Date: Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Time: 1:30 to 2:30 pm
Eastern/12:30 to 1:30 pm Central/11:30 am -12:30 pm Mountain/10:30 -
11:30 am Pacific
Title: On-farm Trials: How Do
You Know a Good One When You See One?
CEUs: CCA/CPAg: 1.0 Crop Management
CPSS/CPSC: 1.0 Professional Meeting
Webinar Description:
Improving nitrogen (N) and water use efficiency for cropping
systems is of significant agronomic, economic, and environmental value to
stakeholders. Precision agriculture technologies and methodologies offer
potential opportunities for improving N and water management. The most
promising way to improve the efficiency of agricultural inputs – is to apply
them based on site-specific crop requirements. Sound N and water
recommendations should take into account spatial (field-to-field, within a
field) and temporal (within a season, among seasons) variability in soil
residual N and available water. Crop yield potential response to N and water
varies greatly depending on a variety of environmental factors. Crop canopy sensors enable us to
access crop nutrient and water status mid-season and have been successfully
utilized to predict yield potential in many crops around the world.
Incorporating environmental characteristics, such as an estimate of crop water
status, should further improve N and water recommendations. Conducting
precision agriculture research in on-farm conditions offers several key
advantages. It encourages collaboration of crop producers with the research
institutions, includes growers in the management decision process, and
generates results the local growers can trust. Furthermore, on-farm projects
enhance the educational outreach and encourage the acceptance and adoption of
precision agriculture technologies and methodologies. The webinar will provide
information on completed and current on-farm projects focusing on precision N
and water management. In addition, an overview of key components required for
successful planning and implementation of on-farm studies will be covered.
Speaker Bio:
Dr. Olga Walsh is a Cropping Systems Agronomist and
Extension Specialist with the University of Idaho’s Parma Research and Extension Center. Olga was hired to direct the Cropping Systems program in
September 2014. The program’s primary goals are two-fold: 1) develop applied
research projects that address pressing needs of crop producers in Idaho and
the Pacific Northwest region, and 2) conduct educational outreach to
agricultural professionals. The program is currently focused on developing
scientifically-based, field-tested, unbiased grower recommendations that would
improve sustainability and profitability of farming operations. The current
projects are in wheat, barley, dry beans, alfalfa and corn. Olga’s training and
background is in Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrient Management. Originally from
Russia, she obtained her BS degree in Soil Science at St. Petersburg State University, Russia. She received her MS and PhD degrees at the Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK. Prior to her UI appointment, she served as a Soil
Nutrient Management Specialist with the Montana State University for 4 years.
Olga is a published author on a variety of precision agriculture topics and has
presented at numerous national and international precision agriculture events.
Olga manages and writes for a Cropping Systems Blog (Idaho Crops & Soils),
and writes and publishes a monthly newsletter – Idaho Crops & Soils News.
University
of Idaho Extension improves people's lives by engaging the University and our
communities through research-based education. Our areas of expertise are
Agriculture, Community Development, Family and Consumer Sciences, Natural
Resources, and Youth Development.
To enrich
education through diversity the University of Idaho is an equal
opportunity/affirmative action employer and educational institution.
