Researchers and project leaders from across the U.S. gathered in San Antonio, TX on Nov. 14 to exchange latest insights from their Dairy Soil & Water Regeneration studies. From site updates to publication discussions, DSWR project teams spent the day collaborating and learning from each other.
Team members delivered updates about the work at their individual sites, sharing preliminary findings, lessons, challenges and other key insights from the past year. They even had a chance to show off their creative side in a photo contest featuring images of their work in the field.
Christine Molling, a data modeler at the Soil Health Institute (SHI), updated the group on her work with the COMET-Farm greenhouse gas estimation tool. SHI research scientist Jerry Hsiao conducted a demonstration of the Slakes app, developed by SHI, used to measure aggregate stability in soils — an essential soil health indicator being analyzed in the project. Team members experimented with the app with their own soil samples they brought along with them.
Participants also broke into small groups for a discussion led by Dan Liptzin, research scientist and program director at SHI. The focus was to explore opportunities for publications that could highlight lessons from working on a large, multi-disciplinary project, as well as insights for measuring the interaction of soil health management systems and hydrology.
Jamie Mara, communications consultant to Dairy Management Inc. (DMI), and Corrine Brown, an analyst for sustainability research and initiatives at Newtrient, provided an update on the project’s completed communications tactics for 2024, highlighting successes for the year that contributed to the project’s visibility and engagement. They also discussed resources and opportunities project teams can look forward to in 2025 and outlined initiatives to continue building on momentum in communications during the coming year.
Meeting attendees also heard from Kathy Boomer, scientific program director at the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research, who reflected on the project’s progress, sharing key milestones and stressing the importance of collaboration to fulfill collective achievements. Reza Afshar, vice president of soil, feed and water research at DMI, gave a glimpse into the next steps of the project and thanked the teams for their work and commitment to exploring the sustainability of soil health management systems for dairy feed production.
Project teams departed the meeting eager to carry their research forward in the next years. Joshua Faulkner, principal investigator for the University of Vermont research team, reflected on the project’s progress and successes to come. He said, “I think what’s really becoming clear with this project is how significant it is in the way that it is going to help farmers hopefully become more resilient to the effects of climate change.”
