The United States Department of Agriculture has awarded Iowa State with nearly $10 million to fund six research projects. The USDA’s Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food Systems grant program issued more than $113 million to various universities, private institutions and federal laboratories. Iowa State’s six grants were among 86 grants that were chosen from 1,000 proposals. Each research project is scheduled to begin Sept. 30. IFAF awarded grants to multi-state, multidisciplinary projects that researched genomics, biotechnology, food safety and nutrition. Other focus areas included new uses for farm products, natural resources and farm efficiency. Richard Ross, dean of the College of Agriculture, said he was enthused about the funding. “We’re very excited that our faculty was competitive and successful,” he said. “All projects address issues of high priority for Iowa communities, farmers and consumers.” Iowa State will be the lead researcher in two of the six projects totaling more than $1 million. Charles Brummer, associate professor of agronomy, will be heading one of the lead projects by researching alfalfa genetics. He said his project will look for ways to increase the crop’s yield by trying to improve its ability to survive harsh winters. “We hope to get the research out to the farmers within the next few years,” he said. Brummer will be working with on the project with ISU Professor of Agronomy Ken Moore, USDA collaborator Paul Scott and scientists from Purdue University. The project will total $549,000, and Iowa State’s share is $365,000. The other lead project, totaling $588,000, will be led by Max Rothschild, ISU distinguished professor of animal science. He will work with Jack Dekkers and Rohan Fernando, animal science professors from the University of Illinois. Iowa State received $367,000 for the project. Dekkers said the project is going to focus on identifying the genes in commercial swine to improve the eating quality of pork. “Our goal is to be able to go to the animals, take a DNA sample, and select the best quality,” he said. He said one of the ideas of the project is to take the technology all the way to application. Iowa State also received money to fund research on the economic, ethical and social aspects of agricultural biotechnology in a consortium; to study sustainable swine production in a project to improve small farm profitability in north-central states; to develop organic crop programs aimed at small and mid-sized farms; and to evaluate practices to better manage phosphorus in manure from livestock operations.