2. Agriculture, food, energy, and
natural resources security at
the epicenter of global
challenges
Overview of Nebraska
agriculture and natural
resources
University of Nebraska at
work for food, fuel, and water
security
3. • Profitability, increase efficiency and
productivity, reduce labor
• Natural resources considered free and
unlimited, off-field effects unknown,
social and economic dynamics secondary
4. Growing global population in
a closed system
Recognition of links between
local and global food security,
health, poverty and
social/political stability
Increased demand per capita
for food, water, fiber and
energy - tradeoffs loom
large; need for disruptive
technologies
12. 40% increase in population by 2050,
doubling the demand for food
1/3 of world’s population suffering
from water shortages
By 2025, 2/3 will be affected by
scarcities
Agriculture responsible for 70% of all
water withdrawals
We must grow more food with less
water
13. Green bars show 95%
confidence intervals
2005 was the warmest year on record; the
14 warmest all occurred since 1990; 24 out
of the 25 warmest since 1980.
http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/graphs/
14. “Science and technology must spearhead
agricultural production in the next 40 years
at a pace faster than the Green Revolution
did during the past three decades.”
Jacques Diouf
Director General, FAO
18. 47,400 farms and ranches + largest aquifer
45.6M acres of farmland, largest irrigated state and
watershed network
1st nationally in commercial red meat production
2nd nationally in ethanol production capacity
4th nationally in value of ag products sold
5th nationally in value of crops
19. 1 in 3 Nebraska jobs are result of
agribusiness activity
ROI of
15 to 1
20. Ag receipts in 2011 projected to be over $23 B
Ag net income projected to be at $5.4 B
Land prices escalating (22% expected increase in
2011)
Generational transfer of land in NE projected at
$8 B over the next five years
Total asset value of NE farm real estate to be
potentially transferred is estimated at $81 B
21. Diversity of climate and soils enables the testing of crops
and agronomics in 4 major agro-ecological zones
22. Major river systems: Platte, Loup, Republican
High Plains Aquifer, largest in North America
More than 2 billion acre-feet of water
Decades of data characterizing the aquifer
Nebraska #1 in irrigated cropland in the US
24. 20,000 undergraduates, 5,000
graduate students
Top 10% of US public universities in
R&D expenditures
Areas of strength
– Agriculture/Life Sciences
– Water and Climate
– Nanoscience & materials science
– Energy sciences
– Transportation
– Math, physics
29. IANR really is . . .
1,615
people passionate about making a
difference
• 1,200 IANR employees work on campus
• 400 IANR employees are located in
Nebraska communities statewide
• 560 total faculty
30.
31.
32.
33. Established in April, 2010 with a $50 million gift from
the Robert B. Daugherty Charitable Foundation
Vision: The Water for Food Institute is a research,
education and policy institute committed to helping
the world efficiently use its limited freshwater
resources, with particular focus on ensuring the food
supply for current and future generations.
34. WFI is a research, policy analysis and education institute
focused on growing more food using less water
Address issues important in Nebraska and globally
Developed and developing nations
Large-scale production ag and translation to small-holder
farmers
Irrigated and rainfed agriculture
Emphasis on sustainability of water and agriculture systems
35. More than 100 faculty work in water and food issues
at NU
– Groundwater – surface water interactions
– Drought prediction & mitigation
– Irrigation efficiency, evapotranspiration measurement &
modeling
– Plant genomics, breeding and biotechnology
– Agroecology, crop yield modeling, cropping systems
– Food science & technology
– Information technology, advanced software development
– Remote sensing & GIS
– Water and ag economics, policy and law
– Human dimensions of water use
36. Quantify ag systems productivity,
yield potential and impact on the
environment
Model how high yields can rise on
existing land while protecting and
sustaining natural resources
Provides basis for predicting trends in
global food security, local-level food
production capacity and land use
change with sustainable practices
Global Yield Gap Atlas being
developed
37. Irrigation engineering fundamentals
Evapotranspiration (crop water use)
Crop water use efficiency (water productivity)
Irrigation and crop yield relationships
Measurement and modeling of surface energy balance
variables
Dissemination of research results to farmers, crop
consultants, and state agency personnel
38. Complete innovation pipeline from lab to field
– Genomics of crops’ tolerance to stress, disease and improved
nutritional quality
– Plant transformation of all major crops
– Plant breeding and variety
development: wheat,
sorghum, soybean
Dedicated field-scale facilities for testing of GMO crops
39. National Drought Mitigation Center
– Global leadership in drought
management
– Drought monitoring/early warning
systems:
– Risk assessment/decision support
tools
– Drought planning and mitigation
Climate modeling, supercomputing
capacity, remote sensing
40. Extensive modeling of groundwater-
surface water interactions and
characterization of the High Plains
aquifer
Apply this expertise to identifying
aquifers suitable for new
groundwater irrigation
– Many areas have scarce data on
groundwater characteristics
needed for sustainable aquifer
development