Location: Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory
Project Number: 3064-21600-001-035-A
Project Type: Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Sep 1, 2025
End Date: Aug 31, 2029
Objective:
Develop innovative soil enhancement strategies, including the use of cover crops, that support the
enhanced economic, environmental, and social sustainability of cereal grain cropping systems for the
northern climates.
Approach:
New and ongoing research experiments at the Fairbanks Experiment Farm (FEF), the Matanuska Experiment Farm and Extension Center (MEFEC), and the UAF-owned research lands near Delta Junction with input from and participation by affected stakeholders, will be used to identify practices that improve soil health and productivity and provide social and economic benefits for farmers and ranchers and their families, their communities, improve food security for all Alaskans, and benefit farmland quality by promoting sustainable agriculture practices for soil health and crop variety selection. Soil enhancement research, including the use of diverse crop rotations, cover crops, and reducing tillage, will improve soil health and crop productivity. Plant genetics research will be conducted to identify factors that limit productivity in northern climates and will be used to inform crop breeding and management practices to select species varieties that will improve productivity and provide soil benefits. Research faculty in the areas of soil science and plant genetics are establishing research programs in Alaska aimed at helping farmers and ranchers identify and adopt optimal practices to promote food production using sustainable agriculture practices in Alaska. Involved UAF AFES scientists will develop collaborative research with ARS scientists and scientists from other research institutes in areas related to soil health and cover crop utilization, plant genetics and plant breeding, and social concepts and economic concepts, including behavioral economics, applied to sustainable agriculture farming, families, and communities in Alaska. Agricultural producers and local community stakeholders will continue to be engaged through participatory research and stakeholder focus groups to further define and prioritize research needs and spur innovation in the development of practices to increase food production while providing economic, environmental, and social benefits for Alaskans.