The Minnesota Long-Term Agricultural Research Network was established in 2014 at three research stations of the University of Minnesota located across Minnesota: Waseca (south central), Lamberton (southwest), and Grand Rapids (northeast). These sites serve as a regional platform for research and education. The overall focus is to help create agricultural production systems that provide a resilient, nimble, and efficient source of food, fiber, health, and biomaterial, as well as, to better understand the ways agricultural production can be practiced in a responsible manner that is consistent with social, economic and environmental desires. Specifically, the LTARN is focused on crop diversification strategies that facilitate the study of critical biophysical interactions among plants, soils, and microbes with goal of improving overall system efficiency, productivity, and stability. Understanding tradeoffs among the need for 1) greater productivity per unit area, 2) reduced short and long-term risks, and 3) greater system stability/resiliency of agriculture is a critical component of this work.

Producer relevance

The experiment represents cash-grain production systems. The majority of producers in the area would employ the simplest crop rotation (control). Innovative producers in the area would employ the most complex crop rotation.

Expected benefits

Experimental treatments were selected to be Agroecological, Carbon-building, Soil health-building.

Local stressors

The expected climate change-related stressors in the area are: Droughts, Heat, Extreme precipitation events, Seasonal temperature changes, Shifting rainfall patterns, Shifting snowfall patterns.

Useful links

https://ltarn.cfans.umn.edu/