DEMYSTIFYING WATER AND NITROGEN MANAGEMENT WITH DYNAMIC SOLUTIONS
August 1-3, 2022
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
The Department of Agronomy and Horticulture and Biological Systems Engineering Department hosted the Nitrogen Use Efficiency Workshop for graduate students and scientists from within the Midwest.
Event Chair: Laila Puntel
Event Co-Chairs: Guillermo Balboa, Joe Luck, James Schepers, Laura Thompson
About NUE
This group began meeting together in 1996 (Nebraska-Oklahoma) and it expanded to include Virginia Tech and CIMMYT-Mexico in 1998. By 2003, this group included most mid-west Universities in the corn belt and has since met every year at different institutions. Nebraska last hosted this event in 2004. Participants have included individuals from Canada, Argentina, Mexico, Australia, Germany, and Brazil. Originally designed as a “workshop,” discussions and presentations were built around sensor-based methodologies that could increase NUE in cereal production systems. Both engineering and agronomic problems continue to be addressed by this group that hopes to deliver “by-plant” N management.
The event is about networking and exchanging innovative ideas around nitrogen, which remains a huge priority among academia, industry, and stakeholders. This workshop represents a great opportunity for graduate students and scientists to get to know industry representatives and establish collaborations. During this event, graduate students have the opportunity to compete in a poster and/or video presentation, and a data-Hackathon competition.
Nebraska NUE Workshop
The Nebraska NUE workshop was unique because it offered the opportunity to highlight the essential role of water management when it comes to N management decisions. In particular, we wanted to facilitate the discussion around strategies for the effective reduction of N losses to the environment critical for the state of Nebraska and beyond. Many of the attendees will not be familiar with water management concepts and tools, so these opportunities were featured. The NUE workshop welcomed visitors to get to know the newly developed Innovation Campus, the greenhouses and the tractor test museum. NUE 2022 moved forward on N management promotion, new technologies discussed and promotion of active interdisciplinary collaboration was encouraged.
The corn producers would benefit from discussion around the next steps to move forward with the adoption of new technology for nitrogen management in corn. In particular, in-season N management. Increase the awareness of the existing technology for nitrogen management and what are the weaknesses and strengths of the existing tools. Collaboration among stakeholders will result in innovative methods to translate science into practice that can be utilized by corn producers in Nebraska.
2022 NUE workshop themes were centered around the following items:
- Dig “deeper” into the wickedness within the N cycle and modeling based decision tools
- How to promote in-season N application culture for more of the Midwest
- Tool fusion, bringing strength from each N tool to the table
- Farmer’s panel with “my challenge with N” (risk aversion contribution to decisions)
- Climatology and N unpredictability.
- Soil health and NUE indicators.
Granular Data Hackathon Guidelines
You can participate in the Hackathon competition as Graduate Student Team of 4 members.
Overview
Managing nitrogen fertilizer is a challenging problem that deals with the interactions between environmental, genetic, and management (E x G x M) variables. Solving this challenging and “wicked” problem requires skills to clean, analyze, and distill information from big datasets into sound agronomic decisions.
For this competition, university teams (2 to 4 students/team) will have 15 days just prior to the workshop to develop a new nitrogen fertilizer recommendation tool for in-season applications using a dataset, common to all teams. This tool needs to be robust enough to account for within-field variability, and it needs to be applicable across the US Corn Belt.
Your tool will be evaluated based on soil and crop science, accuracy, and commercial feasibility. You will be judged by those at the workshop. Teams are encouraged to think creatively; fresh, new ideas that hold to known scientific principles will be given higher scores.
Rules
- Participants are expected to follow an honor system. This includes not asking for or receiving help outside the team (e.g., graduate student advisors, professors, or other students).
- External data can be obtained if it is publicly available and it is cited in your presentation (e.g., weather, SSURGO, google images, or county yield information). External data that is not freely available to everyone is not permitted (e.g., paid for satellite imagery).
- This data may only be used for the purpose of this contest. This data is not to be used in publications, educational material, or other analyses.
- Privately sharing code or data outside of teams is not permitted.
- Each participant will need to sign a non-disclosure agreement prior to the start of the competition.
How to participate
Review the Hackathon section with all the details of the competition. Feel free to contact the organizer for any clarification. Complete the main registration form indicating that you want to participate in the Data Hackathon after the selection of Graduate students. You can also participate in the poster competition (individual competition). Each member of the team needs to register for the Hackathon.
Informative meeting
A meeting will be conducted on July 1st with all Graduate Students interested in participating in the competition. At least one member per group must attend this meeting. You can drop your participation after the informative meeting.
Activity and Data release
On July 15th each group will receive an email with the instructions and the dataset to complete the task.
During the event: Details for Oral Presentation
On Aug. 2nd from 11:00 to 11:50 am, each group will have the chance to present their results in a 10 minutes presentation in the main auditorium. A slide presentation can be used as support. Participants will need to share their results and the approach (key steps) to achieve them.
Hackathon Awards
Three groups will be selected by the judges to receive an award (1st $400, 2nd $300, 3rd $200).
Hackathon competition winners* will be announced on Aug. 3rd at 11:15 am
*One member per team will be asked to complete the paperwork needed before leaving the conference to receive their check awards.
Agenda
Monday, August 1, 2022
Registration and Welcome Reception
The Mill Coffee & Bistro, 2022 Transformation Dr #1350, Lincoln, NE
5:00 pm: Registration, Drinks and Appetizers
5:30 pm: WELCOMING REMARKS from Dan Duncan, NIC’s Executive Director
6:00 pm: Tours of Innovation Campus Greenhouse – Dr. James Schnable, Associate Professor, Dr. Charles O. Gardner Professor of Agronomy, Agronomy and Horticulture; and Dr. Yufeng Ge, Associate Professor, Eberhard Professor of Agriculture, Biological Systems Engineering, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
6:30 pm: BBQ Dinner and Reception with Welcoming Remarks from Dr. Ron Yoder, IANR Senior Associate Vice Chancellor, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
7:30 pm: Friendly Robotics Social – Dr. Santosh Pitla, Associate Professor, Biological Systems Engineering, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
8:30 pm: ADJOURN
Tuesday, August 2, 2022
Oral and Poster Sessions, Great Plains Room, East Campus Union, University of Lincoln Nebraska
Opening Session
7:00 am: Registration, Breakfast Pastries/Coffee, and Poster Set Up
8:00 am: WELCOME – Dr. Laila Puntel, Assistant Professor, Agronomy and Horticulture; Dr. John Lindquist, Agronomy and Horticulture Associate Department Head and Professor; and Dr. Archie Clutter, Dean of ARD, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
8:20 am: The History of the NUE Workshop and Memories of Dr. Bill Raun – Dr. James Schepers, Emeritus Professor, University of Nebraska– Lincoln, and Dr. Newell Kitchen, Research Soil Scientist, USDA-ARS
8:45 am: Keynote Opening Speaker – Dr. Ken Cassman, Emeritus Robert B. Daugherty Professor of Agronomy, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
9:40–10:30 am: SESSION 1: USING CROP MODELING TO DEMYSTIFY THE N CYCLE
Moderator: Dr. Laila Puntel
9:40 am: Dr. Rafael M. Feria, Crop Modeling and Data Scientist, Pivot Bio – “Simulating the Impact of Diazotrophic Fixation on Corn Growth and Fertilizer Use Efficiency”
10:05 am: Dr. Harold Van Es, Professor, School of Integrative Plant Science Soil and Crop Sciences Section, University of Cornell – “Understanding the Approach and Value of Model Simulation-based N Recommendations”
10:30 am: Matt Sweeney, Yara & Adapt-N
10:35 am: Dr. Bob Gunzenhauser, Corteva
10:40–10:50 am: Break
10:50–11:50 am: GRADUATE STUDENTS DATA HACKATHON COMPETITION – SPONSORED BY CORTEVA
Moderator: Dr. Bob Gunzenhauser
10:50 am: Presenting the Competition
11:00 am: Hackers of The Pampas – Kansas State University
11:10 am: Solver – University of Nebraska–Lincoln
11:20 am: Jack’s Hack – South Dakota State University
11:30 am: Fighting Illini DEZ – University of Illinois
11:40 am: Closing Competition
11:50–Noon: Group Picture at the Entrance of the Nebraska East Union
Noon–1:30 pm: Lunch at Nebraska East Union
1:30–2:40 pm: SESSION 2: SOIL HEALTH, NUE INDICATORS AND BIOLOGICALS: HOW DO WE MANAGE N IN A C-CENTRIC ERA?
Moderator: Dr. Andrea Basche
1:30 pm: Dr. Hanna Poffenbarger, Assistant Professor, University of Kentucky – “Finding Synergy in the Cycles: Managing Carbon and Nitrogen for Precision Sustainable Agriculture”
1:55 pm: Dr. Liz Rieke, Soil Scientist, and Dr. Cristine Morgan, Chief Scientific Officer, Soil Health Institute – “Nitrogen Indicators of Soil Health — State of the Science”
2:20 pm: Dr. Tim Laatsch, Koch
2:25 pm: Keira Havens, Pivot Bio
2:30 pm: Matt Rellaford, Agoro
2:35 pm: Mike Zwingman, Verdesian
2:40–2:55 pm: Break
August 2 Oral and Poster Sessions
Great Plains Room, Nebraska East Union
2:55–5:00 pm: GRADUATE STUDENTS POSTER SESSION – SPONSORED BY BAYER
Moderator: Dr. Guillermo Balboa
2:55 pm: Poster Flash Talks: One Slide and One Minute to Introduce Each Poster
3:20 pm: Authors Present at Posters
5:00 pm: ADJOURN
7:00 pm: Dinner: Lazlo’s Brewery & Grill, Haymarket
August 3 Oral Sessions
Great Plains Room, Nebraska East Union
7:30 am: Registration, Breakfast Pastries/Coffee
8:00–10:40 am: SESSION 3: USING WEATHER UNCERTAINTY TO PROMOTE MORE IN-SEASON N APPLICATIONS
Moderator: Dr. Brian Arnall
8:00 am: Dr. Yuxin Miao, Associate Professor, Soil, Water, and Climate, University of Minnesota – “Big Data or Small Data? — Two Strategies to Improve Crop Sensing-based In-season Nitrogen Management of Corn”
8:25 am: Jackson Stansell, PhD Student and CEO of Sentinel Fertigation – “Bridging the Gap: Delivering In-season Application Recommendations Designed for Operational Action”
8:50 am: Kyle King, PhD Student, Iowa State University – “Plant Density and Nitrogen Rate Interaction on Key Agronomic Traits Among Maize Hybrids”
9:15 am: Break
9:25 am: Dr. Ignacio Ciampitti, Professor, and Dr. Adrian Correndo, Postdoc, Agronomy, Kansas State University – “Re-thinking Effective Use of Nitrogen (N) in Major Field Crops, Integrating Breeding and Management”
9:50 am: Natural Resources Districts: Russ Callan, Lower Loup NRD Manager – “Nitrate Modeling”; Lyndon Vogt, Central Platte NRD Manager – “Producer NUE(T) Dashboard”
10:15 am: Discussion
10:40–10:55 am: Break
10:55–Noon: SESSION 4: INNOVATIONS FOR N MANAGEMENT: A PUSH OUT OF THE BOX — MACHINE LEARNING AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Moderator: Dr. Laila Puntel
10:55 am: Dr. Spyros Mourtzinis, AgStat, Greece and Dr. Shawn Conley, Professor, Agronomy, University of Wisconsin-Madison – “Corn Management Recommendations Using Machine Learning Algorithms” [via Zoom]
11:20 am: Dr. Nicolas Martin, Assistant Professor, Crop Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign – “Frontiers in Prediction: How Well Can We Potentially Predict Nitrogen Needs”
11:45 am: Jason French, Crop Metrics
11:50 am: Aaron Bereuter, Bayer
Noon: ADJOURN AND CONCLUDING REMARKS
12:15 am: Future Meetings: Selection of New Chair NUE Workshop 2023
12:20 pm: Presentation of Graduate Student Awards
12:35 pm: Lunch to Go
