The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) awarded a $10,000,000 Project Grant to Texas A&M AgriLife Research to develop and implement precision regenerative practices and smart technologies to address climate change impacts in U.S. cotton production. The 5-year project aims to:
Establish soil carbon baselines and investigate long-term impacts of regenerative practices on cotton production systems across the U.S. Cotton Belt.
Develop and evaluate precision AI/ML technologies for resource conservation and climate change mitigation in cotton.
Evaluate the economic feasibility of precision regenerative practices and identify new market opportunities.
Expand knowledge on farmer adoption of regenerative cotton production practices.
Promote adoption of climate-smart cotton practices through extension and outreach.
Provide educational opportunities to train the next generation of agricultural researchers and practitioners.
The project involves several sub-awards to partner institutions like Prairie View A&M University, Farm Journal Media, Agricenter International, Mississippi State University, New Mexico State University, Auburn University, University of Georgia Research Foundation, University of Arizona, North Carolina State University, and Texas Tech University. These sub-awardees will contribute expertise in areas such as conservation agriculture, precision farming, economic analysis, outreach, and workforce development to support the overall goals of the initiative.