Project Grant 20246701142962

This $180,000 Project Grant awarded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (CFDA 10.310) supports the development of an innovative acoustic monitoring and machine learning approach to quickly and cost-effectively measure insect biodiversity on commercial farms. The goal is to identify regenerative agricultural practices that best enhance insect populations, which are critical to healthy, sustainable crop production. Purdue University, the awardee, will use these new monitoring methods to evaluate specific regenerative farming techniques in real-world settings and share the findings through publications, extension materials, and stakeholder presentations. This research is expected to provide farmers, land managers, and policymakers with the tools and data needed to effectively assess biodiversity and adopt practices that support ecosystem health and agricultural sustainability.