Federal Grant Award Summary

The University of Nevada, Reno received a $1.15 million Project Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) program (CFDA 10.310), awarded August 1, 2026, with a completion date of July 31, 2030. The project will develop and field-test an innovative mobile robotic watering system called RoboHydra, combined with artificial intelligence and animal genetics analysis, to address water scarcity, labor costs, and sustainability challenges facing sheep producers in water-limited regions of the western United States. The system will integrate robotics, computer vision, and sensor technology to guide more efficient grazing patterns while automatically collecting health and behavioral data on individual animals.

The deliverables include the design and field-testing of the RoboHydra robotic watering station; collection and analysis of sheep phenotypic data using cameras and sensors to identify health indicators and resilience traits; genetic analysis linking animal health and behavior measurements to breeding traits for environmental stress adaptation; and dissemination of findings through workshops, field demonstrations, and educational programs for livestock producers, students, and youth. Upon successful completion, the project is expected to improve grazing distribution across rangelands, enable timely detection of animal health issues, and generate breeding data to support development of sheep populations more resilient to heat stress and limited water availability, thereby reducing operational costs and strengthening long-term sustainability of livestock production systems in drought-prone regions.