Agricultural Collaborative Research Outcomes System: AgCROS - An emerging network of networks for national food and environmental security and human health

Authors: Delgado, Jorge; Vandenberg, Bruce; Kaplan, Nicole; Neer, Donna; Wilson, Greg; D Adamo, Robert; Carter, Jennifer; OGAN, LAURA - US Department Of Agriculture (USDA); Grow, Nadene; Marquez, Roger; Arthur, Dan; Eve, Marlen; Del Grosso, Stephen - Steve; Johnson, Jane; Karlen, Douglas; Durso, Lisa; Finley, John; Acosta-Martinez, Veronica; Harmel, Daren; Derner, Justin

Submitted to: Journal of Soil and Water Conservation
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/1/2018
Publication Date: 11/5/2018
Citation: Delgado, J.A., Vandenberg, B.C., Kaplan, N.E., Neer, D.L., Wilson, G.J., D Adamo, R.E., Carter, J.D., Ogan, L., Grow, N.O., Marquez, R.D., Arthur, D.K., Eve, M.D., Del Grosso, S.J., Johnson, J.M., Karlen, D.L., Durso, L.M., Finley, J.W., Acosta Martinez, V., Harmel, R.D., Derner, J.D. 2018. Agricultural Collaborative Research Outcomes System: AgCROS - An emerging network of networks for national food and environmental security and human health. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation. 73(6):158A-164A. https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.73.6.158A.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.73.6.158A

Interpretive Summary: AgCROS will continue to expand with additional networks and will serve as a platform to bring scientists together to connect networks with their respective databases in a way that enables information to be used to answer complex research questions and provide solutions to customers. As it grows, AgCROS will be able to provide larger datasets to the public to enhance the discovery of information, the development of viable products, and model calibration and validation, among other advantages. While we cannot know what new developments may emerge in the agricultural sector over the next two to three decades, we suggest that the AgCROS approach of team cooperation and a ‘network of networks’ for agricultural data will be used by new technologies in the future in ways that cannot be imagined today. We agree with the Cheruvelil and Soranno (2018) proposal for ecological studies and propose a similar approach for agriculture. AgCROS is designed to be a unique ‘network of networks’ for agricultural data that, will allow researchers test new empirical patterns and help provide new insights of large processes at greater agricultural scales to resolve grand-scale challenges that cannot be adequately addressed or understood with finer-scale studies. We hope that AgCROS will assist management practice and system research and new technological innovations for maintaining or increasing yields and increasing profitability while reducing negative environmental impacts and increasing soil, crop, and animal and human health.

Technical Abstract: National and international open-access agricultural research databases are needed to help solve problems at watershed, regional and national scales and to connect productivity, soil health and environmental quality to food quantity and quality. There are some established, open-access agricultural research networks with extensive research data in the U.S. but there is a major need to improve connections between those networks and emerging data needed to solve these complex questions. Improving the connection and flow of information among agricultural research networks will enhance the scientific community’s ability to simultaneously increase crop yield, sustainability of natural resources, and environmental quality, as well food, feed, and forage quality and thus human and animal health. Our hypothesis is that establishing a ‘network of agricultural databases’ is crucial for facilitating information flow among different research disciplines. Doing so will also enhance multidisciplinary research opportunities and help build trans-disciplinary teams that can provide answers to complex, whole-system research questions and thus solve some of the globe’s greatest challenges.