WASAG Talk: Engaging Stakeholders around Efficient and Profitable Crop Production
Date: Tuesday, July 11, 2023, 11:30-12:30 (CET)
Moderator: Ruhiza Jean Boroto, Senior Land and Water Officer.
Venue NSP-Meeting-Room-B750bis and by Zoom: https://fao.zoom.us/j/99753246194 (Passcode: 123456789)
SPEAKER
Daran R. Rudnick, Ph.D.
Hub Leader:
Water and Integrated Cropping Systems
Associate Professor:
Irrigation Management Specialist
Robert B. Daugherty Institute Global Water for Food Faculty Fellow, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Background
The Testing Ag Performance Solutions (TAPS, taps.unl.edu) program (co-developed by Daran Rudnick, a faculty fellow of the Daugherty Water for Food Institute(DWFI, https://waterforfood.nebraska.edu/) and co-leader of the Water and Integrated Cropping Systems (WICS) Hub within the University of Nebraska Lincoln’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources) has been adopted as a model in other states to engage diverse groups of stakeholders around efficient and profitable crop production. The TAPS program is characterized by its innovative approach that combines interactive, "citizen-science" learning with interdisciplinary research. It revolves around annual farm management competitions hosted at university research farms, where participants (i.e., producers) make real-world management decisions, such as crop cultivar and seeding rate, irrigation and nitrogen amount, timing, and method, crop insurance, and marketing, which are then implemented side-by-side in replicated plots on the same field. This unique setup exposes producers to new and emerging technologies, allowing them to evaluate practices without exposing their own farm operations to unnecessary risks. In addition, it allows for TAPS researchers to directly compare and evaluate the influence of management decisions on production, efficiency, and economic outcomes void of farm and regional-level differences, including soil type, weather conditions, and equipment availability.
Dr. Rudnick will present the TAPS program and discuss opportunities for collaboration in the context of the Global Water Scarcity in Agriculture (WASAG) and beyond. DWFI is a founding Partner of WASAG and serves on its Steering Committee since its establishment. DWFI is also an active member of its working groups on Sustainable Agriculture Water Use and on Drought Preparedness.
The talk will be followed by Questions and Answers.