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

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425 Grants found

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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

Grantee Institution   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.

Developing Massively Parallel Sequence for Agricultural Surveillance

Year Awarded  2017

FFAR award amount   $169,960

Total award amount   $339,969

Location   Starkville, MS

Matching Funders   Mississippi State University

Grantee Institution   Mississippi State University

Global commerce has increased the introduction of exotic plant pathogens and pests to new areas. Farmers need a reliable system to detect newly introduced pests and pathogens. Mississippi State University researchers are combining existing technologies with novel data analysis to detect diverse plant pathogens and insects of importance in row crop, orchard and forestry settings, which will help protect agricultural systems.

Defining Stressors to Manage Plasticity & Quality in Leafy Greens

Year Awarded  2017

FFAR award amount   $994,035

Total award amount   $1,989,030

Location   Newark, NJ

Matching Funders   AeroFarms

Grantee Institution   Aerofarms

While current plant breeding research focuses on adapting plants to their environments, AeroFarms, Rutgers University and Cornell University, are investigating how to harness environmental conditions indoors to improve characteristics in plants. The project is improving the quality, taste and nutrition of leafy greens crops.

Enhancing Animal Protein through Crops and Cattle

Year Awarded  2017

FFAR award amount   $1,000,000

Total award amount   $2,402,000

Location   Lincoln, NE

Matching Funders   UNL Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the Platte River-High Plains Aquifer

Grantee Institution   University of Nebraska

The availability of land for livestock foraging has decreased as farms move toward monocultures. University of Nebraska researchers are integrating livestock and crop production systems. Researchers are investigating various outputs including yields, soil health, greenhouse gas emissions and the economic feasibility of adopting these new practices to improving land use efficiency.

Fostering Innovative, Sustainable Urban Farming Methods to Meet Food Needs

Year Awarded  2017

FFAR award amount   $294,988

Total award amount   $590,189

Location   Berkeley, CA

Matching Funders   The Regents of the University of California

Grantee Institution   University of California Berkely

Ensuring urban agriculture can sustainably feed urban populations in the future requires understanding current urban agriculture challenges from a policy and systems perspective. University of California, Berkeley researchers are improving the sustainability and resilience of urban farms by building soil health, conserving water and promoting beneficial insects. The project will also evaluate the effectiveness of existing food access and food distribution methods for meeting food needs of urban food insecure communities and develop policy recommendations in collaboration with community stakeholders.

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

Grantee Institution   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

Grantee Institution   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.

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

Year Awarded  2017

FFAR award amount   $300,000

Total award amount   $600,000

Location   Ames, IA

Matching Funders   Iowa Crop Improvement Association

Grantee Institution   Iowa State University

Currently, about 70 percent of crop yield losses in the Midwest are related to inefficient water use. Crop models help optimize water use and quality; however, today’s models do not account for groundwater. This important source of water can reduce the need for irrigation in dry years and enhance nitrogen and yield loss in wet years. Iowa State University researchers are improving simulation models that help farmers manage water use and predict impacts and design mitigation strategies that improve water quality, soil health and productivity.

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

Year Awarded  2017

FFAR award amount   $215,999

Total award amount   $431,999

Location   Davis, CA

Matching Funders   Open Philanthropy Project

Grantee Institution   University of California Davis

Keel, or breastbone fractures are a prevalent concern when raising hens in cage-free housing systems. University of California, Davis researchers are exploring the impacts of poultry housing design, particularly vertical space, on the prevalence of keel bone injuries in egg-laying hens.

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

Year Awarded  2017

FFAR award amount   $50,000

Total award amount   $120,623

Location   Manhattan, KS

Program   Rapid Outcomes from Agricultural Research

Matching Funders   KS Wheat Commission

Grantee Institution   Kansas Wheat Commission Research Foundation

Although management methods for wheat streak mosaic (WSMV) are known, wheat farmers continue to experience yield and profit losses as a result of WSMV. Kansas State University researchers updating best management practices for wheat farmers threatened by the pathogen and identifying optimal disease resistant wheat varieties.