The ISRC and the ISU AI Institute for Resilient Agriculture (AIIRA) hosted a research day on June 18 for 25 Iowa Soybean Association farmer board members and research staff during which they observed and learned about soybean-related research funded by the soybean checkoff, industry and Iowa State. The group visited ISU’s Agricultural Engineering and Agronomy (AEA) Farm and the Field Extension Education Laboratory (FEEL) near Boone.

The day began by examining Dr. Sotirios Archontoulis’ continuous soybean project experiment in a field at the AEA Farm. Graduate student Carolina Freitas, a researcher on the project, explained the experimental methods being used there. She stated, “The goal of the experiment is to contrast cropping systems in regard to productivity, environmental performance and profitability. Several measurements are being taken: SCN counts, drone flights, biomass collections, hydrology measurements, soil sampling.” Freitas showed how sensors are used to measure soil moisture, water table depth and soil temperature. She explained that these data support the Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator (APSIM) model and are used to evaluate performance of soybean-based cropping systems and how they can be best managed in Iowa. 

While in the field, Freitas and the farmers discussed patterns of crop water use, the importance of the water table for crop resiliency, the use of cover crops to aid in crop diversity and sustainability of soybean-based systems, soybean varieties and pest pressure. This project began receiving funding from the ISRC in 2022 and currently is in its second growing season of experimentation.

In the afternoon, the group moved to the nearby ISU FEEL facility, where researchers in the AIIRA described projects, provided technology demonstrations, and participated in a research poster session. Individuals who were instrumental in organizing the activities at FEEL included Arti Singh and Danny Singh, agronomy, Soumik Sarkar and Baskar Ganapathysubramanian, mechanical engineering, and their graduate students and staff. The AIIRA team described and explained the many possibilities for and good uses of artificial intelligence (AI), especially in the form of new technologies.

ISU Ag Specialist Brian Scott provided an overview of AIIRA and the soybean-breeding efforts in the research program of Danny Singh. Arti Singh demonstrated her program’s weed and insect identification app that uses AI and a database of millions of images. The ISRC funded some early work on the app. Sarkar provided an overview of cyber-agricultural systems, which use AI to make systems more efficient and sustainable through technologies such as sensors, machine learning and robotics. Graduate students led discussions on use of drones for “see and spray” herbicide applications and an abiotic stress tolerance study called N-FAST. And Ganapathysubramanian explained 3D phenotyping during the final presentation of the day.

A poster and demonstration area at FEEL featured projects using AI including sensors, 3D phenotyping, virtual augmentation and drones and gave attendees an opportunity to test out some of the latest technologies. The farmers in attendance also got to see small-scale farming equipment that is used for in-field soybean research. The day concluded with the Iowa Soybean Association farmer board members traveling back to campus where they were given a guided tour of the new Veterinary Medicine Diagnostic Laboratory by Dean of Veterinary Medicine Dan Grooms and Lead Public Health Veterinarian Katie Woodard. College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Dean Dan Robison joined the group a gave an update on the college and participated in a discussion on the future of agricultural education.