The American Society for Agronomy (ASA), Crop Science Society for America (CSSA) and Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) held their 2024 International Annual Meeting in San Antonio, bringing together soil and crop professionals from around the world to discuss revelations in research and innovation.
Several DSWR project team members shared insights and preliminary results with conference audiences:
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- Christine Molling, data modeler with the Soil Health Institute (SHI), presented her work on evaluating COMET-Farm model results in terms of soil organic carbon and available water holding capacity between three contrasting management groups.
- Jerry Hsiao, research soil scientist at SHI, shared insights on evaluating soil health dynamics across moisture gradients on a Wisconsin dairy farm. Hsiao also presented results from Task 1 of DSWR, a soil health baseline survey on commercial dairy farms across the U.S.
Molly Ratliff, a graduate research assistant at the University of Vermont, spoke about her research in the Champlain Basin investigating how soil conditions and microtopography influence greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, namely nitrous oxide and methane, in poorly drained fields, and highlighted soil health management systems to reduce these emissions. She won first place in the student oral presentations for the Soil Carbon and Greenhouse Gas Emissions community; congratulations Molly!
Kishan Mahmud, agroecosystem research scientist for the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, discussed his work comparing soil health, water quality and GHG emissions between commonly used field practices and soil health management systems in corn silage and alfalfa dairy forage production systems. Mahmud shared insight into his results so far: “After the treatment application, we found that the soil aggregate stability was higher in the soil health management system compared to the conventional business as usual. We also looked into available water holding capacity in those systems and in the in-row water holding capacity in soil health management, we saw [it was] higher.”
Helen Solecki, former Cornell University field and research technician, shared preliminary results from a field-scale study in central New York comparing commonly used field practices and soil health management systems in corn silage and alfalfa rotations, examining their effects on GHG emissions, water quality, yield, and forage quality. She was awarded third place in the student oral presentations for the Soil Carbon and Greenhouse Gas Emissions community; congratulations Helen!- Erick Amaya Aguilar, a Cornell research intern, presented his soil incubation study on the nitrogen and GHG emission footprints of novel manure-based products.
- Jasdeep Singh, postdoctoral researcher at Cornell, shared preliminary findings from his research in western New York on how novel manure-based products and field management systems influence corn silage yield and environmental impact.
Researchers also presented their studies in poster sessions. Adam von Haden, scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, highlighted the six-year study in southcentral Wisconsin evaluating soil health metrics, soil carbon and GHGs under various manure types, commonly used field practices and soil health management systems.
Adolfo Coyotl, Ph.D. student at the University of California, Davis, shared his poster on the influence of surficial dairy manure compost application on GHGs in an almond orchard.
DSWR leaders say sharing research results is a vital component of the project, especially at events such as the Tri-Societies meeting.
The goal is to reach farmers who can directly incorporate the insights into their decision-making about field management practices, fostering innovation and sustainability within the dairy sector.
Photos: from top: Jasdeep Singh, Helen Solecki, Kishan Mahmud, Adam von Haden, and Adolfo Coyotl; courtesy of Corrine Brown.