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143 found

Strategic Fallowing for Sustainable Water and Thriving Agriculture

Year Awarded  2021

FFAR award amount   $970,931

Total award amount   $1,941,862

Location   Las Cruces, NM

Program   Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders   Elephant Butte Irrigation District, New Mexico State University, New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute, Thornburg Foundation

Drought risks continue to challenge farmers in the US Southwest. Leaving cultivated land unused—fallowing—represents a potentially crucial water-saving strategy. However, the costs and benefits of fallowing remain uncertain. NMSU researchers are developing a Hydrologic-Agricultural-Economic model that evaluates alternative fallowing strategies. The researchers will integrate the hydrologic modeling with remote sensing data, field measurements and socioeconomic information to inform where fallowing can optimally provide targeted benefits.

Converting Seafood Byproducts to Food

More Beans (MB): A Next Generation Legume for Healthy Urban Food

Year Awarded  2021

FFAR award amount   $338,039

Total award amount   $676,095

Location   Nashville, TN

Matching Funders   Agricenter International, Bush Brothers & Company, Caney Forks LLC, Corteva Agriscience, Tennessee State University

Mung bean is an underutilized pulse in the United States that can add to crop diversity. Mung bean has health, economic and environmental advantages and is suitable to the climate conditions of the Southeast. Tennessee State University researchers are optimizing mung bean genetics and cultivation techniques for growth in the Southeast and promote its consumption, especially among people of color and low-income individuals.

High dimensional phenomics and automation to transform cost and timeframe of early stage domestication of wild plants

Year Awarded  2021

FFAR award amount   $999,957

Total award amount   $2,543,829

Location   St. Louis, MO

Program   Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders   The Danforth Center, Danforth Center Field Research Site at Planthaven Farms, The Land Institute, Perennial Agriculture Project and Saint Louis University

To ensure a plentiful food supply in the face of future climate-related challenges, scientists must diversify food crops by domesticating new species. Early farmers domesticated many annual plant species, those planted yearly, in part due to their quick growing cycles; however, these crops require agricultural practices that can harm the soil. Perennial crops, which live for multiple years, offer a more sustainable option. The challenge is that successfully and rapidly domesticating promising perennial crops relies on genetic screening of seeds, an expensive and time-consuming process. This grant is accelerating the development of perennial crops. The researchers are predicting breeding success based on the seedlings’ physical attributes.

FFAR Grant Speeds Domestication of Sustainable Crops

University of Tennessee Receives FFAR Grant to Help Address Food Waste Challenges

Year Awarded  2021

FFAR award amount   $308,171

Total award amount   $616,378

Location   Knoxville, TN

Program   Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders   Metro Nashville, Resource Capture, UT and Urban Green Lab

UT researchers are developing a Decision Support System (DSS), which will enable partners, city planners and community leaders to determine best options for identifying and scaling food waste redirection, composting and use of compost using a model that can be easily applied to other cities.

FFAR Grant Addresses Food Waste Reduction Challenges

Year Awarded  2021

FFAR award amount   $308,171

Total award amount   $616,378

Location   Knoxville, TN

Program   Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders   Metro Nashville, Resource Capture, University of Tennessee, and Urban Green Lab

Nearly one-third of landfill waste consists of food waste matter that could be redirected to alternative waste reduction methods, such as composting. However, addressing food waste reduction presents communities, especially cities, with significant challenges related to policy, technology and cost-effectiveness. The University of Tennessee (UT) will develop and execute a food waste Decision Support System (DSS), enabling city planners to easily evaluate innovative waste reduction solutions and technologies.

FFAR Grant Quantifies Organic Carbon to Improve Agricultural Productivity

Breeding drought & heat tolerant wheat

Year Awarded  2021

FFAR award amount   $999,736

Total award amount   $2,141,527

Location   Pullman, WA

Program   Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders   Flinders University, LongReach Plant Breeders, O.A. Vogel Wheat Research Fund, Washington Grain Commission, Washington State University

Wheat and other plants avoid overheating by evaporating water from leaf surfaces. However, this mechanism is inefficient if the soil moisture is scarce. As climate change disrupts precipitation patterns, causing drought conditions to become more prevalent, wheat breeders must pursue every genetic advantage possible to increase the crop’s climate resiliency. Washington State University researchers are using a new technique developed in their lab to identify genes promoting heat and drought resiliency in wheat.

FFAR Grant Examines Carbon Farming Effect on Soil Health