Grow Big Red: Ag and Environmental Innovations from Nebraska

Ag innovation at Nebraska is supporting farmers and ranchers, boosting food security for future generations and even looking into ways to grow crops in space. Dive into research at Nebraska ⬇️

Leading the way in space ag

Husker engineers Yufeng Ge and Santosh Pitla aim to launch the first center for space agriculture. The goal? Find ways to sustainably grow food on space stations, Mars and other celestial bodies that might eventually sustain legions of humankind.

Advancing global food security

A $19 million grant is helping the University of Nebraska’s Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute advance global food security, coordinating a network of partners to achieve sustainable irrigation and agricultural mechanization by small farmers in developing countries.

Curbing methane emissions from cattle

Cattle may produce between 200 and 500 liters of methane, a greenhouse gas, daily through rumen fermentation, a process that breaks down plant materials and feed byproducts. Thanks to a $5 million award from the USDA, Husker researchers are looking into how to curb these emissions and are working toward more sustainable dairy and beef production.

Tracking drought response

Researchers at Nebraska are developing Fitbit-like sensors for crops to measure water use on an hourly or even minute-by-minute basis. Through their work, they’ll better understand and improve how crops respond to drought.

Protecting Nebraska’s groundwater

Nitrogen fertilizer is often used to grow crops, but when converted to nitrate, it may contaminate ground and surface water — which is harmful to human health & costly for communities to treat. Nebraska research is working to offer a cost-effective method for producers and Nebraska’s Natural Resources Districts to reduce nitrate leaching beneath cropland and improve groundwater quality.

Safeguarding crops from pests

Each year, plant-eating pests account for about 20% of crop losses worldwide. Traditional approaches to managing the problem — insecticides and genetically engineered plants — have stirred a variety of concerns. Husker researchers are using a nearly $1.2 million USDA grant to explore methods of shoring up the natural defense mechanisms of sorghum — a promising crop for food, feed and fuel.

Ensuring ag, food and environmental safety of Americans

The need for plant and environmental research in national security may not be immediately apparent, but the environment and the world’s ability to produce food is incredibly important. War, natural disasters, drought, climate change or even cyberattacks can put that stability at risk. Tala Awada is bringing her plant ecophysiology discipline into the national defense conversation through a new initiative.

Increasing producer profits

Nitrogen fertilizer is a critical input for farmers but prices are rising. Husker scientists are working to create more nitrogen-efficient crops, increasing farmer profits and making it possible to sustain crop yields and reduce the environmental footprint.

Building a high-tech farmhand

With the labor challenges farmers face, Santosh Pitla sees robots and autonomy as a critical tool to help maintain agricultural productivity. In addition to planting seeds autonomously in untilled soil, the Flex-Ro can perform other field operations with minimal changes to its hardware and software.

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