Iowa Corn’s Genome to Phenome Collaboration with Iowa State University Receives Major USDA Grant to Further Pioneering Agriculture

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture announced yesterday it is awarding almost $1.9 million to support the work of the Agriculture Genome to Phenome Initiative (AG2PI) being led by Iowa State University in collaboration with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the University of Idaho. The new grant is the third and largest award made through USDA NIFA’s AG2PI national initiative launched two years ago as part of the 2018 Farm Bill. 

The goal of AG2PI is to help advance multidisciplinary crop and livestock research by addressing genome to phenome challenges, developing solutions for research infrastructure needs and sharing solutions across kingdoms. It aims to foster collaborations of crop and livestock scientists with colleagues in diverse areas, including data science, statistics, engineering and social sciences, to improve the long-term efficiency and resilience of U.S. agriculture.   

“This genome to phenome research will have far-reaching effects,” said David Ertl, Technology Commercialization Manager at Iowa Corn. “It will allow breeders to create improved varieties faster, allow farmers to produce more resilient crops and livestock, and give consumers more choices for sustainably produced food.” Ertl serves on the Executive Board of the project and leads the stakeholder committee, including nearly 20 industry organizations.  

The Iowa Corn Promotion Board® (ICPB) has been working with several universities and the National Corn Growers Association to obtain this federal funding for phenotyping research, including Iowa State University. 

“The pioneering work supported by this initiative is beginning to provide scientists and breeders with the tools needed to adapt agricultural systems to improve their profitability and make them more sustainable and resilient to climate change,” said Distinguished Professor Patrick Schnable, the Iowa Corn Promotion Board Endowed Chair in Genetics at Iowa State University. 

This work is supported by the Agricultural Genome to Phenome Initiative, grant number 2022-70412-38454, project accession number 1029371 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. 

For More Information:

Rachel Zumbach, Public Relations Manager, rzumbach@iowacorn.org, 515-225-9242