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

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90 Grants found

FFAR Fellows Program 2024 Cohort

FFAR Vet Fellows Sixth Cohort

FFAR-OCP Disruptive Fertilizer Technology Fellowship First Cohort

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Kirchner Food Fellowship HBCU 2023-2024 Cohort

Kirchner Food Fellowship Inaugural HBCU Cohort (2021-22)

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FFAR Vet Fellows Fifth Cohort

FFAR Vet Fellows Fourth Cohort

FFAR Vet Fellows Third Cohort

FFAR Vet Fellows Second Cohort

FFAR Vet Fellows Inaugural Cohort

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National Academy of Sciences Prize in Food & Agriculture Research: Huaijun Zhou

The Revitalization of Indigenous Crops in the Southwest

Developing circular urban food systems for a rapidly growing desert city

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Big Data to Improve and Sustain Wheat End-Use Quality in the Face of Increasingly Variable Climate Scenarios

Evaluating the use of calcium silicate amendments to manage the bioavailability of organic carbon in agricultural soils

Advancing the Design and Fabrication of Biopolymer-based Nanocomposites for Sustainable Food Packaging

Using a novel RNA therapy to tackle dual threat of tomato spotted wilt virus, a pandemic agricultural pathogen and its supervector, thrips

Harnessing mycorrhizal-microbial synergies for agricultural resilience and health

Establish Power-to-Food by Cultivating and Processing Hydrogenotrophic Single Cells to Design New Sustainable Protein Supply Chains Without Arable Land

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Food security in the Anthropocene in Islander Communities

Next-Generation Carbon Capture for Agricultural Crop Applications

Orthogonal Nano-Engineering (ONE) for Rational Design of Food Contact Surfaces

Establishing Viable Organic Orchard Crop Systems for the Northeast U.S.

Kirchner Food Fellowship HBCU 2022-23 Cohort

National Academy of Sciences Prize in Food & Agriculture Research: David Lobell

Recycling nutrients for robust agricultural supply chains

Next-generation phenotyping and genomics for identifying, breeding, and managing more sustainable beef cattle

A Big Data Tool for Urban Tree Crop Selection Under Climate Change

Leveraging Phasic Environment and Nutrient Solution Management to Improve Resource Use Efficiency of Indoor Vertical Farming

Enabling sustainable soil and water management through microbe-powered RF soil sensing

Agroecosystem responses to climate change, biodiversity loss and food insecurity in the United States and Latin America

Targeted On-Demand Disease Management Practices/Therapies

National Academy of Sciences Prize in Food & Agriculture Research: Rodolphe Barrangou

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Establishing Predictive Genomics to Improve Pollinator Health

Holistic Irrigation Strategies for Climate-Smart Agriculture

Tribal Agriculture Fellowship Inaugural Cohort

Reinvigorating Soybean Yield for 21st Century Agriculture

Understanding the roots of soil health

Enhancing the sustainability of finfish aquaculture to increase production and public acceptance

Digging deeper: Removing the barriers to soil compaction mitigation

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Fermentation to unlock the potential of underutilized Indigenous plants – an integrated traditional ecological knowledge innovation toward bio- and techno-functional benefits

Improving soil health by engineering a rhizobacterium to depend on a plant and stimulate its immune system

Creating a nitrogen fixing symbiont for cereal crops

Advancing Water Policy for Agricultural Sustainability

Building our understanding of soil health practice adoption through knowledge co-production with farmers

National Academy of Sciences Prize in Food & Agriculture Research: Christina Grozinger

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

Field-deployable biosensors for managing animal health

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

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An Integrative Approach to Biofortification of Staple Crops

Uncovering the Genetic Architecture of Inducible Chemical Defenses in Crop and Wild Sunflower for the Sustainable Control of Pests and Pathogens

Engineering crops for cultivation in controlled environments

Developing Novel Strategies for Improved Control and Sustainability of Grapevine Bunch Rot Management

Harnessing the soil microbiome to increase soil health and plant productivity

Kirchner Food Fellowship 2020-21 Cohort

Kirchner Food Fellowship 2019-20 Cohort

Kirchner Food Fellowship 2018-19 Cohort

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

A Systematic Approach to Improve Heifer Selection and the Sustainability of Beef Production.

Improving the Nutritional Quality of Tomatoes

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

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

A Coupled Natural-Human System Approach to Solving Locust Plagues

Developing CRISPR-Cpf1 Genome Editing Technologies for Crop Improvement

Towards Production of Residue-Free Healthy Fruit Crops

Effects of Asymptomatic Listeriosis on Dairy Cattle Fecal Microbiota

Direct Linkage of Dietary Components with Metabolizers in the Microbiota

Harnessing Endophytes to Improve Crop Efficiency and Production

Innovations in the Food Supply Chain to Reduce Food Waste

Optimizing Water Use in Agriculture by Stacking Conservation Practices

Innovation at the Nexus of Computational, Membrane and Plant Biology

Diet, the human gastrointestinal microbiome and metabolic health

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A Novel Bioassay for Culturing and Characterizing Fastidious Phytopathogens

Using Active Organic Matter Tests to Help Predict Crop Nutrient Needs

Plant-Nanoparticle Hybrids: Optimize Crop Engineering and Nutrient Delivery

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

Individually-targeted incentives, diet quality and health outcomes among adults

Developing Massively Parallel Sequence for Agricultural Surveillance

Advances in Water Limited Irrigation Management

Going Back to the Roots To Transform Soil Health into Yield

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Using Eye Tracking to Better Understand Food Choices

Enhancing Crop Pollination, Pest Control and Yield in Urban Agriculture

Building Soil Health Through Rotational Diversity and Soil Microorganisms

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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.

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.

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.

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.

Advances in Water Limited Irrigation Management

Year Awarded  2016

FFAR award amount   $300,000

Total award amount   $600,000

Location   Davis, CA

Matching Funders   Kansas State University and University of California, Davis

Grantee Institution   University of California Davis

Projected increases in demands for food, feed and fiber will require more water. Semi-arid environments already face challenges in maintaining agricultural productivity under declining water supplies and climate change will exacerbate this challenge. University of California, Davis researchers are improving water productivity in agriculture by integrating data related to agricultural water use by several sources such as soils, weather and plant-based measurements.

Using Eye Tracking to Better Understand Food Choices

Year Awarded  2016

FFAR award amount   $300,000

Total award amount   $600,000

Location   Ithaca, NY

Matching Funders   ADM Animal Nutrition, Evonik Nutrition & Care GmbH

Grantee Institution   Cornell University

When consumers make food choices, they choose between nutritional content and more immediate attributes, such as taste. Cornell University researchers are promoting healthier food choices by highlighting certain attributes of food choices through laboratory and field experiments.

Going Back to the Roots To Transform Soil Health into Yield

Year Awarded  2016

FFAR award amount   $285,083

Total award amount   $570,165

Location   Davis, CA

Matching Funders   UC Davis Dean's Office

Grantee Institution   University of California Davis

Soil health management practices are promoted as feasible, complementary approaches to high-input strategies to increase food production and decrease agriculture’s environmental footprint. However, the role crop plants play in using soil health to increase yields is often overlooked. University of California, Davis researchers are transforming soil health into yield by exploring the relationship between root systems, soil health and crop productivity to identify how producers can grow resilient crops using sustainable practices at scale.

Enhancing Crop Pollination, Pest Control and Yield in Urban Agriculture

Year Awarded  2016

FFAR award amount   $210,618

Total award amount   $421,236

Location   Rochester, MI

Matching Funders   Oakland University

Grantee Institution   Oakland University

Urban agriculture is a growing component of local and regional food systems. However, few studies focus on factors limiting crop productivity in urban environments and little is known about how insect pollinators and pests affect crop yield on urban farms. Oakland University researchers are investigating the composition of the insect community and evaluating strategies for enhancing ecosystem services provided by beneficial insects. The project aims to enhance crop pollination, pest control and yields in urban agriculture.

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

Year Awarded  2016

FFAR award amount   $299,757

Total award amount   $599,513

Location   West Lafayette, IN

Matching Funders   Purdue University

Grantee Institution   Purdue University

Plant root diseases can cause lower yields. Some plant varieties are resistant to root disease, but the mechanisms underlying resistance are unclear. Purdue University researchers are examining how roots mediate disease-resistance by using tomato and a soilborne bacterial pathogen as a model.

Building Soil Health Through Rotational Diversity and Soil Microorganisms

Year Awarded  2016

FFAR award amount   $299,962

Total award amount   $599,923

Location   East Lansing, MI

Matching Funders   MSU AgBioRes

Grantee Institution   Michigan State University

Crop rotations have been used to increase crop productivity for centuries, but little is known about how rotational diversity impacts soil microorganisms. Michigan State University researchers are addressing this research gap by studying the interactions between crop diversity, soil microorganisms and soil organic matter. The project aims to build soil health through rotational diversity and soil microorganisms.