Extension's Role in Cover Crops

by Rick Koelsch, April 9, 2014

The role of cover crops in our Nebraska cropping systems and its contribution to the sustainability of our soil resources has been a conversation I have encountered in many places this winter.  Here are a few things I have learned and a few questions I have about Extension's future role.

What I have learned:

1. This is a topic that is equally of interest to main stream agriculture.  The Corn and Soybean Boards are willing to make some significant investments in this issue. Growers that I talked with at the Corn Grower's Association Board as well as at several Extension meetings this winter suggest that there is a plenty of questions from our most sophisticated farmers and very few answers coming from the University.
2. There are a small group of "early adopters" that know quite a lot about cover crops. These lessons have been learned from the school of "hard knocks". They may not be "replicated" experiences, but experiences we should not discount.
3. There is a "teachable moment" opportunity for the agricultural community on cover crops and soil health.
4. Our research and extension expertise in cropping systems has some catching up to do if we intend to be a part of this conversation.

 Gary Lesoing introduced me to two Nebraska producers who are experienced cover crop growers, Mike McDonald and Scott Gonnerman. I did not find them to be evangelists for the cover crops movement.  I did find them to be  knowledgeable and experienced individuals who are seeing benefits and have a sincere desire to learn more, possibly in partnership with UNL.  Here is what I heard from them about possible collaboration with UNL Extension:

1. There is a need for a cohort of farmers wanting to learn more about cover crops to have better opportunities to interact and share experiences.  Would UNL Extension want to be a part of this conversation and be willing to facilitate a gathering of this cohort with opportunities for sharing experiences and questions?
2. There is value in providing experienced cover crop growers the opportunity to share the lessons learned from their experience. Would UNL Extension partner with these  individuals to help share some of the lessons these individuals have learned.  With a lack of research based information for Nebraska (my observation), these experienced producers could be valuable partners as the the research is getting started.
3. Should our researchers be listening to these experience cover crop growers?  These field experiences might be a valuable guide to the research questions and answers that would be most beneficial to Nebraska.

I believe that the topic of Soil Health and the role of Cover Crops is an issue in which Extension needs to make an investment.  Who are the faculty that want to guide this investment?  What are the steps we can take to deliver solid information to our producers?  How can we collaborate with the more experienced cover crops growers?  How do we help the research community define the most critical questions for Nebraska to which we need answers?  I would like to know who would like to be a part of this conversation and some ideas on those first steps that might be most valuable.

Speciality Crop Funding Opportunity

by Rick Koelsch, March 26, 2014

(North Central Region Water Network - next article below)

(Teams Forming for USDA Water Funding - scroll two articles down)

NIFA has released a call for proposals for the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) for  2014. Do we have any proposals originating from Nebraska? Who is interested in connecting to a proposal team?

The intent of the SCRI program is to solve the needs of the various specialty crop industries.  SCRI program offers the following five project types for both research and extension projects. A letter of intent is due April 11 and full proposals will be due June 20th. A quick summary follows: 

Standard Research and Extension Project

• Project Period – Up to five years
• Budget – Federal funds not less than $250,000 per project.
• Purpose – To support targeted problem-solving efforts that would not otherwise qualify in scope for support as a Coordinated Agriculture project.

Coordinated Agricultural Projects

• Project Period – Three to five years.
• Funding range – Normally, federal funds will not exceed a total of $10,000,000.
• Purpose – To address specific multiple components of a primary system or multiple components of areas where primary systems overlap (see diagram on page 6).

Regional Partnerships for Innovation

• Project Period – Two to three years.
• Budget – Normally, federal funds will not exceed $2,000,000 per project.
• Purpose – To form partnerships that provide the local or regional infrastructure needed to fully exploit future technology commercialization and adoption.

eXtension Projects

• Project Period – Three to five years.
• Budget – Normally, federal funds will not exceed $450,000 per project.
• Purpose – To develop Communities of Practice (COPs) for the eXtension system and to support existing COPs.

   Research and Extension Planning Projects

• Project Period – One year.
• Budget – Federal funds up to $50,000 per project.
• Purpose – To provide assistance to applicants in the development of quality future SREP, RPI, or CAP proposals (grant planning).  Funds may also be requested to provide assistance to consumer, producer, or industry groups for developing strategic research and extension plans—including goals, objectives, priorities, etc. (strategic planning).  The expectation is that developed plans could provide the relevance bases for future SCRI grant applications. 

The SCRI RFA can be found at http://www.nifa.usda.gov/funding/rfas/specialty_crop.html

North Central Region Water Network

by Rick Koelsch, March 26, 2014

(Teams Forming for USDA Water Funding - next article below) 

We are excited to announce the launch of the new North Central Region Water Network – a 12-state collaboration between Extension water resource professionals and other water stakeholders. We are a new organization, but built on decades of USDA-funded regional work in the Great Lakes and Heartland Regions, and North and South Dakota.

With full support from our Extension Directors, we seek to:

• Increase connectivity and learning among university professionals and our partners engaged in water-related research, education, and management
• Strengthen the resource base available for Extension education. Extension provides a critical bridge between applied research and the people, organizations, and communities that can use that research to strengthen decision-making.
• Generate measurable environmental and social impacts in the short and long-term

We hope you will take some time in the near future to get to know us better. Please visit our website, contribute to our blog, and participate in our upcoming webinar series (first event scheduled for April 2nd).  You may also want to join our mailing list for the latest news about our network. Last but not least, be sure to read Extension Director Liaison Rick Klemme’s introduction to the Network and request for your participation.

We look forward to UNL faculty building connections to this network and to participating faculty in the North Central Region. This is an opportunity to build our regional connections on water issues.  If you have interest in water issues, we strongly encourage signing up for the regional network’s email list, participate in the speed networking webinar series,  and monitor the Network’s other activities.  Please note that the April 2^nd speed webinar includes our own Gary Zoubek along with three other presenters and focuses on water supply issues.

Welcome to the North Central Region Water Network!