By Tyler Ellyson
Modern agroecosystems are inundated by complex challenges ranging from environmental stresses to human management, cybersecurity and market disruptions. Producers across the globe are seeking innovations that will extend the ability to grow food within and beyond traditional open-field cropping and livestock production environments.
Over decades, Nebraska has leveraged expertise in one very specific aspect of production that is becoming critical to increasing the security, resiliency, stability and sustainability of growing and processing systems: built agriculture.
Built agriculture consists of any manmade structure or equipment that helps producers increase efficiency, automation and safety of food growing systems. It helps address growing pressure to maintain productivity, sustainability and biosecurity in the face of labor shortages, diseases, seasonal variability, limited resources and other potential threats.
“One of the best ways to make our food supply resilient and sustainable is to use technology, new building and production techniques, digital systems and intelligent design to evolve our production capabilities. If you’re looking for innovation in these areas, Nebraska is what you’ve been looking for,” said Meghan Jackson, who directs the food, agriculture and environment security focus area, a partnership between the National Strategic Research Institute (NSRI) and University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources (IANR).
As one of only 15 University Affiliated Research Centers in the country designated by the U.S. Department of War, NSRI provides perspective and clarity regarding the evolving national security concerns of federal government stakeholders. NSRI partners with IANR to leverage 150 years of experience in agricultural research and a deep commitment to producers and consumers for research and development that matters to the federal government and beyond.
NSRI and IANR, with collaborators, consolidate resources and capabilities to address built agriculture challenges, improving resiliency, protecting cyber systems and nurturing a new generation of workers who understand both physical and digital innovations needed for measurable agricultural advancement.
“Built agriculture systems enable local production and build resilience by compressing the supply chain and minimizing disruptions,” explained Tala Awada, associate dean and associate director of the UNL Agricultural Research Division and a faculty contributor to NSRI.
Fostering Resilience Through Dynamic Research
“Across the globe, we are moving from agrarian societies into a new age of agriculture with new opportunities for enhancing resilience,” Jackson said. “We need to be aware not only of historical and current nuclear, biological and chemical risks, but also potential threats that come with the evolution of technology and innovations used in agriculture, food processing and the environment. This is the next frontier.”
Both crops and livestock are moving toward greater resilience through the new technologies and processes of built agriculture.
“Livestock production systems face increasing pressure to maintain productivity, sustainability and biosecurity while responding to challenges such as disease threats, labor shortages, climate variability and resource limitations,” explained Tami Brown-Brandl, a UNL professor of biological systems engineering.
Brown-Brandl, whose research focuses on engineering for improved animal well-being and production efficiency, said built agriculture for livestock includes new and emerging technologies, including AI systems and data tools for advanced monitoring of animal and environment health. The goal is to breed more adaptable animals and build operations for high levels of resilience.
Cropping benefits of built agriculture, according to Awada, a physiological plant ecologist, include high-density production, both horizontally and vertically. Closed-loop systems of consolidated, automated greenhouses can enhance water and nutrient efficiency, improve predictability of production and provide new, effective methods of detecting and managing system failures.
NSRI and IANR can quickly leverage numerous programs and initiatives to enhance national security, including:
- NFarms, a free decision-support tool built on real farm research
- Nebraska On-Farm Research Network
- University of Nebraska Testing Ag Performance Solutions program
- Greenhouse Innovation Center, featuring advanced imaging capabilities
- National Center for Resilient and Regenerative Precision Agriculture, a collaborative project between UNL and the U.S. Department of Agriculture that’s currently under construction
- Space, Policy, Agriculture, Climate and Extreme Environments (SPACE2) space-ag research
Santosh Pitla, associate head of research and innovation for UNL Biological Systems Engineering and a SPACE2 faculty member, works in digital agricultural systems on Earth and in space.
“We envision modular, automated greenhouse systems capable of producing food reliably in any environment, from lunar bases to urban neighborhoods,” he said. “These systems will integrate AI, secure data infrastructure, redundancy and low-input farming technologies, creating a resilient backbone for global food systems.”
Space innovations such as closed-loop food systems and hydroponic fodder production may also help improve the resilience and sustainability of cropping and livestock in stressed environments on Earth.
Much of built agriculture involves consolidation – both within production spaces and across farms – which allows producers to bulk-purchase and reduce the number of workers. In outer space, where growing space is critically limited, consolidation is key.
Source : unk.edu