Agricultural Resiliency Program

A primary objective of the Agricultural Resiliency Program is to increase MSU knowledge and expertise in strategic areas of extreme weather and water science. This involves a cluster hire of six new faculty positions and two Extension educators with the $1 million State of Michigan recurring investment. Startup packages are being supported in part by funds from the MSU Office of Research and Innovation’s Global Impact Initiative.

The faculty roles, which will have 60% research and 40% Extension appointments, will be housed in departments within the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and focus on:

• Groundwater use and availability for agriculture. This position has been filled.
• Water quality with emphasis on nutrient flow and retention in surface water and soil. This position has been filled.
• Economic impact of extreme weather on Michigan farms and programs focused on adaptation and mitigation. This position has been filled.
• Lifecycle analysis of agricultural systems — greenhouse gas emissions, impact of management, cost of inputs — with the goal of identifying return on investment for farmers.
• Integration of arthropod biology and ecology with new and emerging technologies to model insect population dynamics, pest risk and develop novel management strategies. This position has been filled.
• Modeling resilient agricultural management practices using remote sensing, data, soil information and more.

The Extension educators will:

• Develop programming on conservation-focused crop production that improves soil health and carbon sequestration.
• Lead educational efforts on how precision agriculture approaches such as remote sensing and statistical models can improve soil health and reduce input costs.

On top of these eight positions, an additional six faculty members will be hired with support from the MSU Office of the Provost.