Grants Archive

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

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

Year Awarded 2023

FFAR award amount $1,499,686

Total award amount $2,999,372

Location Davis, CA

Program Layer Hen Keel Bone Health Program

Matching Funders Hy-Line International; Open Philanthropy

Grantee Institution University of California Davis

This research is bringing an interdisciplinary approach to the complex, multi-faceted challenge of keel bone damage. The research team is aiming to decrease the occurrence of keel bone damage by examining the birds’ housing environments and assessing the key relation and role of genetics. The researchers are identifying genetic markers associated with keel bone damage in breeding flocks raised under different housing environments and improving genetic selection to promote resistance to keel bone fractures. They are also evaluating the effects of housing design interventions on the development, type and prevalence of keel bone damage. Finally, the researchers are exploring alternative housing designs and conducting economic analyses to determine the costs and gains from the proposed adjustments to breeding and housing designs.

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

Year Awarded 2023

FFAR award amount $1,489,326

Total award amount $3,991,105

Location Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Program Layer Hen Keel Bone Health Program

Matching Funders Hy-Line International; Lohmann Breeders GmbH; Open Philanthropy; Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh; Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences; Universidad de Granada; University of Alberta

Grantee Institution University of Edinburgh

The research consortium is using genetic selection to address keel damage. The team is using x-ray images and machine learning to refine and validate the measurements of bone quality and keel damage in living hens to inform the selection of hens to reduce keel bone damage. This work is also examining if breeding programs for improved keel health need to vary depending upon poultry housing design. The consortium’s work also is exploring the relationship of age at puberty on bone strength by manipulating diet and light to delay puberty and measuring the resulting effects on bone quality. Finally, they are determining whether a diet that produces lower homocysteine, an amino acid, increases collagen strength and improves keel quality.

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

Year Awarded 2023

FFAR award amount $232,728

Total award amount $465,456

Location Davis, CA

Program Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders University of California, Davis

Grantee Institution University of California, Davis

Branched broomrape is a parasitic weed threatening the United States’ supply of processing tomatoes. The weed can completely decimate tomato crops, creating significant economic losses for growers. Current processing tomato varieties are not resistant to the weed. University of California, Davis researchers are developing a tomato variety with branched broomrape resistance.

Development of Novel Methanogenesis Inhibitors in Ruminants

Year Awarded 2023

FFAR award amount $324,519

Total award amount $758,776

Location State College, PA

Matching Funders Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, ADM, the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding (CDCB), Elanco, Genus plc, JBS USA, the National Dairy Herd Information Association, Nestlé and the New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre (NZAGRC)

Grantee Institution Penn State

Cows and other ruminant animals produce enteric methane as part of their natural digestive process. This methane is the single largest source of direct greenhouse gases in the beef and dairy sectors. Addressing enteric methane emissions is critical to slowing the effects of climate change while also helping the dairy and beef sectors meet their sustainability goals. This project aims to develop feed additive options that will deliver the greatest enteric methane mitigation potential that is practical for producers.

FFAR Vet Fellows Fifth Cohort

Year Awarded 2023

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 13 recipients of the 2023 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.

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

Year Awarded 2023

FFAR award amount $1,000,000

Total award amount $2,645,427

Location Manhattan, KS

Program Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders Elanco Animal Health, Kansas State University, Kansas State University Innovation Partners and MEDIAN Diagnostics, Inc.

Grantee Institution Kansas State University

African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV) is a highly contagious, fatal disease in pigs that spreads rapidly. There is no commercially available treatment or vaccine for the virus, and the threat to U.S. swine production is significant. To protect U.S. herds, Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine researchers are developing and validating a vaccine to protect pigs from ASFV.

Plant-XR: A New Generation of Breeding Tools for Extra-Resilient Crops

Year Awarded 2022

Total award amount $31,948,325

Location Utrecht, the Netherlands

Matching Funders CropXR, Dutch Research Council, National Growth Fund

Grantee Institution CropXR

As the pace of climate change picks up, speeding the development of resilient crops is urgent. CropXR is building, supporting and facilitating a development pipeline for more resilient, sustainable and climate-adapted varieties of agricultural crops. The research combines plant biology, computational modelling and artificial intelligence to create computational, functional plant models to predict and guide rational, targeted breeding and cultivation strategies.

Identifying Proteins Required for Immunity to ASFV

Year Awarded 2022

FFAR award amount $500,000

Total award amount $1,000,000

Location Plum Island, NY

Program Rapid Outcomes from Agricultural Research

Matching Funders National Pork Board

Grantee Institution USDA

African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV) is a highly contagious, fatal disease in pigs that spreads rapidly and there is no commercially available vaccine to mitigate the spread of ASFV. Led by Dr. Douglas Gladue, USDA researchers are pinpointing the viral proteins involved in immunity and infection to develop a vector-based subunit vaccine, a vaccine that include a component of the virus to stimulate an immune response, for ASFV.

Analyzing the Efficacy of Live-vectored Prototype ASFV Subunit Vaccines

Year Awarded 2022

FFAR award amount $150,000

Total award amount $300,000

Location Manhattan, KS

Program Rapid Outcomes from Agricultural Research

Matching Funders MEDIAN Diagnostics

Grantee Institution Kansas State University

African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV) is a highly contagious, fatal disease in pigs that spreads rapidly and there is no commercially available vaccine to mitigate the spread of ASFV. Led by Dr. Waithaka Mwangi, Kansas State University researchers are using an adenovirus vector vaccine, which is a tool used to deliver target antigens to the host, and a paper-based diagnostic test that distinguishes vaccinated from infected animals.

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

Year Awarded 2022

FFAR award amount $6,972

Total award amount $13,944

Location Lexington, KY

Matching Funders International Hemp, University of Kentucky Research Foundation

Grantee Institution University of Kentucky

Hemp grain and fiber have a favorable amino acid profile compared to other grains and excellent omega-3 fatty acid compounds, giving them potential as a feed additive for both companion pets and livestock. However, under current Food and Drug Administration and Center for Veterinary Medicine guidelines, hemp is prohibited for inclusion in the diets of livestock, primarily due to safety concerns of possible THC and other chemical transference to the animals or to humans through meat consumption. University of Kentucky researchers are identifying and organizing previous scientific studies using hemp as animal feed to find knowledge gaps that could identify future research opportunities and develop research goals that could more rapidly lead to federal approval of hemp grain and fiber as feed additives.

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

164 Grants found

FFAR Rapid Funding Develops Pest Management Program for Sweet Corn

FFAR Rapid Research Develops H5N1 Waste Stream Surveillance Tool

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

Leveraging landrace genomics to rapidly engineer thermotolerant cassava

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

Genetic and microbial determinants of nitrogen fixation in a Sierra Mixe landrace of maize

Japanese Encephalitis Virus Program Six Awards

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

Improving Hemp Quality Through Harvest Timing & Enhanced Processing

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

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

FFAR Vet Fellows Sixth Cohort

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

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

Acoustic Monitoring to Support Mass Cattle Treatment Decisions

An International Collaboration for Combating Fusarium Wilt in Cotton

Field trial of rice gene-edited rice for drought tolerance

Elucidating the Genetic Basis for Sub-Tropical Flowering in Hemp

Breeding & Characterizing New Cultivars of Grain & Fiber Hemp

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

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

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

Enabling African Scientists: The African Plant Breeding Academy CRISPR Course

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

FFAR Vet Fellows Fifth Cohort

FFAR Vet Fellows Fourth Cohort

FFAR Vet Fellows Third Cohort

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

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

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

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

FFAR Grant Promotes Sorghum Health Benefits

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

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

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

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

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

ICASA: Risk Factors for Lameness in Finishing Pigs

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

Wean-to-Harvest Biosecurity Program

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

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

High protein aquatic plants for controlled environment indoor farms

Mitigating antibiotic use in aquaculture through vaccination

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

FFAR Awards Cornell University a Grant to Treat Udder Infection in Dairy Cattle

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

FFAR Grant Helps Heat-Stressed Dairy Cows Weather Increasing Temperatures

Improving Protein Content & Quality in Peas

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