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

Refine Results
Priority Areas
Consortia
    See more
Program
    See more
Location
    See more
Year
    See more
Order

475 Grants found

Outcome-Based Identification of Best Agronomic Practices to Reduce N Footprint in Agroecosystems

Accelerating Coffee Breeding Through Developing Tools to Screen for Critical Disease & Pest Resistance 

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

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

Hide map

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

Year Awarded  2024

FFAR award amount   $445,585

Total award amount   $445,585

Location   Lubbock, TX

Grantee Institution   Texas Tech University

Single-use plastic packaging releases microplastics that pollute land and water and cause cancer and other illnesses. Plant-based, single-use food packaging are an alternative but this packaging is not as strong as plastic and is not as resistant to water and grease. Rajan’s research seeks to overcome these challenges by developing high performance, plant-based packaging. Using plant residue from agriculture production, Rajan is enhancing the durability, strength and processing ability of bio-based packaging.

Water & Soil Sustainability for Nutritious Rice Production 

Year Awarded  2024

FFAR award amount   $427,120

Total award amount   $427,120

Location   Oneonta, NY

Grantee Institution   State University of New York (SUNY) at Oneonta

As cultivable land faces growing pressure from soil degradation, salinity and a changing climate, rice is increasingly grown in suboptimal conditions, raising the risk of lower grain nutrition and increased arsenic and cadmium contamination. Maguffin’s team at SUNY Oneonta studies how irrigation practices shape redox dynamics in rice paddy soils, influencing nutrient availability and toxin mobility. Using controlled growth chambers, they simulate future climate scenarios to examine how irrigation, salinity and elevated carbon dioxide interact with pore water, soil and rice genetics. Their work supports sustainable practices that improve food safety and grain nutritional quality.

Integrating Genomic Prediction with Crop Modeling to Develop Climate-Resilient Cultivars 

Year Awarded  2024

FFAR award amount   $448,491

Total award amount   $448,491

Location   Fayetteville, AR

Grantee Institution   University of Arkansas

Plant breeding and improved agriculture practices have increased crops’ yields and nutrition, but severe weather events threaten crop losses and food insecurity. The current genomic prediction models that plant breeders use to develop crops that can withstand weather stresses struggle to make accurate predictions about future weather conditions. To address this, Fernandes is developing machine-learning genomic prediction models that directly integrate crop growth models, which include plant physiology and environmental interactions. The genomic model and crop growth model will inform each other to generate enhanced yield predictions across current and potential future weather scenarios.

Perennial Grain Staple Foods Program 

Year Awarded  2024

FFAR award amount   $448,928

Total award amount   $657,514

Location   Salina, KS

Matching Funders   The Land Institute

Grantee Institution   The Land Institute

Perennial grains, which are planted once and harvested over several growing seasons, help preserve soil health and add variety to our food supply, decreasing risks from extreme weather, pests and pathogens. Craine and the Land Institute are working with stakeholders from local communities and industry, as well as farmers, chefs and consumers, to introduce perennial grains into our agricultural system. Research priorities include making grains edible, nutritious and appealing and building supply chains from farms to plates.

FFAR Fellows Program 2024 Cohort 

Year Awarded  2024

Location   Raleigh, NC

Matching Funders   North Carolina State University

A unique three-year fellowship that prepares up to 48 graduate students to be the next generation of food and agriculture scientists by using an interdisciplinary approach to career readiness. Fellows work with university and industry representatives, as well as their peers, to conduct urgent research and engage in professional development.

Grant Improves Stress Tolerance in Carrots 

Year Awarded  2024

FFAR award amount   $500,000

Total award amount   $1,000,000

Location   Davis, CA

Matching Funders   Bayer, Bejo Zaden, Enza Zaden, Rijk Zwaan, Takii Seed Vilmorin Mikado

Grantee Institution   University of California, Davis

Carrot growers face a variety of both climate and biological threats, including water access and diseases such as Alternaria leaf blight (Alternaria), a disease that can reduce yield by 40-60%. Some cultivated carrots are partially resistant to Alternaria but still require frequent fungicide applications to fully protect crops from this disease. University of California, Davis researchers are tapping into the genetic diversity of wild carrots to breed Alternaria resistance and the ability to grow in water-deficient conditions into cultivated carrots.

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

Year Awarded  2024

FFAR award amount   $138,888

Total award amount   $277,777

Location   Arlington, VA

Program   AgMission

Matching Funders   The Nature Conservancy

Grantee Institution   The Nature Conservancy

This AgMission grant is evaluating cover crop adoption and identifying the factors leading to their successful, long-term use in the Midwestern United States.

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

Year Awarded  2024

FFAR award amount   $1,690,663

Total award amount   $3,381,326

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.

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.