Iowa State & Monsanto Partnership Researches On Water Quality


06/08/2018

The ISU, collaborating with Monsanto, to collect valuable data for improving farming practices besides monitoring waterways for contamination.


Dailycsr.com – 08 June 2018 – The Monsanto Company came together with its subsidiary, “The Climate Corporation”, to announce about a collaboration with the “Iowa State University (ISU) Department of Agronomy”.
 
The above mentioned partnership will be working on creating an “infrastructure project” for monitoring the quality of water as well as keeping an eye on the “downstream nitrate loss”. Thanks to the said project, researchers will be able to access valuable database on the practices of management from stopping “nitrogen fertilizer” to pollute surrounding water-bodies.
 
For the initial project infrastructure, Monsanto along with The Climate Corporation made an investment of over “$300,000”, whereby installing “drainage tiles” system as well as “water monitoring equipment” in “ISU research plots” which covers an area of thirty acres. The ownership of the installing as well as the operating responsibilities will remain with the ISU. In the words of the Chief Science Officer at “Monsanto and The Climate Corporation”, Sam Eathington:
“We are fortunate to partner with Iowa State University on agricultural research that advances innovation to solve challenges like water quality. Insights from this research will help stakeholders across the industry better understand how modern agriculture practices and technologies drive productivity, optimize the use of key inputs and deliver sustainability benefits on the farm.”
 
Plants require nitrogen for their development and growth, therefore introducing additional nitrogen in the form of fertilizer is a common agricultural practices. However, due to certain climate conditions, like temperature fluctuation or heavy downpour, coupled with “natural soil processes”, the excess nitrogen finds its way to the waterways in the vicinity. The new infrastructure, thus established, will allow researchers to “produce water samples” besides gathering flow data and information about the weather keeping various “farming application practices and nitrogen use” at the background. It is an attempt to comprehend better the best practices for reducing the excess nitrate flow into water-bodies.
 
Furthermore, the Agronomy Department’s Chairperson at the “Iowa State University”, Dr. Kendall Lamkey, said:
“Farmers are the primary benefactors of this partnership with Monsanto and The Climate Corporation. Our goal is always to conduct research that makes their lives easier, more productive and more profitable while minimizing the impact to our natural resources.”
 
Currently, the Agronomy Department of the ISU is looking for suitable sites for conducting the project, while three farms that are owned by the ISU and is located “between Ames and Huxley, Iowa”, are being considered.
 
References:
http://ethicalperformance.com/