-Associated Mortality in Feedlot Cattle Using Refined Case Definitions & Predictive Analytics, Emphasizing Acute Interstitial Pneumonia & Late Day BRD

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

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FoodShot Global Challenge #4 Water GroundBreaker Prize (Indiana)

FoodShot Global Challenge #4 Water GroundBreaker Prize (Arizona)

FFAR Vet Fellows Sixth Cohort

FFAR-OCP Disruptive Fertilizer Technology Fellowship First Cohort

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

Unearthing Maize Genes for Enhanced Nitrogen Use Efficiency & AMF Synergy

Accelerating Perennial Crop Development Through Phenomic & Genomic Selection Applied in Pre-breeding & Advanced Breeding Stages

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Better Deal for Data

FFAR Rapid Research Builds Diagnostic Tools & Vaccine for Avian Metapneumovirus

FFAR Research to Protect Vegetable Crops from Invasive Pest

Protecting Vegetable Crops from Invasive Pests

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FFAR Grant Addresses Emerging Pine Needle Diseases

A Novel Cell-Surface-Receptor Strategy for Mitigating Mycotoxins

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

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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

ICASA Grant Analyzes Antimicrobial Data on Farms

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Transforming Wastewater to Crop Fertilizer

Transforming Wastewater to Crop Fertilizer

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An International Collaboration for Combating Fusarium Wilt in Cotton

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

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Field trial of 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 & Characterizing New Cultivars of Grain & Fiber Hemp

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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

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Increasing Motivation and Promoting Persistence in Farmer Conservation

FFAR Grant Develops Premium Strawberry Flavors for Indoor Growing Environments

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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

A Multi-Source Remote Sensing-Based Framework & Decision-Support Tool for Flash Droughts & Floods Under Climate Change

Next-generation phenotyping and genomics for identifying, breeding, and managing more sustainable beef cattle

Development of an Automated Broiler Gait Score and Flock Activity Assessment System

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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

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

Using Solar Panels to Enhance Groundwater

Integrating On-farm Solar Arrays to Enhance Groundwater Resources, Produce Energy & Diversify Farm Income

Evaluation of the Efficacy, Agronomic Fit & Environmental Fate of Biopesticides for Management of Economically Important Diseases & Arthropod Pests of Hemp

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

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Developing Tomato Lines Resistant to Broomrape, a Critical World-wide Pest

Enabling African Scientists: The African Plant Breeding Academy CRISPR Course

A Big Data Tool for Urban Tree Crop Selection Under Climate Change

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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

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Kirchner Food Fellowship HBCU 2023-2024 Cohort

Kirchner Food Fellowship Inaugural HBCU Cohort (2021-22)

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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

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Food Waste Challenge, Oregon

Food Waste Challenge, Ohio

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

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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

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Next-Generation Carbon Capture for Agricultural Crop Applications

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

Establishing Viable Organic Orchard Crop Systems for the Northeast U.S.

Rodale Institution

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FFAR, NPB Seek to Improve Air Quality on Pig Farms, Indiana

FFAR, NPB Seek to Improve Air Quality on Pig Farms, South Dakota

Protecting Florida Corn from Tar Spot Outbreak

FFAR & WUR Launch Nature-Based Future Challenge

Investigating the re-integration of organic food crops & animal production on above & belowground diversity, soil health, farm resilience & food safety.

ICASA: Fecal microbiota transplant to reduce post-weaning diarrhea and antibiotic use

Establishing Predictive Genomics to Improve Pollinator Health

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Oregon Tilth

Oregon Tilth

Rethinking seafood by-product: A path to provide sustainable nutrition and improve resource utilization

Pollinator Health Extension and Metrics in the Pacific Northwest

Invasive Weeds, Fire, and Livestock Grazing – Understanding the Impact of Interacting Stressors on Native Pollinator Health in Range and Pasturelands

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Kalona Regenerative Network Producer Education Training Program

A new methods of managing human waste for improved soil health, carbon sequestration, contaminant removal, and social acceptability

Increasing Water Productivity, Soil Carbon, and Sustainability of Integrated Multi-Crop Systems Using Field-Scale Research

Advancing DEI in Sharing Carbon & Ecosystems Services Information

Enhancing Tools to Model Climate and Environmental Impacts in Organic Agriculture Systems

University of Wisconsin-Madison Organic Grain Resource and Information Network

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Identifying Proteins Required for Immunity to ASFV

Analyzing the Efficacy of Live-vectored Prototype ASFV Subunit Vaccines

Assessment of the Available Literature & Gap Analysis on the Use of Industrial Hemp as an Animal Feed

Understanding the roots of soil health

Can Commodity Crop Weed Management Practices Enhance Bee Abundance, Diversity, And Health on Agricultural Land?

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Multistate Characterization of Agronomic Performance of Hemp Cultivars, Including Sterility of New Triploid Cultivars

Impact of Spectra & Intensity of LED Supplemental Lighting on Morphology, Growth, Flower Yield & Phytochemical Content of Cannabis Sativa

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Breeding & Genetics of Disease Resistance, Flowering Time & Cannabinoid Content in Hemp

Analysis of Terpenes & Neutral Cannabinoids Using Gas Chromatograph/Mass Spectrometry & Genotyping of Hemp Using the SureSelect System

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Integration of Agroforestry as a Transformative Solution to Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in Organic Farms

University of Tennessee Receives FFAR Grant to Help Address Food Waste Challenges

FFAR Grant Addresses Food Waste Reduction Challenges

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OATS (Organic Agronomy Training Service)

FoodShot Global Challenge #3 Bioactive Foods GroundBreaker Prize (Champaign, Illinois)

Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE) Reinvestment

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Performance-Based Financing Models for Sustainable Water Management in the Great Lakes Basin

FoodShot Global Challenge #3 Bioactive Foods GroundBreaker Prize (Maryland)

Developing Novel Strategies for Improved Control and Sustainability of Grapevine Bunch Rot Management

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FoodShot Global Challenge #3 Bioactive Foods GroundBreaker Prize (Massachusetts)

Expanding OpTIS, a remote sensing tool to accelerate soil health and climate-smart practices

FFAR Grant Promotes Sorghum Health Benefits

FoodShot Global Challenge #2 Precision Protein, Deep Dive GroundBreaker Prize (South Carolina)

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FFAR Grant Advances Equitable Food Access

Cotton-Based Precision Irrigation Improves Sustainability

Plant-Based Precision Irrigation Management for Improved System-Level Sustainability

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The Ohio State University Study Examines Soil Organic Carbon-Enhancing Practices

FFAR Grant Combats Disease in Lettuce Crops

Development of new alphaamylase immunoassays to preserve wheat grain value and accelerate breeding for climate resilience

Urban farming at the Water, Food, Energy Nexus: soil health practices with agrivoltaic impacts on crops, soils, carbon, and water

Genvax Technologies is Developing an African Swine Fever Vaccine

Tuskegee University Endowment

ICASA: Antimicrobial Use Monitoring and Benchmarking in U.S. Feedyards

ICASA: Liver abscesses in feedlot cattle; further delineation of the etiology and pathogenesis

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ICASA: Improving the efficacy of vaccination against mycoplasma hyosynoviae by identifying optimal application times

Improving the Efficacy of Vaccination Against Mycoplasma Hyosynoviae by Identifying Optimal Application Times

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ICASA: Risk Factors for Lameness in Finishing Pigs

ICASA: Development of a non-invasive model to induce liver abscess formation in cattle

Recycling nutrients for robust agricultural supply chains

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Kirchner Food Fellowship HBCU 2022-23 Cohort

Grant Quantifies Farm Risk Mitigation Through Improved Soil Health

Adaptive Multi-Paddock (AMP) Grazing Research in the U.S. Northern Great Plains

Integration of Small Farmers into Technology-enabled, Rapid-response Fresh Food Supply Chains

A Coupled Natural-Human System Approach to Solving Locust Plagues

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

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National Academy of Sciences Prize in Food & Agriculture Research: David Lobell

Expanding development of a predictive model to quantify the risk reduction associated with specific soil health practices for use by private & public lenders & insurers to incentivize the transition to resilient, climate-smart agriculture

PIP Indoor Tomato Farming Project

Improving biological nitrogen fixation in wheat using the natural variation present in crop wild relatives

Enhancing the sustainability of finfish aquaculture to increase production and public acceptance

Breeding drought & heat tolerant wheat

Digging deeper: Removing the barriers to soil compaction mitigation

Enhancing Human Health and Nutrition from Soil to Society Using Quinoa as a Model Crop Species

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Green fertilizers for urban spaces: use of human urine to generate high value fertilizers

Dairy, Soil & Water Regeneration Grant Promotes Integrated Research to Support Dairy Industry Commitment to Sustainability

U.S. Dairy Net Zero Initiative: Improving Dairy On-Farm Sustainability through Improved Soil Health and Manure Management

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Leveraging Phasic Environment and Nutrient Solution Management to Improve Resource Use Efficiency of Indoor Vertical Farming

Enabling sustainable soil and water management through microbe-powered RF soil sensing

Agroecosystem responses to climate change, biodiversity loss and food insecurity in the United States and Latin America

Holistic Irrigation Strategies for Climate-Smart Agriculture

Wean-to-Harvest Biosecurity Program

Mapping Trees in Future Climates: Integrating Knowledge, Data and Tools to Enhance Agroforestry Adoption for Climate Resilience

Kansas State University Provides Data on Nitrogen Management Practices in the Great Plains

ICASA Awards Grant to Beef Alliance to Evaluate Antibiotic Use Strategies in Beef Cattle

FFAR Grant Improves Soil Health Through Phosphorus Management

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Tribal Agriculture Fellowship Inaugural Cohort

Noninvasive Wellness Monitoring of Broiler Growout Using Continuous Audio Analytics (2022)

Nitrogen SAVings through soil hEalth (NSAVE): Leveraging regenerative agriculture to reduce nitrogen inputs, increase farmer profits & mitigate climate change

Quantifying the Advantages of Multi-Paddock (AMP) Grazing in the U.S. Southeast & Northern Great Plains

Fecal Microbiota Transplant to Reduce Post Weaning Diarrhea & Antibiotic Use

Risk Factors for Lameness in Finishing Pigs

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

Defining the Contribution of Acidosis to the Liver Abscess Complex Using a Novel Challenge Model to Delineate Impacts of Diet Composition & Feeding Management on Liver Abscess Pathogenesis

Further Delineation of the Etiology and Pathogenesis of Liver Abscesses in Feedlot Cattle

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

FFAR Research Tackles Peanut Allergy

High protein aquatic plants for controlled environment indoor farms

Mitigating antibiotic use in aquaculture through vaccination

AgMission/Precision Conservation Management MOU

Strategic Fallowing for Sustainable Water and Thriving Agriculture

FFAR Grant Examines Management Practices Effect on Soil Health

More Beans (MB): A Next Generation Legume for Healthy Urban Food

High dimensional phenomics and automation to transform cost and timeframe of early stage domestication of wild plants

Creating Science-Based Strategies for Gene Editing Communications

Reinvigorating Soybean Yield for 21st Century Agriculture

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

Scalable breeding for plant growth to address the challenges of climate change

FFAR Grant Helps Heat-Stressed Dairy Cows Weather Increasing Temperatures

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Improving Protein Content & Quality in Peas

Grant Supports Production of Sustainable, Cost-Effective Feed Supplements

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Scaling Crops for Sustainable Water Management: Building Supply Chains

Capitalizing on the Unique Viscoelastic Properties of Corn Zein for A New Commercial Plant-Based Protein

Food and Agricultural Vulnerability Index

Field-deployable biosensors for managing animal health

FFAR Funds Dashboards to Track Food Supply Chain Vulnerabilities

Developing Public School Curricula and Training High School Students and Teachers as Ambassadors for Pollinator Protection

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

An Open Source Framework and Community for Sharing Data and Algorithms

Consumer Understanding of Advances in Animal Welfare

A Multi-Scale Approach to Unearth the Root of Plant Disease Resistance

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Fermentation to unlock the potential of underutilized Indigenous plants – an integrated traditional ecological knowledge innovation toward bio- and techno-functional benefits

Improving soil health by engineering a rhizobacterium to depend on a plant and stimulate its immune system

Creating a nitrogen fixing symbiont for cereal crops

Building our understanding of soil health practice adoption through knowledge co-production with farmers

National Academy of Sciences Prize in Food & Agriculture Research: Christina Grozinger

FFAR and OFRF Renew Partnership to Improve Soil Health Research

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

FFAR Grant to Develop Vaccine for Tilapia Lake Virus

ICASA Grant to Identify Causes of Bovine Respiratory Disease in Cattle

FFAR & Rodale Institute Enhance Soil Health to Increase Crop Nutrients

OFRF and FFAR Fund Research to Enhance Organic Potato Nutrition

Precision Bred Adaptation of Elite Taurine Breeds of Beef & Dairy Cattle

Genome Editing Wheat for Durable & Sustainable Disease Resistance

Finding the Proper Levers: Identifying Leverage Points for Tranformation in Urban Food Systems Through Participatory Modeling

Modeling the Future of Food in Your Neighborhood

Evaluating Food Access Strategies in Austin To Improve Healthy Food Consumption and Food Security

Conservation of an Endophytic Insect-pathogenic Fungus for Plant Protection in Organic Cropping Systems.

Cover Crops for Soil Health: Demonstration of On-Farm Trial

Biosolarization: Harnessing the Sun and Organic Matterfor Weed Control

Accelerated Development of Crops of the Future

Biological Control of Cattle Fever Ticks in South Texas

Smart Monitoring of Broiler Welfare using Camera Technology and Machine Learning

Environmental Enrichment Effects on Pig Welfare

National Academy of Sciences Prize in Food & Agriculture Research: Zachary Lippman

Integrating Community and Modeling Efforts to Evaluate Impacts and Tradeoffs of Food System Interventions 2020

FFAR Grant Quantifies Organic Carbon to Improve Agricultural Productivity

FFAR Grant Supports Climate Smart Beef and Dairy Production

Uncovering the Genetic Architecture of Inducible Chemical Defenses in Crop and Wild Sunflower for the Sustainable Control of Pests and Pathogens

Engineering crops for cultivation in controlled environments

The Effect of Farm Management and Floral Foraging Traits on Exposure of Crop Pollinators to The Multiple Interacting Stressors of Pesticides, Parasites and Inadequate Nutrition

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Next-generation tools and strategies for genetic improvement of farmed oysters

Harnessing the soil microbiome to increase soil health and plant productivity

Open Market Consortium: Creating Economic Opportunities for Small and Mid-size Growers

FFAR Funds Novel Supply-Demand Technology, Connecting Institutional Buyers to Specialty Crop Farmers

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FFAR Grant Examines Carbon Farming Effect on Soil Health

FFAR Grant Addressing Surface and Groundwater Pollution on Farms

Kirchner Food Fellowship 2020-21 Cohort

Kirchner Food Fellowship 2019-20 Cohort

Kirchner Food Fellowship 2018-19 Cohort

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FFAR and NYSTAR Grant Helps RIT Examine Degradable Mulching Films

Growing Policy From The Ground Up: Building, Deploying, and Testing Networks to Strengthen Urban Food Systems

Precision Irrigation Scheduling for Specialty Crops

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

A community-based microfarm aggregation model for transforming agricultural production and enhancing asset-based economic development in post-industrial urban areas

FFAR Grant Provides Technical Training to Enhance Soil Health

Evaluation of Best Management Practices for Bumble Bee and Monarch Habitat

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Metagenomic Probes for the Rapid Identification of the Microbiome Community in A Wheat Rhizospheremodel System

A Systematic Approach to Improve Heifer Selection and the Sustainability of Beef Production.

Improving the Nutritional Quality of Tomatoes

Harnessing Multi-Trophic Chemical Ecology to Obtain Sustainable Pest Control and Improved Soil Health

Tools to Detect and Understand Spread of African Swine Fever Virus

Age Susceptibility and Lateral Transmission of Turkey Arthritis Reovirus

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

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

Multidimensional Spectral Mapping for Sex Determination of Avian Eggs

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

Ecosystem Services Market Consortium

Spatializing the Environmental Impacts of U.S. Dairy Supply Chains

FFAR and OFRF Promote Soil Health and Profits for Organic Farmers in the Northern Great Plains

Blackfeet Innovation Pathways to Food Sovereignty: Sustainability through Indigenous Applied Research Partnerships

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FFAR and OFRF Award Two Grants That Tackle Soil Health Challenges

Direct Linkage of Dietary Components with Metabolizers in the Microbiota

Protein-Based Thermotolerance Markers for Sustainable Legume Protein Production

Automated Individual Poultry Vaccination to Aid in Antibiotic Removal

Closing the Gap in Delivery of Fruit and Vegetable Benefits

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Addressing future global dairy demand: Targeting the gut-liver axis to promote heat stress resilience in dairy cattle

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

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

Using Eye Tracking to Better Understand Food Choices

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Crops in Silico 3.0

Crops in Silico 1.0

Diet, the human gastrointestinal microbiome and metabolic health

Innovation at the Nexus of Computational, Membrane and Plant Biology

Renewal: RIPE: Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency for Sustainable Increases in Crop Yield

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Crops of the Future: Corn Drought Resistance

Effects of Asymptomatic Listeriosis on Dairy Cattle Fecal Microbiota

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Employing Regional Produce Cooperatives to Enhance Household Nutrition and Reduce Food Insecurity

Evaluation of feed additives to mitigate the risk of viral-contaminated feed to pigs

National Academy of Sciences Prize in Food and Agriculture Research: Elizabeth Ainsworth

Feed the Future Fall Armyworm Tech Prize

National Academy of Sciences Prize in Food and Agriculture Research: Edward Buckler

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

Effects of Multiple Stressors on Pollinator Health in the Southern Plains

Neglected honey bee interactions: neonicotinoids, Varroa destructor, and Best Management

A Pipeline for Streamlined Development and Testing of Novel Controls for the Honey Bee Parasitic Mite Varroa Destructor

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

Stopping A New Threat to The Lettuce Industry in Florida: Fusarium Wilt

Improving Dairy Feed Efficiency, Sustainability and Profitability by Impacting Farmer’s Breeding and Culling Decisions

Advanced Harvest Techniques Facilitate Food Safe Soil Health Practices in Almond Orchards

Crops of the Future Initial Project: Leafy Greens

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

An Open Source Plant Chemogenomics Set

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

Advances in Water Limited Irrigation Management

Going Back to the Roots To Transform Soil Health into Yield

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

An Integrated Approach to Improve Whole Herd Pig Survivability

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

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

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

Development of a Farmer-Focused Disease Prevention and Preparedness Tool

Developing CRISPR-Cpf1 Genome Editing Technologies for Crop Improvement

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

Ecology and Evolution of Bacterial Leaf Streak of Maize

Irrigation Innovation Consortium

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Harnessing Endophytes to Improve Crop Efficiency and Production

Finding the Proper Levers: Identifying Leverage Points for Transformation in Urban Food Systems Through Participatory Modeling

Innovations in the Food Supply Chain to Reduce Food Waste

Modeling the Future of Food in Your Neighborhood

Maximizing the Delivery of Water-Soluble Substances While Minimizing the Impact of the Carrier Particles on Fish Larvae

Maine Scallop Aquaculture Initiative

Developing Tools for Selection and Management of Landscapes to Promote Healthy Bee Populations

Lawns-to-Wildflowers: A Citizen Science Movement for Pollinator Health

Prairie Strips for Healthy Soils and Thriving Farms

Improving Simulations of Water Dynamics and Crop Yield in the Corn Belt

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Plant-Soil-Water Nexus: Agricultural Systems Research on Tribal Lands

Optimizing Water Use in Agriculture by Stacking Conservation Practices

Red Seaweed

Sustainable Control Tactics for Spotted Wing Drosophila in Tart Cherry

Building Soil Health Through Rotational Diversity and Soil Microorganisms

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Towards Production of Residue-Free Healthy Fruit Crops

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

FFAR Awards $9.4 Million to Spur Next Leap in Agriculture: Improved Soil Health to Optimize Economic and Environmental Results for U.S. Farmers

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

Evaluating Food Access Strategies in Austin, Texas

Identifying Short-term Solutions for Managing Allium Leafminer in Allium

A Novel Bioassay for Culturing and Characterizing Fastidious Phytopathogens

Cover Crop Germplasm and Breeding in Support of New Cultivar Development

Breakthroughs 2030: Developing and Implementing a New Strategy for Food and Agricultural Research

Developing Massively Parallel Sequence for Agricultural Surveillance

Defining Stressors to Manage Plasticity & Quality in Leafy Greens

Enhancing Animal Protein through Crops and Cattle

Fostering Innovative, Sustainable Urban Farming Methods to Meet Food Needs

Plant-Nanoparticle Hybrids: Optimize Crop Engineering and Nutrient Delivery

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

Mitigation of Wheat Streak Mosaic Virus in Kansas and U.S. High Plains

Investing in our future: training taxonomists and wild bee conservation

Stolen Kiss – an advanced breeding solution for the animal welfare trait of genetic castration

Shielding U.S. Palm Industries from the South American Palm Weevil Invasion

Using Active Organic Matter Tests to Help Predict Crop Nutrient Needs

The Validation of a Novel qPCR Assay for the Detection of Brucella suis

Xprize Visioneers

Enhancing Crop Pollination, Pest Control and Yield in Urban Agriculture

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

Year Awarded  2024

FFAR award amount   $280,503

Total award amount   $561,006

Location   Davis, CA

Matching Funders   Bayer, Bejo Zaden, Enza Zaden, Nunhems Netherlands, Rijk Zwaan, Sakata Seed, Syngenta, Tanimura and Antle, Vilmorin

Grantee Institution   University of California, Davis

Lettuce downy mildew and INSV are the two most destructive foliar diseases of lettuce. The fourth iteration of the International Lettuce Genomics Consortium project will analyze phenotypic and genomic data of lettuce and these two pathogens, including natural variants that confer greater pathogen virulence, to develop resources for enhancing the durability of disease resistance in lettuce. The project will also participate in assembling the lettuce pangenome, a comprehensive dataset that captures genetic variation within wild and cultivated lettuce species and is available for lettuce improvement.

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

Year Awarded  2024

FFAR award amount   $352,936

Total award amount   $705,871

Location   Knoxville, TN

Program   Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders   University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture

Grantee Institution   University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture

This study is testing whether the supplement myoinositol, known to enhance fertility in women, can improve egg quality and embryo development in cattle when added in the lab or given directly to donor cows. By increasing fertilization, embryo viability and pregnancy rates, the research aims to make in vitro embryo production (IVP) more successful, overcoming current challenges with poor egg quality.

Transforming Dairy Cattle Lameness Management through a Combination of Artificial Intelligence-Powered Video Analytics & Genomic, Epidemiological & Extension Approaches 

Year Awarded  2024

FFAR award amount   $1,000,000

Total award amount   $2,000,000

Location   St. Paul, MN

Program   Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders   CattleEye LTD, CATTLEytics, the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding and Kinder Ground

Grantee Institution   University of Minnesota

Researchers are combining advanced data analysis of farm records, hoof health history and genetic information with autonomous cameras to better understand the impact, causes and detection of lameness in dairy cows to help farms breed cows less prone to it. Lameness caused by hoof lesions remains one of the most costly and persistent animal welfare issues on U.S dairy farms, affecting cow health and productivity and farm profitability.

Decreasing Pulmonary-Associated Mortality in Feedlot Cattle Using Refined Case Definitions & Predictive Analytics, Emphasizing Acute Interstitial Pneumonia & Late Day BRD 

Year Awarded  2024

FFAR award amount   $1,223,474

Total award amount   $2,446,948

Location   Manhattan, KS

Matching Funders   Colorado State University, Innovative Livestock Services, Five Rivers Cattle Feeding K-State Mississippi State University, Nanostring, Texas A&M University and Veterinary Research & Consulting Services

Grantee Institution   Kansas State University

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD), commonly called “shipping fever,” is a serious animal welfare concern and costs U.S. ranchers about $900 million annually. BRD infected cattle generally die from late day pulmonary disease triggered by secondary bacterial diseases, like acute interstitial pneumonia. A multi-disciplinary team is researching how to prevent late day pulmonary disease from developing in these cattle to provide veterinarians and producers with information to make informed prevention and treatment decisions and help the beef industry use antibiotics more judiciously.

FoodShot Global Challenge #4 Water GroundBreaker Prize (United Kingdom) 

Year Awarded  2024

Total award amount   80,000

Location   London, United Kingdom

Program   FoodShot Global Challenge

Matching Funders   Builders Initiative, FoodShot Global, The Rockefeller Foundation

Grantee Institution   ThinkAqua

FoodShot Global is a collaboration between venture funds, banks, corporations, universities and foundations to improve our food system. This research creates networked clusters around locally owned hubs that provide farmers with market access, inputs and technical support. The initiative addresses small-scale farmers’ needs by ensuring a ready market for tilapia, producing high-quality seed fish and reducing production costs by using fish feed from Black Soldier Fly larvae, which also serve as organic fertilizer.

FoodShot Global Challenge #4 Water GroundBreaker Prize (Indiana) 

Year Awarded  2024

Total award amount   150,000

Location   Indianapolis, IN

Program   FoodShot Global Challenge

Matching Funders   Builders Initiative, FoodShot Global, The Rockefeller Foundation

Grantee Institution   Atarraya

Dr. Daniel Russek’s transformative Shrimpbox technology reduces water usage by over 98% compared to traditional methods and eliminates discharges. This innovation promotes efficient water management and mitigates the environmental impact of shrimp production. Dr. Russek’s initiative integrates regenerative agriculture with sustainable aquaculture by enhancing soil health and crop productivity at Atarraya’s Smart Biotech shrimp farm in Oaxaca, Mexico, and providing a scalable model for global adaptation.

FoodShot Global Challenge #4 Water GroundBreaker Prize (Arizona) 

Year Awarded  2024

Total award amount   $250,000

Location   Tucson, AZ

Program   FoodShot Global Challenge

Matching Funders   Builders Initiative, FoodShot Global, The Rockefeller Foundation

Grantee Institution   University of Arizona, Hydro Futures

Dr. Laura Condon developed the only national platform that simulates watershed dynamics from bedrock to treetops across the United States, providing producers with cost-effective predictions and improving irrigation and crop choices at only a fraction of the cost of traditional models. Dr. Condon aims to develop new capabilities to evaluate irrigation and crop scenarios and accelerate the commercial adoption of these innovative tools.

FFAR Vet Fellows Sixth Cohort 

Year Awarded  2024

Total award amount   $10,000 per student

Location   Washington, D.C.

Matching Funders   American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC)

The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) announced the 15 recipients of the 2024 Veterinary Student Research Fellowships (Vet Fellows) in partnership with the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC). This fellowship creates opportunities for veterinary students to pursue research on global food security and sustainable animal production.

Exploring the Benefits of Integrating the Biological Nitrification Inhibition (BNI) Trait into Winter Wheat to Enhance Nitrogen Use Efficiency: Establishing BNI in Winter Wheat & Developing a Comprehensive Nitrogen Assessment Platform for Global Potential

Year Awarded  2024

FFAR award amount   $1,932,367

Total award amount   $14,492,754

Location   Texcoco, Mexico

Matching Funders   Novo Nordisk Foundation

Grantee Institution   CIMMYT

The biological nitrification inhibition (BNI) trait has the potential to improve nitrogen use efficiency and soil health by stabilizing nitrogen reserves within the root zone of crops. This project seeks to introduce the BNI trait into winter wheat using next generation breeding technologies that reduce generation time, conserve resources and increase the number of generations per year. The goal is to deliver winter wheat with improved nitrogen use efficiency, high yield and adaptability. In addition, the researchers are developing a comprehensive platform to better measure and assess nitrogen cycling, helping to determine the BNI trait’s contribution to improving nitrogen use efficiency in wheat production systems.

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

Year Awarded  2024

FFAR award amount   $713,115

Total award amount   $1,426,230

Location   Amarillo, TX

Program   AgMission

Matching Funders   McDonald's USA and Golden State Foods

Grantee Institution   Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service 

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service researchers are tracking and promotion the adoption of enhanced beef cattle production practices in Texas, which produces nearly 15% of the nation’s beef cattle. Researchers are providing Texas beef cattle producers with customized programming and educational resources on enhancing production efficiency in cow-calf and stocker cattle operations.