Project Grant 201610008253181

The Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded Iowa State University a $498,961 project grant under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative competitive grants program (CFDA 10.310) to develop improved forage sorghum germplasm with high biomass yield and nutritive value adapted to the shorter growing seasons of the Upper Midwest region. Iowa State will conduct regional testing trials of advanced experimental sorghum hybrids at eight locations in Iowa,...

This $3,499,654 Project Grant was awarded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture under the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (CFDA 10.307) program. The grant will facilitate the development of organic agriculture production, breeding, and processing methods for sorghum, a drought-tolerant, non-GMO crop used for food and feed production globally. The long-term goal is to identify high-performing grain and forage sorghum varieties...

The Sorghum Traits Collaborative Innovation Network (STRAIT CIN) received a $998,830 project grant award from the United States Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) competitive grants program. The award will support the establishment of a public-private collaborative network through January 2027 to address bottlenecks in the development and commercialization of innovative sorghum traits that contribute to...

This $3,500,000 Project Grant award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture's Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) program aims to improve management of the corn earworm pest in sweet corn production. Key activities include: Measuring overwintering success and early season activity of corn earworm, developing a spread model, and monitoring resistance to Bt toxins and insecticides. Improving integrated pest management through better adult moth...

This $2,907,825 Cooperative Agreement awarded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Office of Integrative Activities (CFDA 47.083) aims to develop and assess agricultural management practices that can help mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, improve soil health and water quality, and enhance the resilience of crop production to droughts caused by climate change. The project is a collaboration among Auburn University, New Mexico State University, and the University of Delaware, with the goal of...

The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) awarded a $999,774 Project Grant under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) program to Texas A&M Agrilife Research to develop a sustainable biomass production system for renewable energy and bio-based products. Over a three-year period from March 2023 to February 2026, the grantee will identify high-performing perennial grass feedstocks suited for low-input growing conditions through field trials at multiple locations. A...

The Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded Astalake Biosystems, Inc. $181,500 under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program to develop improved alfalfa varieties through synthetic biology. Alfalfa is a perennial legume with potential benefits to soil health, environmental health, and animal and human nutrition. Under this one-year project grant running from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024, Astalake Biosystems will utilize its synthetic...

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee was awarded a $649,820 Project Grant from the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative competitive grants program. The four-year grant will support research to develop a two-line hybrid breeding system for sorghum utilizing nuclear male sterility. The researchers recently identified a stable sorghum male sterile mutant and cloned the causal gene. Under this grant,...

This $750,000 Project Grant awarded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (CFDA 10.310) will support research at Michigan State University (MSU) to develop new bioenergy cropping systems capable of enhanced soil carbon sequestration. The project will conduct an in-depth analysis of switchgrass root systems, microbial symbionts, and soil pore structure to better understand how these factors impact soil carbon...

This $638,000 Project Grant from the US Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) program will fund research to identify genetic factors controlling carotenoid synthesis, storage, and bioavailability in sorghum grain. Colorado State University will conduct the research over four years to determine how sorghum genes and the environment impact carotenoid content and accumulation. Researchers will also...