The University of Wisconsin-Madison was awarded a $1 million 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 grant will fund the development of a computer vision system combining cow body shape and feeding behavior data to improve dairy cow health and welfare on farms. The university aims to create an accurate predictive model for early detection of...
The University of Wisconsin-Madison will receive $650,000 under a Project Grant award from the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA) Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) competitive grants program. The university will conduct research from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2027 to improve the health, welfare and efficiency of dairy cattle under adverse environmental conditions through selection for resilience. The researchers will...
This $650,000 Project Grant from the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA) Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) federal grant program will fund research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to improve feed efficiency in dairy cows. The University will leverage an ongoing FFAR grant to study differences in mitochondrial efficiency, protein turnover, mammary nutrient extraction, and biomarkers between high and low residual...
This $1,000,000 Project Grant from the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA) under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) federal grant program will fund the creation and release of reference datasets and benchmarking data to advance the development of computer vision applications in precision livestock farming. Michigan State University is the primary awardee and will work with sub-awardees Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, the...
The Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) awarded $648,909 under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) federal grant program (CFDA 10.310) to Purdue University. The four-year project grant aims to integrate multi-omics and high-throughput phenotypic datasets through machine learning to improve animal resilience and welfare. Specifically, the awardee will evaluate algorithms and develop tools to process large datasets from precision dairy...
The University of Wisconsin System was awarded a $1,000,000 Project Grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture's Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (CFDA 10.310) with a performance period from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2027. This grant will fund research to better understand how the rumen microbiome of dairy cows affects methane production, and how dietary changes can influence these emissions. The researchers aim to uncover the trade-offs involved in reducing methane...
The University of Missouri System received a $649,999 Project Grant award from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) CFDA Program 10.310. The objective is to develop a digital system that improves beef cattle production, enhances farm profitability, and provides small and medium-sized farmers with a climate-smart tool to address climate change. The project will use computer-generated surface area and volume data to...
This $650,000 project grant from the US Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) program (CFDA 10.310) will fund research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on optimizing dairy calf management practices to improve long-term milk production. The grant period is from June 1, 2023 to May 31, 2027. Specifically, the university will determine the individual and combined effects of pre-weaning heat stress...
The Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded a $650,000 Project Grant to the University of Wisconsin-Madison under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative competitive grants program (CFDA 10.310). The three-year project aims to advance understanding of follicle selection in cattle reproduction through a series of experiments testing the role of luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone pulses. The University of Wisconsin-Madison will lead...
This $300,000 federal Project Grant award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) program is funding research at the University of Illinois to develop next-generation phenotyping methods for assessing feed and water efficiency in cattle. The project aims to demonstrate that image-based biometric body traits can accurately predict feed and water efficiency, and integrate these novel traits into genetic selection programs to enable more...