2.  Agriculture, food, energy, and
natural resources security at
the epicenter of global
challenges
 Overview of Nebraska
agriculture and natural
resources
 University of Nebraska at
work for food, fuel, and water
security

3. • Profitability, increase efficiency and
productivity, reduce labor
• Natural resources considered free and
unlimited, off-field effects unknown,
social and economic dynamics secondary

4.  Growing global population in
a closed system
 Recognition of links between
local and global food security,
health, poverty and
social/political stability
 Increased demand per capita
for food, water, fiber and
energy - tradeoffs loom
large; need for disruptive
technologies

8. Source: Food Economics and Consumer
Choice (Simmons, 2008)

12.  40% increase in population by 2050,
doubling the demand for food
 1/3 of world’s population suffering
from water shortages
 By 2025, 2/3 will be affected by
scarcities
 Agriculture responsible for 70% of all
water withdrawals
We must grow more food with less
water

13. Green bars show 95%
confidence intervals
2005 was the warmest year on record; the
14 warmest all occurred since 1990; 24 out
of the 25 warmest since 1980.
http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/graphs/

14. “Science and technology must spearhead
agricultural production in the next 40 years
at a pace faster than the Green Revolution
did during the past three decades.”
Jacques Diouf
Director General, FAO

17. http://www.naute.com/images/evolutionofman.jpg

18.  47,400 farms and ranches + largest aquifer
 45.6M acres of farmland, largest irrigated state and
watershed network
 1st nationally in commercial red meat production
 2nd nationally in ethanol production capacity
 4th nationally in value of ag products sold
 5th nationally in value of crops

19. 1 in 3 Nebraska jobs are result of
agribusiness activity
ROI of
15 to 1

20.  Ag receipts in 2011 projected to be over $23 B
 Ag net income projected to be at $5.4 B
 Land prices escalating (22% expected increase in
2011)
 Generational transfer of land in NE projected at
$8 B over the next five years
 Total asset value of NE farm real estate to be
potentially transferred is estimated at $81 B

21. Diversity of climate and soils enables the testing of crops
and agronomics in 4 major agro-ecological zones

22.  Major river systems: Platte, Loup, Republican
 High Plains Aquifer, largest in North America
 More than 2 billion acre-feet of water
 Decades of data characterizing the aquifer
 Nebraska #1 in irrigated cropland in the US

23.  54% rainfed
 46% irrigated

24.  20,000 undergraduates, 5,000
graduate students
 Top 10% of US public universities in
R&D expenditures
 Areas of strength
– Agriculture/Life Sciences
– Water and Climate
– Nanoscience & materials science
– Energy sciences
– Transportation
– Math, physics

28. Barta Bros
GSL
HPAL

29. IANR really is . . .
1,615
people passionate about making a
difference
• 1,200 IANR employees work on campus
• 400 IANR employees are located in
Nebraska communities statewide
• 560 total faculty

33. Established in April, 2010 with a $50 million gift from
the Robert B. Daugherty Charitable Foundation
Vision: The Water for Food Institute is a research,
education and policy institute committed to helping
the world efficiently use its limited freshwater
resources, with particular focus on ensuring the food
supply for current and future generations.

34.  WFI is a research, policy analysis and education institute
focused on growing more food using less water
 Address issues important in Nebraska and globally
 Developed and developing nations
 Large-scale production ag and translation to small-holder
farmers
 Irrigated and rainfed agriculture
 Emphasis on sustainability of water and agriculture systems

35.  More than 100 faculty work in water and food issues
at NU
– Groundwater – surface water interactions
– Drought prediction & mitigation
– Irrigation efficiency, evapotranspiration measurement &
modeling
– Plant genomics, breeding and biotechnology
– Agroecology, crop yield modeling, cropping systems
– Food science & technology
– Information technology, advanced software development
– Remote sensing & GIS
– Water and ag economics, policy and law
– Human dimensions of water use

36.  Quantify ag systems productivity,
yield potential and impact on the
environment
 Model how high yields can rise on
existing land while protecting and
sustaining natural resources
 Provides basis for predicting trends in
global food security, local-level food
production capacity and land use
change with sustainable practices
 Global Yield Gap Atlas being
developed

37.  Irrigation engineering fundamentals
 Evapotranspiration (crop water use)
 Crop water use efficiency (water productivity)
 Irrigation and crop yield relationships
 Measurement and modeling of surface energy balance
variables
 Dissemination of research results to farmers, crop
consultants, and state agency personnel

38.  Complete innovation pipeline from lab to field
– Genomics of crops’ tolerance to stress, disease and improved
nutritional quality
– Plant transformation of all major crops
– Plant breeding and variety
development: wheat,
sorghum, soybean
 Dedicated field-scale facilities for testing of GMO crops

39.  National Drought Mitigation Center
– Global leadership in drought
management
– Drought monitoring/early warning
systems:
– Risk assessment/decision support
tools
– Drought planning and mitigation
 Climate modeling, supercomputing
capacity, remote sensing

40.  Extensive modeling of groundwater-
surface water interactions and
characterization of the High Plains
aquifer
 Apply this expertise to identifying
aquifers suitable for new
groundwater irrigation
– Many areas have scarce data on
groundwater characteristics
needed for sustainable aquifer
development

41. Brazil
Russia
India
China
& Africa

42. Innovation
Campus

43. Food
Fuel
Water