The Future of the North Central Region Water Network 

As those of you that follow us closely know, the North Central Region Water Network is 2 ½ years into a 3-year pilot. In 2013, Extension Directors across the North Central Region agreed to an experiment. The hypothesis behind this experiment is that extension can more effectively build capacity to address the big water challenges and opportunities of our time by working together. In October of this year, they will evaluate the evidence and determine whether the Network will move forward beyond the pilot end date in December. 

This month a group of North Central Region Water Network leaders met in Chicago to 1) examine the evidence ourselves, 2) determine which aspects of our current model we ought to keep, and 3) propose areas for change that we believe will result in the greatest positive impact. 

While we covered a lot of ground, two big ideas flowed through much of our work and the advice we've been getting from our colleagues and partners. These ideas will guide our proposal for the Network's future: 

Systems - One of the strengths that land-grant universities and extension is our ability to synthesize knowledge across diverse disciplines and users from agricultural engineers to farmers, from landscape architects to developers, from public administration to dedicated government employees and elected leaders and many more. Water permeates and impacts every aspect of human life. Land-grant universities can work with water users to deepen understanding of how water moves through and impacts agriculture, industry, communities, public health, recreation, local and regional cultural considerations, and other human needs. In addition, land-grant universities continue to have a local, state, multi-state, and national presence. In addition to synthesizing across knowledge areas, we can also support cross-scale integration of water research and educational programming. 

Impact -  In evaluating the first few years of the Network, it's clear that participating states are benefitting. New educators and specialists say they have a much bigger network and knowledge pool to draw from, and that innovations in one state are more readily available for replication in other states. We've got new curriculum, new needs assessments and program inventories, new training and new teams that can be accessed by multiple states. And finally, educators and specialists say they have enhanced their programming based on learning from other states. This is a great start.  Now we would like to leverage our networking culture in areas where we are best positioned to catalyze big improvements in water resource management within states and across the North Central Region.

If you would like to contribute ideas for the future of the North Central Region Water Network, feel free to send me a note at rlpower@wisc.edu.

Sincerely, 

Rebecca Power, Network Director

Photo Credit: Eugene Braig, Ohio State University Cove Island, Lake Huron

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Network Initiatives

Visit our Network Initiative Page  for more information on current and previous initiatives, and future funding opportunities. 

Mapping the Pathways for Effective Dissemination and Education between Manure Nutrient Management Agriculture Professionals

The overall goals of this project were to establish documented pathways for effective information dissemination and use among various agricultural professional audiences that facilitate successful integrated (research/outreach/education) projects and programs. The specific goals were:

1. For North Central Region project team and agricultural professionals to understand how manure nutrient management information is gathered and shared and the barriers to sharing (NCRWN Goal to increase multi-state connectivity and learning among university professionals and partners);
2. To provide agricultural professionals who develop outreach and education programs the information they need to understand inter-disciplinary terminology around manure nutrient management (NCWRN Goal to build capacity and expand successful Extension programming); and
3. Develop a model for effective pathways of information dissemination of manure nutrient management from research to implementation (NCWRN Goal to build capacity and expand successful Extension programming).  

The major activity associated with this project was a national survey taken by 964 manure nutrient management professionals addressing the relevance of information sources (inputs), information products (outputs) and collaborators (links). The survey data provided the following insights: (1) the manure nutrient management field is increasingly female; (2) most organizations focus their efforts on one or two tasks related to manure nutrient management; however, University and Extension professionals tended to select more tasks per person than other organizations; (3) the most relevant sources of information among all survey respondents were Farm or Field Setting, Science-based Sites and Consultation, and the least relevant were Research Paper or Technical Document, Classroom Setting and Social Media. Learn more.

Pathways Webinar

Contact: 

North Dakota Soil Health Initiative

In 2012, the North Dakota legislature recognized the need to develop a team of extension and research professionals to specifically focus on soil health related issues. This was in direct response to a grass roots effort, where producers and agencies voiced concerns over increase salt-affected acres reducing agricultural productivity.

The process started in November of 2009 with testimony from several private and government agencies to the North Dakota State Board of Agricultural Research and Education (SBARE) about the desperate need for education and research on these issues. In March 2010, the NDSU budget request to the Governor's office included a proposal for six new soil health positions. When the North Dakota Legislature completed their budget work in April, 2011, three research and three extension positions were included. By July, 2012 six soil health team members were hired and started working on measures leading to improved soil health. The NDSU soil health team is geographically spread throughout the State in order to address the needs of the maximum number of stakeholders.

The soil health team has been working on critical soil health issues that have been identified with the help of an advisory group, composed of representatives from over 30 commercial, private and government organizations and farmers. Issues identified include increasing awareness and providing management options to reduce the effects of salt and sodium affected soils on production, lower shallow groundwater levels to create favorable growth environment, reduce tillage passes to minimize soil erosion, incorporate cover crops and diversify rotations to improve trafficability and soil health in general. Research across the state is currently underway on these areas of concern. Extension approaches being used include, but are not limited to, producer and train-the-trainer workshops, café and shop talks, field demonstrations, field days and tours, field demonstrations, and on-farm visits.

The Current NDSU Soil Health Team 

Dr. Abbey Wick | Extension Soil Health Assistant Professor NDSU Soil Science Department, Fargo 

Dr. Wick received her PhD in 2007 from University of Wyoming and was research faculty at Virginia Tech until 2012. She has experience in working with landowners and industry on issues ranging from soil nutrient cycling and physical limitations of soils on crop production to best management practices for reclaiming mined lands. Email: abbey.wick@ndsu.edu

Dr. Caley Gasch | Research Soil Health Assistant Professor 

NDSU Soil Science Department, Fargo 

Dr. Gasch received her PhD in 2013 from University of Wyoming and was a post-doctoral research associate at Washington State University until June 2016. She has worked extensively with both reclamation and agriculture to evaluate soil health parameters. She will start her position at NDSU on July 29, 2016. Email: caley.gasch@ndsu.edu 

Chris Augustin, M.S. | Area Extension Soil Health North Central Extension Research Center, Minot 

Mr. Augustin received both his MS (2009) and BS (2005) from NDSU. He worked for NDSU at the Carrington REC prior to his current position at the North Central REC. He has extension experience on various aspects of nutrient management and soil health. Email: chris.augustin@ndsu.edu

USDA Agriculture and Food Research Initiative - Water for Agriculture Challenge Area

Deadline: August 4, 2016

This AFRI Challenge Area addresses critical water resources issues such as drought, excess soil moisture, flooding, quality and others in an agricultural context. Funding will be used to develop management practices, technologies, and tools for farmers, ranchers, forest owners and managers, public decision makers, public and private managers, and citizens to improve water resource quantity and quality. The long-term goal of the AFRI Water for Agriculture Challenge Area is to tackle critical water issues by developing both regional systems for the sustainable use and reuse, flow and management of water, and at the watershed and farm scales, water issues focused on production and environmental sustainability efforts. Project types supported within this Challenge area are multi-function Integrated Research, Education, and/or Extension Projects and Food and Agricultural Enhancement (FASE) Grants. More info.

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Our Mission:

We work together to expand and enhance multi-state water outreach and research efforts across the North Central Region of the United States.