Enhancing the Sustainability of US Cropping Systems through Cover Crops and an Innovative Information and Technology Network (PSA)

Research Objectives

1. Transform cover crop data connectivity via nationwide social and technical infrastructure.
2. Develop key technologies to improve cover crop performance, inform management, and determine impacts on agronomic productivity, stability, and ecosystem services.
3. Develop key technologies with cover crops to assess abiotic and biotic factors affecting crop performance.
4. Transform education and extension knowledge delivery to catalyze cover crop adoption.
5. Determine the effectiveness of a cover crop information ecology as a model for integrating participatory research and practice.

• Visit the Precision Sustainable Agriculture Website

Project Details

This research is part of a regional collaborative project supported by the USDA-NIFA, Award No. 2019-68012-29818, “Precision Sustainable Ag Coordinated Agricultural Project” (PSA-CAP): ”Enhancing the  Sustainability of US Cropping Systems through Cover Crops and an Innovative Information and Technology Network.”

• Activities

  Think Tank

  A panel of stakeholders make recommendations for research design, data collection, project outreach, on-farm trials, mobilizing growers, and future experiments.

  We hosted four Think Tank meetings from 2021-22. We will host two meetings in 2023.

  Research Assessments

  Farmers and agricultural service providers evaluate the research design, treatments, and data collection and identify benefits and limitations of our research.

  • the participants are told what treatments are being tested but they do not know which treatment is in each plot
  • participants observe the field research plots and record their observations about plant vigor, weed suppression, pest damage, disease damage, etc.
  • participants then engage in a facilitated discussion as a group and identify the most desirable and least desirable treatments observed
  • participants then make recommendations for future experiments after the plot/treatment key is revealed

  We hosted an on-station research assessment at the UF/IFAS West Florida Research and Education Center in Jay, FL in 2021.

  We hosted an on-station research assessment at the UF/IFAS Plant Science Research and Education Unit in Citra, FL in 2022.

  Presentations

  Sattanno, K. and Swisher, M. E. (2022) Farmer Think Tank Enhancing Cover Crop Research: Stakeholder-Driven Adaptive Research (SDAR). Presentation at ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meeting. Baltimore, MD.

• Team Members

  University of Florida

  Common Experiment 1	Pratap Devkota, Ph.D.	Yogendra (Yogi) Upadhyaya, M.S.
  Common Experiment 2	Carlene Chase, Ph.D.	Daniel Boakye, Ph.D.
  On-Farm Trials	Danielle Treadwell, Ph.D.	David Campbell, Ph.D.
  Social Science	Mickie Swisher, Ph.D.	Kaylene Sattanno

  Project Directors

  • Chris Reberg-Horton, Ph.D. (Lead Project Director) | North Carolina State University
  • Steven Mirsky, Ph.D. | USDA-ARS Beltsville, MD
  • Alison Robertson, Ph.D. | Iowa State University
  • Jennifer Thompson, Ph.D. | University of Georgia
  • Matthew Ryan, Ph.D. | Cornell University
  • Meredith Niles, Ph.D. | University of Vermont
  • Kelley Tilmon, Ph.D. | The Ohio State University