The BetterSoil Alliance is pleased to welcome two new partners – Ceres Imaging and Phytech – to help support the California almond industry in the pursuit of improving water productivity, soil health, and lowering carbon footprint. Since its inception last fall by Yara North America and Heliae® Agriculture, the Alliance has established a framework for evaluating soil chemical, physical, and …
DWFI Podcast 18 Renata Rimšaitė, National Drought Mitigation Center
Renata Rimšaitė is a senior program manager with DWFI and the National Drought Mitigation Center. Renata studies incentive-based water management, including tools designed to motivate or incentivize water using or managing parties to modify the way they use water, not only because it is sustainable, but also because it’s in their financial interest. Water markets is an example of incentive-based …
DWFI Podcast 17 – Karina Schoengold, UNL Agricultural Economics
DWFI Faculty Fellow Karina Schoengold is leading a $6 million, 4-year project to reduce the use of plastics, herbicides and associated environmental impacts in agricultural production. The use of plastics has been growing in agriculture over recent years to help increase productivity by limiting weeds, protecting growth and extending growing seasons. The team aims to create a bio-based material called …
DWFI Podcast 16 – Erin Haacker – Nebraska Groundwater
Erin Haacker is a hydrogeologist and assistant professor at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. As Erin would say, her professional path has been a winding road. She has two bachelor’s degrees – zoology from the University of Montana and geology from University College Cork in Ireland. She ventured to Michigan State University for her Ph.D., double majoring in environmental science and …
DWFI Podcast 15 – Roric Paulman, Paulman Farms
Roric Paulman is a producer and owner of Paulman Farms, located just south of Sutherland, Nebraska and in the heart of the Ogallala Aquifer, comprised of both irrigated and rain fed farmland. The farm was established and harvested its first crop in 1985 and uses the latest on-farm technology to grow more than a dozen crops. It is one of …
DWFI Podcast 14 – Jackson Stansell, Sentinel Fertigation
Jackson Stansell is CEO and founder of Sentinel Fertigation, a Lincoln, Nebraska ag startup founded in 2021 that uses drone- and satellite-collected imagery to predict when a corn crop needs fertilization — saving growers money and reducing environmental impact. Jackson has a connection to the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute. He received student support from the institute while working …
DWFI Podcast – Business Ecosystem in Rwanda
Of Rwanda’s roughly 600,000 hectares of irrigable land, only 10% is currently irrigated. With a more developed irrigation industry, farmers would be able to take advantage of three growing seasons, rather than one, enabling better food security and income. However, there are gaps in knowledge needed to advance the industry. Seeking to make these advancements accessible, staff at the Daugherty …
Nebraska Inspires Water Partnership with Brazil
The government of Mato Grosso, Brazil found what it was looking for in Nebraska – ways to improve the sustainable development of water for crop irrigation and pasture land, to intensify production on existing lands and decrease expansion of agriculture on fragile ecosystem. As a result of a technical visit to Nebraska in May, Mato Grosso will sign a technical …
Daugherty Water for Food Podcast Episode 12
Managed aquifer recharge can be an innovative way to both satisfy endangered species’ habitat restoration and benefit crop irrigators in the area. This is exactly how it was used in Nebraska’s Central Platte Valley when river canals were already in need of repair after more than 100 years of use. The process consists of recharging an aquifer using either surface …
Daugherty Water for Food Podcast Episode 11
The Daugherty Water for Food Podcast is back after a brief hiatus to bring you a new episode focused on ensuring water and food security for our growing world. Matt Foley is program director for The Combine AgriFood Incubator, a part of Invest Nebraska, which supports early stage agtech companies in row crop, animal health, digital agriculture and sustainability. The …