Ohio State Researchers Launch New AgTech Projects to Help Farmers Manage Weather Risks.
As Ohio farmers continue to deal with unpredictable weather patterns and changing growing conditions, researchers at The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) are working on innovative solutions to help producers manage risk and improve farm performance.
Five faculty-led projects have received funding through the AgTech Innovation Hub, an initiative that supports practical research aimed at addressing some of agriculture’s most pressing challenges.
The Hub is a collaboration between CFAES, Nationwide, and Ohio Farm Bureau, focusing on technologies and tools that help farmers respond to weather-related risks and changing environmental conditions.
The newly funded projects target key issues affecting agricultural productivity, including severe weather preparedness, crop disease monitoring, water stress management, soil health assessment, and soybean replanting decisions.
The goal is to provide farmers with reliable information and advanced tools that support better decision-making and long-term sustainability.
“These projects are designed to deliver practical solutions that producers can use to better manage risk and improve outcomes on their farms,” said Gary Pierzynski, outgoing CFAES dean for research and graduate education and director of the Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station.
“The AgTech Innovation Hub helps us bring together expertise from across disciplines to address some of the most pressing challenges facing agriculture today.”
Five Faculty Members Receiving Funding
- John Yost, assistant professor with Ohio State University Extension, will lead a study examining how Ohio farmers and emergency responders prepare for and respond to extreme weather events and agricultural emergencies.
- Luis Rodriguez-Saona, professor in the Department of Food Science and Technology, will enhance handheld sensor technology and artificial intelligence tools for rapid detection of mycotoxin contamination in crops.
- Vinayak Shedekar, assistant professor of agricultural water management, will develop an interactive tool that evaluates wet and dry stress risks for grain crops based on county and soil characteristics.
- Richard Dick, professor in the School of Environment and Natural Resources, will expand soil health scoring systems and improve crop yield prediction models across the Midwest.
- Sami Khanal, assistant professor of agricultural systems modeling, will create an AI-powered decision-support tool that uses drone and smartphone imagery to help farmers determine when soybean replanting is economically beneficial.
Photo Credit: cfaes.osu.edu