Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** the drought resilient alfalfa…

Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** the drought resilient alfalfa production (d-RAP) project seeks to address the significant waterstress and drought caused challenges faced by alfalfa growers in the southern great plains. Thisproposal combines advanced technologies, precision water management tools, and collaborativeefforts through regional coordination to optimize water use efficiency in alfalfa forage crop, andpromote resilience in the face of climate uncertainties. The project's main objectives focus onspatiotemporal quantification and management of water budgets in alfalfa production systems, collection of socioeconomic data related to implementing wireless sensor networks and machinelearning techniques, the transfer of knowledge through the development of web-based decision support tools and comprehensive extension activities. This data will integrate evapotranspiration model, which will generate spatial water stress maps. Machine learning algorithms will provide temporal estimates of water stress and predictive yield. These will enable growers to implement variable rate irrigation practices while maximizing water use efficiency. Additionally, the team will assess the costs, benefits, and outcomes ofimplementing precision irrigation techniques from alfalfa producers. This data will be madeaccessible to growers enabling them to take customized decisions regarding drought andgroundwater depletion impacts production systems. To facilitate this, a web-based decisionsupport tool will be developed, integrating farm data, satellite imagery, and canopy parameters.knowledge dissemination will be strengthened by extension activities like on-farmdemonstrations, educational events, and social media engagement. Overall, the d-RAP projectaims to enhance resilience and long-term sustainability of the alfalfa industry in the southerngreat plains.