The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) awarded a $10 million Project Grant under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) to the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) on September 1, 2021 for the Sustainable Aquaculture Systems Supporting Atlantic Salmon (SAS2) program. The five-year program aims to foster the development of environmentally sustainable and economically feasible land-based recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) for Atlantic salmon farming in...
The University of Maryland Baltimore County was awarded a $650,000 Project Grant from the US Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture's Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) to develop an alternative approach for producing all-female Atlantic salmon populations without the use of sex steroids. Over four years from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2026, the University will optimize fish sterilization and germ cell transplantation technology to generate all-X milt for...
This $650,000 federal Project Grant was awarded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), through the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) program. The grant aims to refine and validate flow-through and recirculation aquaculture system (RAS) models to address off-flavor issues in farmed rainbow trout and Atlantic salmon. Specifically, the award will fund the development and validation of experimental models to accelerate research...
This federal Project Grant award of $933,019 was provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Grants for Agricultural Research, Special Research Grants program (CFDA 10.200). The grant supports applied research and development initiatives in critical agricultural sectors, with a primary focus on aquaculture, to generate science-based information and innovations that address industry constraints, enhance sustainable production, and...
Arizona State University's Orspa division was awarded a $300,000 project grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture's Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (CFDA 10.310) program. The grant is to develop and deploy intelligent autonomous systems, such as digital twin models, to improve the automation and sustainability of aquaculture operations. The project aims to build fast machine learning models that can accurately represent the dynamics of aquaculture systems across...
This federal Project Grant award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) program (CFDA 10.310), provides $500,000 to the Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center (MAIC) to increase the integration of aquaculture education in Maine's elementary and middle school classrooms. The key objectives are to: (1) Promote educator expertise and implementation of aquaculture sciences in grades 4-8;...
The University of Maine System was awarded a $750,000 Project Grant from the Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (CFDA 10.310) program. Through this 4-year grant, which commenced on September 1, 2023, the University will develop and implement new learning tools, including virtual field trips and hands-on curricula, focused on aquaculture technology. The project aims to train educators and youth on using these...
The University of Maryland, College Park will receive $650,000 under a three-year Project Grant from the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture to assess approaches to improve fillet yield in rainbow trout breeding programs. The university, in collaboration with the USDA Agricultural Research Service National Cold Water Marine Aquaculture Center and a leading commercial producer of rainbow trout eggs, will conduct genome-wide association studies...
The University of Maine was awarded $750,000 under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative competitive federal grants program by the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture to establish the Aquaculture Experiential Opportunities for Undergraduate Students program. The five-year project grant will provide applied aquaculture science training and research experiences to 42 undergraduate students from across the U.S. through a hybrid virtual and in-person...
This Project Grant award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (CFDA 10.311) provides $749,891 to the Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center (MAIC), a non-profit organization, to expand their "Aquaculture in Shared Waters" training program in Maine. The program aims to train new, aspiring, and early-stage aquaculture farmers in the state, with a focus on low-cost aquaculture...