Grants Archive

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

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

Year Awarded 2019

Total award amount $20,000

Location Bozeman, MT

Matching Funders Organic Farming Research Foundation

Grantee Institution Montana State University

In the Northern Great Plains, where wheat is the primary crop, organic farmers are rotating in lentils. Lentils generate additional income and improve soil health. However, little is known about the optimum amount of lentil seeds that should be planted to ensure maximum nutrient acquisition, weed management and yield potential. Montana State University Researchers are addressing this research gap by exploring the relationship between seeding rates, lentil yields and soil health.

FFAR and OFRF Award Two Grants That Tackle Soil Health Challenges

Year Awarded 2019

Location Raleigh, NC

Matching Funders Organic Farming Research Foundation

Grantee Institution NC State University

Invasive pests and weeds are a considerable problem for organic sweet potato farmers. Currently farmers depend on repeated cultivation to manage weeds, a energy and labor intensive process that damages the soil. North Carolina State University researchers are assessing whether annual winter cover crop systems can control weeds and insects. This approach aims to provide innovative management techniques that protect soil health.

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

Year Awarded 2018

FFAR award amount $225,000

Total award amount $450,000

Location Davis, CA

Program Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders Almond Board of California, Bays Ranch Inc., Muller Berry Farms, Ples Due Family Farms

Grantee Institution University of California Davis

Almonds typically dry out on the orchard floor before being harvested. This practice prevents growers from using manure or compost that could improve the soil but could also contaminate the almonds. University of California, Davis researchers are testing machinery that harvests almonds, leaving the hulls and shells on the ground to improve soil health.

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

Year Awarded 2018

FFAR award amount $500,000

Total award amount $1,195,677

Location Morrisville, NC

Matching Funders Soil Health Institute, General Mills, Walton Family Foundation, Monsanto Company, Midwest Row Crop Collaborative, Nestle Purina Petcare, The Nature Conservancy, National Corn Growers Association

Grantee Institution Soil Health Institute

The Soil Health Institute is enhancing the adoption of soil health practices by establishing a definitive soil health evaluation program for national deployment.

Prairie Strips for Healthy Soils and Thriving Farms

Year Awarded 2018

FFAR award amount $746,204

Total award amount $1,492,409

Location Ames, IA

Matching Funders Iowa State University, Roeslein Alternative Energy, Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance, Walton Family Foundation

Grantee Institution Iowa State University

Midwestern farms produce a quarter of the world’s corn and soybeans, yet this bounty drains nutrients from the soil, reducing future yields and undermining profitability. Iowa State University researchers are identifying integration practices that restore soil health.

Optimizing Water Use in Agriculture by Stacking Conservation Practices

Year Awarded 2018

FFAR award amount $300,000

Total award amount $600,001

Location Logan, UT

Matching Funders USU CAES, Central Utah Water Conservancy District, E&I Conservation District, Unitah Conservation District, North Cache Conservation District, Senninger Irrigation, Central Iron County Water Conservancy District, USU RGS

Grantee Institution Utah State University

Concerns about water scarcity are mounting due to rapid urban growth, depleting groundwater supplies and water shortages from climate trends. Utah State University researchers are assessing the combined effectiveness of several methods of water optimization in agriculture, including more efficient water application and management and advanced crop genetics.

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

Year Awarded 2017

FFAR award amount $9,400,000

Total award amount $20,000,000

Location Morrisville, NC

Matching Funders General Mills, the Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham Environmental Trust, Midwest Row Crop Collaborative, Monsanto (Bayer), Nestlé Purina PetCare Company, The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Walmart Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation and individual donors

Grantee Institution Soil Health Institute

Soil health is a critical component of a productive and sustainable agricultural system. Farming practices that improve soil health can increase profitability while protecting natural resources like air and water for communities. The goal of this project is to support collaborative research and education that accelerates adoption and benefits of soil health management systems nationally.

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

Year Awarded 2017

FFAR award amount $1,250,000

Total award amount $2,500,000

Location Tempe, AZ

Matching Funders McDonalds

Grantee Institution Arizona State University

Researchers are investigating whether Adaptive Multi-Paddock (AMP) grazing, in relation to widespread continuous grazing practices, contributes to measurable differences in overall soil health, environmental sustainability and farmer profitability within the U.S. Southeast.

An Open Source Plant Chemogenomics Set

Year Awarded 2017

FFAR award amount $1,000,000

Total award amount $2,320,000

Location Davis, CA

Matching Funders UC Davis Innovation Institute for Food and Health, the Structural Genomics Consortium, AgBiome and Promega

Grantee Institution University of California Davis

Drought is a significant concern for farmers, especially rice growers. University of California, Davis researchers are studying genes responsible for drought tolerance in rice. The project is developing and implementing a screening strategy to identify new gene that effect root traits and drought tolerance in rice.

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.

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

94 Grants found

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

Building Agroecosystem Soil Health to Adapt to Climate and Regulatory Realities while Protecting Rural Community Health

Leveraging multi-scale datasets and modeling tools for improved soil health and carbon management

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

Electrochemically Assisted Biological Nitrogen Fixation for Distributed & Sustainable Fertilizer Production

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

FoodShot Global Challenge #4 Water GroundBreaker Prize (Indiana)

FoodShot Global Challenge #4 Water GroundBreaker Prize (Arizona)

Better Deal for Data

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

UC Davis Receives FFAR Grant to Help Improve Vineyard Soil Health

Improving Soil Health on Vineyards

FFAR Awards Grant to Reduce Water Waste in Crop Irrigation

Protecting Soil Health & Food Safety in Almond Orchards

Transforming Wastewater to Crop Fertilizer

Increasing Motivation and Promoting Persistence in Farmer Conservation

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

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

Protecting Florida Corn from Tar Spot Outbreak

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)

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

Rodale Institution

Oregon Tilth

Oregon Tilth

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

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

OATS (Organic Agronomy Training Service)

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

Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE) Reinvestment

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

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

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

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

Cotton-Based Precision Irrigation Improves Sustainability

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

Tuskegee University Endowment

Grant Quantifies Farm Risk Mitigation Through Improved Soil Health

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

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

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

FFAR-OCP Disruptive Fertilizer Technology Fellowship First Cohort

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

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

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

AgMission/Precision Conservation Management MOU

FFAR Grant Examines Management Practices Effect on Soil Health

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

FFAR and OFRF Renew Partnership to Improve Soil Health Research

Irrigation Innovation Consortium Funds Seven Research Projects

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

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

FFAR & Rodale Institute Enhance Soil Health to Increase Crop Nutrients

OFRF and FFAR Fund Research to Enhance Organic Potato Nutrition

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

FFAR Grant Examines Carbon Farming Effect on Soil Health

FFAR Grant Addressing Surface and Groundwater Pollution on Farms

Precision Irrigation Scheduling for Specialty Crops

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

FFAR Grant Provides Technical Training to Enhance Soil Health

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

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

FFAR and OFRF Award Two Grants That Tackle Soil Health Challenges

Prairie Strips for Healthy Soils and Thriving Farms

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