Production Systems Archives

January 30, 2019

FFAR Launches International Consortium for Antimicrobial Stewardship in Agriculture

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

Year Awarded 2019

FFAR award amount $120,000

Total award amount $240,000

Location Stillwater, OK

Matching Funders Oklahoma State University

Grantee Institution Oklahoma State University

Plant pathogens can harm plants, reduce water quality and cause soil erosion. Oklahoma State University researchers are using high-throughput sequencing to determine what affects plant health.

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

Year Awarded 2019

FFAR award amount $297,907

Total award amount $599,310

Location Auburn, AL

Matching Funders Auburn University, Swiss National Science Foundation, University of Georgia, California State Beekeepers’ Association

Grantee Institution Auburn University

Cattle infertility causes significant loss for cattle producers. Auburn University researchers are improving the efficiency of cattle production by identifying molecular markers that indicate reproductive potential. This research can help producers select cattle with the best reproductive capabilities.

Improving the Nutritional Quality of Tomatoes

Year Awarded 2019

FFAR award amount $299,042

Total award amount $598,908

Location Columbus, OH

Matching Funders The Ohio State University

Grantee Institution Ohio State University

Diet is the leading cause of many chronic diseases. The Ohio State University research team is combining plant breeding/genetics, analytical chemistry, bioinformatics and nutrition to develop tomatoes that are more beneficial for human health.

Tools to Detect and Understand Spread of African Swine Fever Virus

Year Awarded 2019

FFAR award amount $267,890

Total award amount $535,780

Location Des Moines, IA

Matching Funders National Pork Board, Cargill, Kemin, Purina Animal Nutrition, Kansas State University

Grantee Institution Kansas State University, Iowa State University

The African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV) is a highly contagious disease that spreads rapidly in pig populations and has no known cure. Kansas State University and Iowa State University researchers are studying how ASFV survives in pens and developing diagnostic tools to test pigs for the virus.

A Microchip-based Chemical Sensor For Early-Stage in Ovo Sex Determination of Layer Chicks

Year Awarded 2019

FFAR award amount $400,000

Total award amount $400,000

Location Davis, CA

Program Egg-Tech Prize

Matching Funders Open Philanthropy

Grantee Institution SensIT Ventures

As only female chicks are used for egg production, male chicks are culled after hatching. FFAR's Egg-Tech Prize is developing technology that can determine a chick’s sex before it hatches so male egg can be used for other purposes. SensIT Venture Inc. researchers are developing a chemical sensor chip to detect the volatiles and using machine learning to classify the eggs by gender. This project is one of the six Phase I winners, who received funding to develop the necessary technology to compete for the Prize.

Innovative Techniques for Fast in Ovo Sexing in Poultry By Detection of Gender Specific Volatiles

Year Awarded 2019

FFAR award amount $316,370

Total award amount $650,842

Location Leuven, Belgium

Program Egg-Tech Prize

Matching Funders Open Philanthropy

Grantee Institution KU Leuven

As only female chicks are used for egg production, male chicks are culled after hatching. FFAR's Egg-Tech Prize is developing technology that can determine a chick’s sex before it hatches so male egg can be used for other purposes. KU Leuven scientists are developing a non-invasive ovo sexing technique that registers volatile organic compounds passing that pass through the eggshell during incubation. This project is one of the six Phase I winners, who received funding to develop the necessary technology to compete for the Prize.

Multidimensional Spectral Mapping for Sex Determination of Avian Eggs

Year Awarded 2019

FFAR award amount $269,030

Total award amount $457,919

Location Morrisville, NC

Program Egg-Tech Prize

Matching Funders Open Philanthropy

Grantee Institution Microscale Devices LLC

As only female chicks are used for egg production, male chicks are culled after hatching. FFAR's Egg-Tech Prize is developing technology that can determine a chick’s sex before it hatches so male egg can be used for other purposes. Researchers at Microsale Devices LLC are using multidimensional spectral mapping technology that shoots waves of light at the egg and detects the refracted light patterns. Artificial intelligence will be employed to develop an optical fingerprint, or signature, that can determine the sex of eggs. This project is one of the six Phase I winners, who received funding to develop the necessary technology to compete for the Prize.

Orbem.ai: Magnetic Resonance Imaging Meets Artificial Intelligence for Automated and Non-invasive in Ovo Sex Determination

Year Awarded 2019

FFAR award amount $400,000

Total award amount $1,149,911

Location Munich, Germany

Program Egg-Tech Prize

Matching Funders Open Philanthropy

Grantee Institution Orbem AI

As only female chicks are used for egg production, male chicks are culled after hatching. FFAR's Egg-Tech Prize is developing technology that can determine a chick’s sex before it hatches so male egg can be used for other purposes. Scientists at Orbem Ai are developing specialized technology to examine the organ development of embryos and detect physical differences between the males and females. This project is one of the six Phase I winners, who received funding to develop the necessary technology to compete for the Prize.

Rapid and Non-invasive Egg Sex Indentification Using Artficially Intelligent Platform

Year Awarded 2019

FFAR award amount $400,000

Total award amount $400,000

Location Minneapolis, MN

Program Egg-Tech Prize

Matching Funders Open Philanthropy

Grantee Institution University of Minnesota

As only female chicks are used for egg production, male chicks are culled after hatching. FFAR's Egg-Tech Prize is developing technology that can determine a chick’s sex before it hatches so male egg can be used for other purposes. A University of Minnesota researcher is analyzing 3D scanner to analyze the geometric shape of the eggs and the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to identify the sex of the egg. This project is one of the six Phase I winners, who received funding to develop the necessary technology to compete for the Prize.