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GPN 2024 Annual Meeting, Part 1
In years past the GPN Annual Meeting has been in Kansas City. There were no deliberate themes in the programming. Occasionally one would emerge, but that was happenstance instead of by design.
This year we changed both of those aspects. We moved the location to Lincoln, Nebraska and added an agricultural track. Part of the track was three tours: research farm, greenhouse, and radio station.
The research farm’s official name is Eastern Nebraska Research, Extension, and Education Center (ENREEC).
One of their areas of research is nitrogen optimization. What is the minimum amount of fertilizer one can apply for maximum yields? Farming has small profit margins, and every drop of fertilizer and other additives increases costs. But there is another reason nitrogen in particular is tracked. Too much surface nitrogen contaminates drinking water with nitrates and nitrites.
Nitrates and nitrites are implicated in several health problems. One of the most well-known is preventing red blood cells from absorbing enough oxygen, called methemoglobinemia. It is especially deadly to infants and children. Another name for this condition is “blue baby syndrome.”
Food and water are two necessities for life. Farms must produce food for a growing global population, but not at the expense of poisoning the groundwater.
The ENREEC is one such location where the tap water is not safe to drink. There are signs in the bathroom warning against drinking, and directing people to safe consumption. The drinking fountains and kitchen faucet were equipped with special filters. This underscores how important nitrogen optimization research is.
Everyone at the ENREEC is dedicated to feeding the world and keeping water safe.
One of the test plots employs drones to study crops. The drones are attached to overhead wires and remote-controlled. They scan the crop and record a wide variety of data on how different plant strains respond to varying levels of nitrogen or other additives. Professions Scientists use this data to detect diseases and nutrient deficiencies before they are apparent to the naked eye.
It will take many professions to navigate this predicament: farmers, data scientists, programmers, agronomists, geneticists, educators, and entrepreneurs. Together, we can build a well fed and healthy future.
Congrats, Mickey! Slimp appointed to FCC Consumer Advisory Committee
Mickey’s long term experience with rural areas benefits all of us in the Great Plains region.
See the article here: https://showme.missouri.edu/2024/mickey-slimp-appointed-to-fcc-consumer-advisory-committee/
OneNet Awarded CORE-MORe-OFFN to Network Rural Campuses
OneNet and the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education (OSRHE) did it again! The NSF awarded them CORE-MORe-OFFN. This is the fifth award to expand the OneOklahoma Friction Free Network (OFFN).
See OneNet’s news articles for more information:
CORE-MORe-OFFN Award Extends Oklahoma’s Research Network to Rural Campuses
Grant-Funded Project Expands Oklahoma’s Research Network to Four Additional Campuses
Ben Canlas named as University of Missouri CIO/VP IT
As the interim CIO of the University, Ben Canlas has served on the Executive Committee of GPN for the past year. With his permanent appointment by Mizzou, he also moves to a permanent role on the GPN Board.
More information: