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

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59 Grants found

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 and Characterizing New Cultivars of Grain and Fiber Hemp

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

Fast Tracking Climate Solutions from Global Germplasm Banks

Accelerating Genetic Gains in Maize & Wheat for Improved Livelihoods

Harnessing Translational Research Across a Global Wheat Improvement Network for Climate Resilience

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

FFAR Grant Promotes Sorghum Health Benefits

Genomic foundation for neodomestication and breeding of a halophytic grain crop, Distichlis palmeri

Enabling African Scientists: The African Plant Breeding Academy CRISPR Course

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

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

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Improving Protein Content & Quality in Peas

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

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

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Rapid Response to Coffee Leaf Rust

Breeding drought & heat tolerant wheat

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

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Genome Editing Wheat for Durable & Sustainable Disease Resistance

Accelerated Development of Crops of the Future

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

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

Improving the Nutritional Quality of Tomatoes

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

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Crops in Silico 3.0

Year Awarded  2019

FFAR award amount   $2,500,000

Total award amount   $5,000,000

Location   Urbana-Champaign, IL

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

University of Illinois researchers are developing a suite of virtual plant models that examine the effects of environmental challenges on a molecular, cellular and organ level within a plant to accurately determine the best targets for genetic engineering. This second grant allows researchers to continue building a computational platform that integrates multiple models to study a whole plant virtually.

Crops of the Future: Corn Drought Resistance

Year Awarded  2019

FFAR award amount   $900,000

Total award amount   $1,800,000

Location   Madison, WI

Matching Funders   Inari, KWS, Syngenta

Drought is a primary limitation to crop production that impacts future food security. Researchers at the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System are enhancing genetic characterization and prediction of drought response in maize.

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

Year Awarded  2019

Total award amount   $100,000

Location   Washington, D.C.

Matching Funders   Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Dr. Elizabeth Ainsworth, a U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service researcher and adjunct professor at the School of Integrative Biology at the University of Illinois, is the 2019 recipient of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Prize in Food and Agriculture Sciences. Ainsworth’s pioneering research focuses on how the world will eat in the face of climate change and other threats.  

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

Year Awarded  2018

FFAR award amount   $67,892

Total award amount   $135,806

Location   Gainesville, FL

Program   Rapid Outcomes from Agricultural Research

Matching Funders   University of Florida

Fusarium Wilt is a fungus that threatens the $70 million Floridian lettuce industry. University of Florida researchers are developing disease management practices and training lettuce growers to better manage cross contamination to reduce the spread of this disease.

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.

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.

Harnessing Endophytes to Improve Crop Efficiency and Production

Year Awarded  2018

FFAR award amount   $292,230

Total award amount   $584,461

Location   Athens, GA

Matching Funders   University of Georgia Department of Agriculture and Environmental Science, University of Georgia Department of Crop Soil Science, University of Georgia Institute of Plant Breeding

Agricultural production is not advancing fast enough to meet projected demands for food. Meeting these needs requires agricultural innovations and beneficial microorganisms are a promising way to increase crop growth, boost stress resistance and prevent diseases. Scientists and farmers must first understand how microorganisms work. University of Georgina Research Foundation Inc. is studying how crops are affected by the microbes that live inside them and how the environment impacts this relationship.

Protein-Based Thermotolerance Markers for Sustainable Legume Protein Production

Year Awarded  2018

FFAR award amount   $941,689

Total award amount   $1,890,189

Location   Raleigh, NC

Matching Funders   Benson Hill Biosystems, North Carolina Soybean Producers, Golden Leaf Foundation, United Soybean Board, VIB

Extreme weather devastates soybean crop yields and nutritional content. USDA researchers are leveraging the natural genetic diversity of soybean plants to improve the sustainability, nutrition and flavor profiles of crops in response to climate change.