Presentations
W1
Nutrient Management
Wed, Dec 14, 2022
1:00pm to 1:50pm
W11
Nutrient Management
Wed, Dec 14, 2022
11:00am to 11:50am
Research Prioritization for Robust U.S. Agriculture and Global Food Security: How Would You Invest?
Although U.S. Agriculture is the foundation of human food supply in terms of progress towards environmental sustainability and total production of calories, protein, and vegetable oil, major improvements are required within 28 years (2050) to deal with population growth, dietary shifts, and climate change. Crop yields must rise faster than ever while negative environmental impacts must fall by half. Assuming explicit 2050 goals of a 50% increase in crop yields on existing crop land and a 50% improvement in efficiencies for N, water and energy in US agriculture (crops and livestock), what kinds of research and technology development would you invest in using taxpayer dollars funding USDA, Land Grant Universities, other research and education institutions” to meet these challenges. Why does it matter?
Speakers
Tony Vyn
Dr. Tony J. Vyn, Professor of Agronomy and Corteva Agriscience Henry A. Wallace Chair in Crop Sciences. Tony has studied crop rotation and tillage systems for his whole career, first at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, and then at Purdue University since 1998. For the past 25 years, Tony has directed Purdue’s long-term tillage plots that were started in 1975 by previous faculty at Purdue. Together with many graduate students and research team members, Tony has investigated the applications and challenges involved in adopting more sustainable cropping systems. He has always been interested in getting to a better understanding corn physiology and nutrient efficiency changes with modern genetics and new management approaches. Tony plans to retire at the end of 2023.
Ken Cassman
Currently Emeritus Professor of Agronomy, University of Nebraska, and agricultural consultant. Over a 40-yr career, Ken’s research has focused on ensuring local to global food security while conserving natural resources and protecting the environment. He has worked on many of the world’s major cropping systems—from rice-based systems in the tropics of Asia and South America, to maize-soybean systems in the US, Brazil, and Argentina, and high-value irrigated crops in California, Tasmania, Peru, and Egypt. He currently works at the intersection of intensive agriculture and environmental advocacy to improve yields, profit, soils, and environmental performance. Dr. Cassman led development of the Global Yield Gap Atlas (www.yieldgap.org), a map-based web platform to estimate exploitable gaps in yield and water productivity of major food crops. He co-authored Crop Ecology, a seminal upper-division/graduate school textbook, served as inaugural Editor-in-Chief of the Global Food Security journal, and was a member of the US-EPA Science Advisory Committee on Integrated Nitrogen Management. In 2017, he received the Bertebos Prize from the Swedish Royal Academy of Agriculture and Forestry in recognition of his contributions to agricultural science. Dr. Cassman holds a Ph.D. in Agronomy and Soil Science from the University of Hawaii.