Location: Cropping Systems and Water Quality Research
Project Number: 5070-12000-001-026-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: May 1, 2026
End Date: Apr 30, 2027
Objective:
Develop cropping system strategies that are more productive and resilient to heat and drought stress than approaches currently used in Missouri. Actionable steps will be communicated to farmers, enabling them to proactively manage risk by altering crop rotations and crop maturities for greater profitability.
Approach:
Scientists from ARS and the Cooperator will utilize experimental data from 2021 to 2026 from an on-going ARS field experiment as well as multi-site, multi-year datasets from ARS and the Cooperator to identify critical period(s) of stress during the growing season impacting crop productivity. Reduction in crop growth will be measured and the resulting loss in grain yield quantified as a function of heat and drought stress. Results will be obtained for corn and soybean growth and productivity under both rainfed and irrigated systems. Specifically, the Cooperator will analyze and interpret multiple years of data using statistical and biophysical crop models. Findings will be published in refereed journal articles, farm magazines, and presented to farmers.