BSE faculty get three of 17 USDA agricultural technology grants

The next generation of agricultural technologies and systems to meet the growing demand for food, fuel and fiber is the focus of three research projects within the Department of Biological Systems Engineering that are among the 17 projects nationwide that were selected for USDA funding.

Three BSE faculty -- Yufeng Ge, assistant professor; Joe Luck, associate professor; and Christopher Neale, professor and director of the Robert F. Daugherty Water For Food Global Institute -- each have a project announced Oct. 17 as a grant winner by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture's (NIFA) Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI).

"Technology is front and center in agricultural production," said NIFA Director Sonny Ramaswamy. "NIFA is investing in research on precision and smart technologies to maximize production efficiencies, including water and fertilizer use, and to produce nutritious food, new biofuels and bioproducts."

The projects focus on high-resolution depth sensing of soils, next-generation spray drift mitigation and variable rate irrigation technology. Work in these areas has already been established and with support from AFRI, Nebraska researchers can continue to develop these technologies.

"Three of the 17 agricultural technology projects recently funded by the USDA are led by Nebraska's Biological Systems Engineering Department, which is a testament to the innovative approach by our researchers," said David Jones, interim department head of biological systems engineering. "Through these research projects, we will be able to bring the latest engineering technology to Nebraska's biological systems."