IMPROVING AGRICULTURAL WATER USE AND NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT TO SUSTAIN FOOD AND ENERGY CROPS PRODUCTION IN THE CORN BELT

We will create a predictive decision support Dashboard for Agricultural Water use and Nutrient management (DAWN) to sustain food and energy crop production in the Corn Belt. The overarching goal of DAWN is to link local land/water use practices to large-scale feedbacks in a credible and usable information delivery system for stakeholders. We will accomplish four key objectives:Proactively engage agricultural producers and water managers to collaboratively design, test and implement a dynamic evidence-based decision support system and a web-based information delivery system for effective use by diverse stakeholder communities. Build a coupled science modeling system not only to represent interactions among climate, agriculture, land/water use, and economic/ environmental impacts, but also to transfer this holistic systems knowledge to effective decision support tools at stakeholder-relevant scales.Produce reliable forecasts to support agricultural and water managers' real-time and mid-range decisions as they navigate resource use, manage risks, and develop strategies to optimize crop productivity, profitability, and environmental quality.Integrate research and extension into experiential, transdisciplinary education to teach, train and inspire future leaders in agricultural water use and nutrient management.