Project Grant 20254000044934
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded a $181,500 Project Grant under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program to Membrane Protective Technologies, Inc. The goal of this 8-month Phase I project is to develop a delivery system for a natural, plant-derived cervical softening agent that enables more effective artificial insemination in small ruminants like sheep and goats. This addresses the USDA's strategic goal of fostering an...
- This $650,000 Project Grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, will fund research under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative competitive grants program. The awardee, the Agricultural Research Service located in Fort Collins, Colorado, will develop techniques using strategically-coated magnetic nano-particles to remove defective spermatozoa from bull semen. Field studies will then evaluate the reproductive potential of the...
- This Project Grant award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program (CFDA 10.212) provides $175,000 to Emgenisys Inc. to develop a non-invasive, real-time tool that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to predict the sex of bovine embryos. The technology, which involves recording a 30-second video of an embryo on a smartphone, aims to enable beef and dairy producers to make more...
- This $550,000 Project Grant from the US Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) program will fund research at Iowa State University to improve understanding and assessment of boar sperm fertility. The university will identify biochemical differences between more and less fertile boar sperm to better understand the molecular mechanisms of fertility and infertility. Researchers will also translate sperm...
- This $174,993 Project Grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program seeks to develop a sustainable, biocontrol solution to improve soybean seedling survival. The project, led by Terra Bioworks Inc., aims to combine powerful antibiosis activities from multiple Bacillus probiotic strains into a single, versatile biocontrol agent. This innovative approach aims to provide an...
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) awarded a $179,086 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program / Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program grant (CFDA 10.212) to Seedling Biosystems Inc. on Sep 15, 2025. The project aims to develop a sustainable approach to produce small molecule and protein ingredients, such as squalene, using soybeans through a proprietary "precision germination" method. This innovation seeks...
- This $180,000 Project Grant awarded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) CFDA 10.310 program supports research to understand how semen processing affects sperm characteristics and early embryo development in dairy cattle. The research aims to improve fertility rates when using sexed semen, which currently produces embryos with delayed development and lower transferability compared to conventional semen. The 3-year...
- The University of Missouri System was awarded $500,000 under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) competitive grants program administered by the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The project grant funding will support research and development of semen extenders to improve artificial insemination efficiency and pregnancy rates in swine and dairy cattle industries. Specifically, the university researchers will develop techniques to...
- This $500,000 project grant from the Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) program will develop new selection tools to improve male fertility in beef cattle. Awarded to Kansas State University on May 1, 2021 for a five-year period concluding on April 30, 2026, the grant will result in prototype tools utilizing conception data, semen quality metrics, and breeding soundness examination results on beef bulls....
- This Project Grant award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) / Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program is providing $181,429 to Giner Inc., a small business research and development firm in Auburndale, MA. The goal of this award, with a period of performance from September 15, 2025 to May 14, 2026, is to develop a bacteriophage-based solution to reduce the prevalence of...
This $181,500 Project Grant award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program focuses on developing plant-based alternatives to the animal-based semen extenders currently used for sperm cryopreservation in the multi-billion-dollar bull semen export industry. The goal is to create a new plant-based semen extender that provides the same protective benefits as egg yolk and milk, but without the risk of inadvertently transmitting animal diseases during semen export. This Phase I project aims to test combinations of plant extracts to identify a replacement for the animal-based components that maintain sperm quality. The awardee, Membrane Protective Technologies, Inc., will conduct this research with the potential for the technology to be rapidly applied to other livestock species beyond cattle.
Mod # | Description | ReasonForModification | Federal Obligation | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not listed | $181.5k | 7/29/25 |