The Connection Between Soil Practices and Our Food’s Future

With Dr. Craig Whippo, Plant Physiologist, USDA-ARS

In an interview with Dr. Craig Whippo, a plant physiologist with the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS), we dive into the work being done to reshape North Dakota’s agricultural landscape, an upcoming field experiment, and Dr. Whippo’s input on what growers should know.

Dr. Whippo was hired under a new ARS initiative, known as “Healthy Soil, Healthy Food, Healthy People.” The goal is to understand how soil health management practices influence food, nutritional quality, and ultimately, human health. Plants are the integrator of the environment, with Whippo’s focus on understanding the connection between soil health management practices and plant physiology, and in turn, how that physiology affects the nutritional quality

Q&A with Dr. Craig Whippo

Q: Tell me a bit about how you found yourself aligned with USDA-ARS.

A: I grew up in central Indiana and pursued my bachelor’s degree in plant breeding and genetics at Purdue University. Following that, I advanced my studies at Indiana University, where I completed my Ph.D. and postdoctoral research, focusing on the molecular biology of plant responses to light environments. My academic journey then led me to Dickinson State University, where I served as a biology professor for eleven years, teaching biology, biochemistry, and biostatsitics courses. I began this journey with USDA in June 2022 and am currently in the process of grounding my research program.

The USDA-ARS is pulling the pieces together and leveraging the research power of the three ARS units in North Dakota to understand the long-term environmental, nutritional, and economic outcomes of our agricultural systems. This research is intended to help farmers produce nutritious food, be profitable, and protect natural resources for future generations.”

– Dr. Craig Whippo

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Did You Know?

The Agricultural Research Service is the principal in-house research agency of the United States Department of Agriculture. ARS is one of four agencies in USDA’s Research, Education and Economics mission area.

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Q: How do you describe USDA-ARS to newcomers?

A: The research problems and questions that we face in the agriculture community today are very complex, and they require a multidisciplinary team such as ourselves to solve these problems. We’re generating and using large relational data sets with sophisticated analytical tools. To address the computational needs of scientists, the ARS increased computational capacity through high-performance computing clusters and also training opportunities for scientists.

Q: What practices aren’t being implemented by growers as much as they should be?

A: The management practices that help farmers conserve and protect their soil resources are going to have a major effect on efficiency in the future. These management practices are going to involve decisions about biodiversity and what species are planted, the microbiology, and even the specific genetic diversity. It’s good to implement management practices that help deal with nutrient cycling, cover crop, residue retention, and any other practices that help with both water availability and water capture. These management practices are a great starting point for any farmers or growers not already doing these.

Q: What’s the latest information from the ARS that is pertinent to growers in our region?

A: The ARS is now requiring scientists to provide our data to the public so that that data can be used by others. I think data sharing is an important step forward because it offers two significant benefits: increased transparency and versatility. Its value extends beyond its initial purpose, allowing other scientists to explore new research questions with the same data.

It’s easy to see the value when you consider that environmental conditions are always changing. If I’m measuring photosynthesis in North Dakota, the environmental conditions are different from those for a plant physiologist taking the same measurements in Illinois. By having this data public, we can share data and see how crops are behaving differently in different locations, increasing the amount of comparisons that we can make. We’ll be able to look deeper into these comparisons when we launch a field experiment this year.

Q: I see. Can you talk more about the upcoming field experiment, regarding what local growers should be aware of?

A: This summer, we’re adapting a field study that was started in 2009. The last version of the experiment examined how residue retention, livestock integration, and crop sequence length impacted soil and agronomic attributes in a no-till system involving spring wheat, corn, pea, and canola. The modified experiment will include a tillage treatment to understand how soil disturbance affects this system. We are replacing spring wheat in the rotation with winter wheat to maximize the presence of living roots— black beans will be included in this experiment because of the benefits of pulse crops.

Q: What outcome are you hoping to see?

A: Many people in agriculture are making a connection between soil health and nutritional quality. Logically, there’s some sense to this, but the numbers backing this up are scarce. The goal of this project is to get those numbers and show how this system is affecting nutritional quality. Having those numbers, people can then be more confident in making their decisions and arguments based on evidence, rather than just a logical train of thought. It will be beneficial for everyone to have that evidence in front of them when they making decisions.

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About ARS

“The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s chief scientific in-house research agency. Our job is finding solutions to agricultural problems that affect Americans every day from field to table. Here are a few numbers to illustrate the scope of our organization:

• 660 research projects within 15 National Programs
• 2,000 scientists and postdocs
• 6,000 other employees
• 90+ research locations, including overseas laboratories”

– USDA-ARS Website

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ars.usda.gov
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