Production Systems Archives

February 22, 2021

FFAR Grant to Develop Vaccine for Tilapia Lake Virus

Getting to the Root of the Problem: Fastidious Pathogens

Breakthrough for A Novel Bioassay for Culturing and Characterizing Fastidious Phytopathogens

Feed Additives Stop Viral Disease Spread, Researchers Find

Breakthrough for FFAR-Funded Research Finds Feed Additives Stop the Spread of Viral Diseases

Initial Successes in Ending Surgical Castration of Swine

Breakthrough for FFAR Awards $500,000 Grant to Improve Swine Health and Well-Being

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

Year Awarded 2020

FFAR award amount $796,878

Total award amount $1,593,756

Location Ithaca, NY

Program Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders BASF, Limagrain, Virginia Crop Improvement Association

Grantee Institution Cornell University

Climate change is creating increasingly unstable farming environments, leading to unpredictable yields and quality. Crop breeding programs aim to develop crops that can thrive despite climate instability; however, breeding programs face their own challenges in predicting how the climate will change and how crops will respond. One specific challenge to breeding programs is the lack of information about how plant genomes and growing conditions interact, and how that interaction impacts agronomic traits such as yield. Cornell University researchers are studying how different plant genomes respond to environment conditions throughout the entire growing season, with the goal of improving crops’ climate resiliency.

Innovations in Plant Genetics to Develop Intermediate Wheatgrass as a Next-Generation Sustainable Crop

Year Awarded 2020

FFAR award amount $992,419

Total award amount $1,985,206

Location Minneapolis, MN

Program Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders Forever Green Initiative, Malone Family Land Preservation Foundation, The Land Institute

Grantee Institution University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota is accelerate the development of intermediate wheatgrass, trademarked as Kernza by The Land Institute, which is a perennial plant, meaning it requires only one planting. Not only do perennial crops like Kernza reduce labor and input costs, their deep roots reduce soil erosion and trap more carbon, benefitting the environment.

Precision Bred Adaptation of Elite Taurine Breeds of Beef & Dairy Cattle

Year Awarded 2020

FFAR award amount $748,545

Total award amount $1,497,641

Location Gainesville, FL

Program Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders Acceligen, The Semex Alliance

Grantee Institution Acceligen

Cattle, if not adapted to heat, can exhibit an extreme physical reaction to heat stress, including reductions in feed intake and milk production, slowed growth and increased disease susceptibility. Acceligen researchers are examining how genetic alterations can improve heat resistance in cattle. By introducing naturally occurring gene variations into breeds of cattle that are not adapted to heat, researchers can better understand how to control heat stress and ultimately improve animal health, well-being, fertility and economic return for producers.

Genome Editing Wheat for Durable & Sustainable Disease Resistance

Year Awarded 2020

FFAR award amount $900,000

Total award amount $3,272,723

Location Berkeley, CA

Program Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders 2Blades Foundation, Innovative Genomics Institute

Grantee Institution University of California Berkely

To control plant epidemics by breeding plants for disease resistance, scientists use traditional crop breeding to introduce, or stack, multiple resistance genes – though this is a time-consuming approach and pathogens evolve to overcome resistance. University of California, Berkeley researchers are using gene editing technology to stack resistance genes in the wheat crops that specifically recognize the pathogen’s proteins. By recognizing the pathogen’s proteins, the plant can fight the pathogen, even if the pathogen mutates.

Accelerated Development of Crops of the Future

Year Awarded 2020

FFAR award amount $748,549

Total award amount $1,497,098

Location Ames, IA

Program Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders Iowa State University, KWS SAAT SE & Co, Beck’s Superior Hybrids, BASF, SAATEN-UNION BIOTEC and RAGT

Grantee Institution Iowa State University

On average, it takes farmers ten years to produce a new crop. With an increasing global population, there is high demand for more crops sooner. Iowa State University researchers are developing breeding methods that accelerate plant breeding for multiple crop species. These breeding techniques deliver improved crop varieties – with greater yields – into the hands of farmers sooner.

Biological Control of Cattle Fever Ticks in South Texas

Year Awarded 2020

FFAR award amount $25,000

Total award amount $50,000

Location San Antonio, TX

Program Rapid Outcomes from Agricultural Research

Matching Funders Lee and Ramona Bass Foundation

Grantee Institution USDA-ARS

In addition to market volatility threats from COVID-19, Texas cattle ranchers are also battling the southern cattle fever tick (Rhipicephalus microplus), a tick carried pathogen that causes deadly cattle fever for which there is no vaccine or treatment. USDA researchers are developing biological control technologies to prevent and contain this parasite.