Technology and social investment key factors in agriculture water quality

Taking advantage of — and keeping pace with — rapidly evolving technology will be a key factor in the ongoing effort to improve the balance of agricultural production and environmental stewardship. That was one of several insights provided by a panel of experts on farming and water quality that included Minnesota Corn Growers Association Executive Director Dr. Adam Birr at last week’s annual Agri-Growth Conference in Minneapolis.

“Maybe technology has outpaced our knowledge a little bit,” Birr said. “Let’s give our scientific knowledge a chance to catch up.”

Minnesota corn farmers are making the investment necessary to help researchers close that gap as quickly as possible. Birr cited how corn farmers support $4 million annually in research at institutions such as the University of Minnesota through the state’s corn check-off.

“The commitment is there from farmers,” Birr said. “There’s a huge interest to invest in agricultural productivity that has an environmental impact as well.”

Panelists also emphasized that while science might need some time to catch up with technology and develop effective ways to take advantage of the data produced, several technological precision agriculture innovations are already paying huge dividends when it comes to stewardship.

“I’m most optimistic when I see the technology tools out there and research that helps farmers make decisions based on what the plant’s needs are,” said Joel Wipperfurth, technology applications lead at Winfield Ag. “Nobody wants to over-apply nutrients or under-apply. Thanks to technology, we can now ask ourselves, ‘maybe we should be doing different things on sensitive areas of a field?’”

While technology already is and will continue playing an important role, we also must not forget the social side, said Dr. Jerry Hatfield, Laboratory Director of the National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment & Director of the Midwest Climate Hub for USDA’s Agricultural Research Service.

“Once we identify a problem, we need to get past who’s to blame, then get to solving that problem,” he said. “Our next investments are coming on the social side and up-scaling existing practices.”

Part of that social investment will involve farmers stepping up to connect with non-farmers about their conservation efforts. Today, less than 1 percent of the population farms. That means fewer people than ever before have a direct connection to the farm, yet curiosity about how food is raised is as high as ever.

“Farmers need to tell their story in a way that’s genuine and helps rebuild those connections to the farm,” Birr said.

Birr also noted that we are seeing improved trends in many areas of agriculture water quality. To Michael Reuter, Director of the North American Freshwater Program at The Nature Conservancy, the improvements show that agriculture is ready to continue moving forward.

“All of us need to recognize that this is the work we need to do on this,” Reuter said. “The sky is not falling, but we have the technology to do the work and continue making improvements.”