Water Sustainability in Agriculture

305 Pages·2013·8.75 MB·English

2012
N A B C R
ATIONAL GRICULTURAL IOTECHNOLOGY OUNCIL EPORT
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NABC Report 24
Water Sustainability in Agriculture
Proceedings of the twenty-fourth annual conference
of the National Agricultural Biotechnology Council,
hosted by the University of Arkansas and the Univer-
sity of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, Fayetteville,
June 11–13, 2012
Edited by
Allan Eaglesham, Ken Korth and Ralph W.F. Hardy
Published by the
National Agricultural Biotechnology Council
Ithaca, New York 14853
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NABC Report 24
Water Sustainability in Agriculture
The National Agricultural Biotechnology Council provides an open forum for
the discussion of issues related to the impact of biotechnology on agriculture.
The views presented and positions taken by individual contributors to this
report are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies
of NABC.
NABC grants permission to copy the Conference Overview and Workshops
Summary. Permission to copy other chapters should be sought from the
authors.
SALE OF THIS VOLUME IN WHOLE OR IN PART IS PROHIBITED.
NABC Report 24 is available for $10.00 to cover post and packaging.
Please make checks or purchase orders payable to NABC/BTI.
It is available for free download at http://nabc.cals.cornell.edu.
National Agricultural Biotechnology Council
Boyce Thompson Institute B15
Tower Road
Ithaca, NY 14853
607-254-4856 fax-254-8680
[email protected]
http://nabc.cals.cornell.edu
©2012 NABC All Rights Reserved
Library of Congress Control Number: 2012954078
Page layout and design by Raymond C. Wiiki ([email protected])
Printed on recycled paper at the Jacobs Press, Auburn, NY (http://www.jacobspress.com/)
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National Agricultural Biotechnology Council
Providing an open forum for exploring issues in agricultural biotechnology
Established in 1988, NABC is a consortium of not-for-profit agricultural research,
extension and educational institutions.
Boyce Thompson Institute University of California at Davis
Cornell University University of Connecticut
Michigan State University University of Florida
North Carolina State University University of Illinois at Urbana-
North Dakota State University Champaign
The Ohio State University University of Kentucky
Oklahoma State University University of Manitoba
Oregon State University University of Minnesota
The Pennsylvania State University University of Missouri-Columbia
South Dakota State University University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Texas A&M University University of Saskatchewan
University of Alberta US Department of Agriculture/
University of Arizona Agricultural Research Service
University of Arkansas Washington State University
NABC Reports Available
In Hard Copy:
NABC Report 6—Agricultural Biotechnology and the Public Good (1994)
NABC Report 8—Agricultural Biotechnology: Novel Products and New Partnerships (1996)
NABC Report 9—Resource Management in Challenged Environments (1997)
NABC Report 10—Agricultural Biotechnology and Environmental Quality: Gene Escape and
Pest Resistance (1998)
NABC Report 13—Genetically Modified Food and the Consumer (2001)
NABC Report 14—Integrating Agriculture, Medicine and Food for Future Health (2002)
NABC Report 15—Biotechnology: Science and Society at a Crossroad (2003)
NABC Report 16—Agricultural Biotechnology: Finding Common International Goals (2004)
NABC Report 17—Agricultural Biotechnology: Beyond Food and Energy to Health and the
Environment (2005)
NABC Report 18—Agricultural Biotechnology: Economic Growth Through New Products,
Partnerships and Workforce Development (2006)
NABC Report 19—Agricultural Biofuels: Technology, Sustainability and Profitability (2007)
NABC Report 20—Reshaping American Agriculture to Meet its Biofuel and Biopolymer Roles (2008)
NABC Report 21—Adapting Agriculture to Climate Change (2009)
NABC Report 22—Promoting Health by Linking Agriculture, Food, and Nutrition (2010)
NABC Report 23—Food Security: The Intersection of Sustainability, Safety and Defense (2011)
On CD, or from http://nabc.cals.cornell.edu, all of the above
excluding NABC RepoRt 6, plus:
NABC Report 11—World Food Security and Sustainability: The Impact of Biotechnology and
Industrial Consolidation (1999)
NABC Report 12—The Biobased Economy of the 21st Century: Agriculture Expanding into Health,
Energy, Chemicals, and Materials (2000)
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ACKNOWLEDgMENTS
NABC 24—Water Sustainability in Agriculture—was hosted by Ken Korth (professor of plant
pathology) and Rick Bennett (professor and head of the Department of Plant Pathology) at the
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. We thank Drs. Korth and Bennett and Cindy Morley (depart-
mental administrative manager) for a highly successful conference.
Thanks are due also to program committee members1 Marty Matlock, Jennie Popp and Andrew
Sharpley—and to David Lobb, Howard Wheater and Larry Purcell—for program design and
selection of excellent speakers, to Kim Keeney for accounting support and to Nicholas Lawson for
logistical backstopping.
Smooth operation of the conference resulted from the excellent efforts of the following:
Moderators: Rick Bennett, Ken Korth, Marty Matlock, Andy Pereira and Jennie Pop.
Workshop Facilitators, Recorders and Reporters: Patrick Drohan, Chris Henry, Kim Keeney, Ken
Korth, Anna McClung, Cindy Morley, Lacey Nelson, Tom Riley Jr., Samantha Roberson, John
Rupe and Ray Vester.
Student Voice Program Administrator: Susanne Lipari.
Student Voice Reporter: grace Richardson.
Audio/Visual Operations: Lacy Nelson.
And we are grateful to the following organizations for their generous financial support of NABC
24: The CHS Foundation, The Arkansas Water Resources Center, the University of Arkansas Office
of Research and Economic Development, the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Center
for Agricultural and Rural Sustainability, the University of Arkansas graduate School, the Dale
Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, Beaver Water District and the USDA
Southern Regional Water Program.
* * *
On behalf of NABC, we thank Sonny Ramaswamy (ex of Oregon State University, now director
of the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture) and graham Scoles (University of
Saskatchewan) for successive, excellent leadership as NABC’s chairs, 2011–2012.
Ralph W.F. Hardy Allan Eaglesham
President Executive Director
NABC NABC
October 2012
1Drs. Korth and Bennett, RWFH and AE also served on the program committee.
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PREFACE
In 2010, NABC published a white paper, Agricultural Water Security: Research and
Development Prescription for Improving Water Use Efficiency, Availability and Quality,1
which contained the following summary:
The major and growing challenge for society is water. Water is essential for
agriculture. Agriculture withdraws 70–80% of fresh water. The global need by
2050 for increased food/feed production for 3.0 billion additional humans and
for increased meat consumption in emerging economies coupled with the biobased
industrial product opportunities will greatly expand agriculture’s need for water.
Climate change also will impact water and agriculture. The effects of crop and
animal production on water quality—nutrient and pesticide contamination
and soil salinization—need to be reduced to meet increasingly stringent quality
standards. Expanded, integrated, focused agronomic, agroecological, engineering
and genetic research, development and implementation are essential to improve
water-use efficiency, availability and quality….
given the societal challenge referred to above, the fundamental importance of water
to agriculture and the significant varied effects of agriculture on water globally, a logical
choice for the theme of NABC’s twenty-fourth annual conference was Water Sustain-
ability in Agriculture. NABC 24, hosted by the University of Arkansas and the University
of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, was convened at Fayetteville Town Center, June
11–13, 2012.
To foster discussion on these issues, NABC 24 was organized under four topics:
• Agricultural Adaptations to Water Needs;
• Developments in Water Management and Policy;
• Changing Role of Agriculture in Environmental and Consumer Issues; and
• Preparing for Future Challenges of Water Issues.
A cross-section of interdisciplinary talks was presented2 to 83 attendees by excellent
speakers—from academia, industry, farming, research centers and federal agencies—and
at the conclusion of each session, the presenters convened for panel question-and-answer
sessions, to reflect on the issues raised and to take comments and questions from the
audience. As is traditional at NABC meetings, attendees had an additional opportunity
for discussion during a breakout workshop session.3
1 http://nabc.cals.cornell.edu/pubs/WATERandAgRICULTURE.pdf and as an appendix to this volume.
2An overview of the presentations is provided on pages 3–6.
3Workshop discussions are summarized on pages 9–15.
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A poster session4—the first at an NABC conference—was held on the evening of the
second day. Participants in the Student Voice at NABC 5 program attended the plenary
sessions and breakout workshops, and then met as a group to identify current and emerg-
ing issues relevant to the conference subject matter.6
NABC 24 provided an excellent summary of the status of—and challenges inher-
ent in achieving—water sustainability in agriculture. We have a long way to go; we are
only in the foothills of Mount Everest. Examples of approaches being implemented
were presented. Needed are more agricultural product through increased yield with less
water, a smaller agricultural footprint on water, and an integrated systems approach on
national, regional and international scales. We must employ all available tools, including
engineering, the physical sciences and the biosciences, while addressing environmental
and societal issues.
This volume contains an overview of the conference, a summary of the breakout-work-
shop discussions, manuscripts provided by the speakers7, the Student Voice report, and
abstracts and full papers from the poster session. Transcripts of the panel/Q&A sessions
are included, as is NABC white paper, Agricultural Water Security: Research and Develop-
ment Prescription for Improving Water Use Efficiency, Availability and Quality.
NABC’s twenty-fifth conference—Biotechnology and North American Specialty Crops:
Linking Research, Regulation and Stakeholders—will be hosted by Texas A&M University8
and will convene in College Station June 4–6, 2013. Its objective will be to map the
actions/steps to an appropriate regulatory process for specialty crops, so that society may
benefit from these important components of our food system.
Allan Eaglesham Ken Korth Ralph W.F. Hardy
Executive Director Professor of Plant Pathology President
NABC Department of Plant Pathology NABC
University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, Arkansas
The figures herein are printed in grayscale. Information may have been lost
from graphics received from the speakers in color. Color versions are
available at http://nabc.cals.cornell.edu/pubs/pubs_reports.cfm#nabc24.
4Abstracts and full representations of posters are provided on pages 237–271.
5The Student Voice at NABC program provides grants of up to $750 to graduate students at NABC-member
institutions (one student per institution) to offset travel and lodging expenses. Also, registration fees are
waived for grant winners.
6The Student Voice report is on pages 231–233. Information on the Student Voice at NABC 25 will be
available at http://nabc.cals.cornell.edu/studentvoice/.
7In some cases, edited transcripts replace speaker-written manuscripts.
8Further information may be accessed via http://nabc25.tamu.edu.
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CONTENTS
1 PART I — CONFERENCE OVERVIEW
3 Water Sustainability in Agriculture
Kenneth L. Korth
7 PART II — BREAKOUT SESSIONS
9 Workshops Summary
Patrick Drohan, Ken Korth, Anna McClung, John Rupe and Ray Vester
17 PART III — PLENARY SESSIONS
17 Agricultural Adaptations to Water Needs
19 The Lake Winnipeg Bioeconomy Project
Hank Venema
31 Technology Approaches to Drought Tolerance at Pioneer
Dave Warner
35 We Can Now Solve the 10,000-Year-Old Problem of Agriculture
Wes Jackson
45 Evaluation of Drought-Tolerance Strategies in Cotton
Randy D. Allen
65 Q&A
71 Developments in Water Management and Policy
73 Reaching the Potential of Water-Quality Trading
Richard H. Moore
81 Agriculture and Sustainable Practices: Protecting Water Quality
D. Osmond, D. Meals, D. Hoag, M. Arabi, A. Luloff, M. McFarland,
G. Jennings, A. Sharpley, J. Spooner and D. Line
87 Agricultural Management, Water Quality and Ecology:
Putting Practice into Policy
Andrew Sharpley and Helen Jarvie
117 Viewpoints and Changing Practices of Arkansas Rice Farmers
Ray Vester
123 Q&A
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