NDSU FEWS research emerges to the forefront in several areas of ag innovation

The Food, Energy and Water Security (FEWS) initiative was launched at NDSU in 2023 with a goal of using the latest research technologies to tackle pressing challenges in food, energy and water resources across the state. The main emphasis in research and projects involving FEWS is innovation, and NDSU is emerging as a leader in several of those areas.

The transdisciplinary FEWS initiative is fueled by a federal investment, led by U.S. Senator John Hoeven, that provides initial financial resources to establish the program. Federal funding is combined with state research support to address key agricultural needs and deliver advanced technology solutions quickly.

As a national leader in research and as a land-grant institution, NDSU is committed to delivering outcomes from this initiative that will have lasting, positive impacts, ensuring a sustainable and secure supply of food, energy, and water for decades to come.

“The FEWS initiative represents a new chapter for NDSU and for North Dakota agriculture. By combining federal investment with our university's research strengths, we're building something that doesn't just advance science, it delivers real tools and solutions to the farmers and communities that need them. This is what a land-grant institution should be doing, and we're grateful for the partnerships that are making it possible,” said Frank Casey, leader of the FEWS Initiative and associate director of the ND Agricultural Experiment Station.

What is FEWS?

The FEWS Initiative is designed to tackle pressing challenges in food, energy and water resources in the state with a strong emphasis on innovation. Research priorities include autonomous systems, advanced sensors, high-throughput data platforms, agricultural data security, precision agriculture and predictive crop performance.

These challenges are not unique to North Dakota, but they rank among the most pressing issues facing NDSU researchers today. Addressing them relies on the university’s strengths in machine learning, autonomy and artificial intelligence, and on laying the groundwork for the future of agriculture.

Partnership with the USDA-ARS are central to the FEWS projects, which are funded by cooperative agreements from the USDA-ARS. More than a dozen faculty are involved in that cooperative research between USDA-ARS and NDSU. The projects range from precision ag to ag tech to electromagnetic sensors to controlled environment agriculture.

“The challenges facing agriculture today — from unpredictable weather to growing global food demand — require us to think differently and to use the most advanced solutions available. Our researchers are bringing together machine learning, autonomy and artificial intelligence with decades of agricultural expertise to develop practical innovations. The work happening across these FEWS projects isn't theoretical; it's aimed at putting better technology in the hands of growers and breeders as quickly as possible,” said Casey

Examples of FEWS impact areas:

Precision Agriculture (Weed management)

Precision Agriculture is a farming approach that leverages data and technology to enhance crop yields and promote sustainable practices. NDSU’s research in this area positions the university at the forefront of the field.

One example is the work done by Rex Sun, the Endowed Chair and Director of the Peltier Institute for Advancement in Agricultural Technology at NDSU. Sun’s precision ag team at NDSU uses AI, robotic and UAV technologies to support weed management for farmers. His research centers on creating autonomous systems for weed detection, soil health evaluation and crop monitoring, and he directs interdisciplinary teams that translate advanced scientific innovations into practical, real-world solutions.

Complementing that work is a collaboration between NDSU assistant professors Sulaymon Eshkabilov and Paulo Flores, who have teamed up on a site-specific weed-control system. This uses drone imagery to collect thousands of images from a field and compile them into a single map. From that map, a targeted weed-control prescription that automatically and individually actuates cultivator shanks, allowing them to engage the soil only where weeds are detected. This not only reduces herbicide use but also offers energy savings on fuel, disturbs less soil and reduces wear and tear on tillage and spraying equipment.

In the words of Sun, precision agriculture is “the future of agriculture,” and NDSU’s FEWS research is helping lead the way.

Controlled Environment Agriculture

North Dakota’s long, cold winters lead to a short growing season; combine that with unpredictable weather conditions such as flooding, drought and extreme heat, and food production in the state faces challenges. One important part of NDSU’s FEWS initiative is the use and further development of Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA), which uses technology to manipulate a crop’s growing environment to achieve desired results.

CEA strategies include greenhouses, high tunnels, indoor farming, vertical farming, aquaculture and hydroponics. Led by NDSU professor of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Xinhua Jia, the research is leveraging several technological areas, including engineering, automation, edge AI, plant science, and data decision-making.

In a short period of time, NDSU’s CEA research is making an impact. One study examined lettuce production at different water pH levels and found that certain varieties can tolerate the high pH in areas such as Fargo without yield decreases. Another project tested newly developed bio-media for hydroponic production, offering a sustainable approach by utilizing abundant North Dakota-grown agricultural byproducts.

The reach of this work extends beyond NDSU’s campus. A net-zero greenhouse powered primarily by solar energy opened in August 2024 at United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck, North Dakota – demonstrating the broader impact of CEA research across the state.

Predictive Crop Performance

Researchers at North Dakota State University are developing Predictive Crop Performance (PCP) tools to enhance the sustainability of the state’s public crops – those where private industry does not invest significantly in breeding efforts. At NDSU, public sector crops including barley, dry beans, flax, oats and pulse crops.

These crops face both abiotic stresses, such as drought and heat, and biotic stresses, including pests and diseases. By integrating genotypic and phenotypic data, scientists can pinpoint breeding lines most likely to thrive under variable and changing growing conditions. Their work focuses on assessing species-wide genetic diversity by creating reference genome assemblies, evaluating variability among currently used breeding lines and identifying genetic factors that support crop sustainability under evolving environmental and biological challenges.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) funding supports sequencing and data collection for the genomes of the crops in the project. The ultimate goal is to create tools capable of accurately predicting crop growth in North Dakota under changing environmental conditions, supporting the resilience and productivity of publicly developed crops in the state and helping them withstand the challenges ahead.

Electromagnetic Sensors and Machine Learning for Ag

NDSU electrical and computer engineering chair Ben Braaten’s FEWS work with electromagnetic sensors and machine learning is impacting two key agricultural components in North Dakota: sugar beets and honeybees. He is aiming to solve the complex problems in the electrical and computer engineering realm and applying that discipline to solve the difficult challenges facing agriculture, including climate change, feeding a growing world population and environmental sustainability.

In 2023, the sugar beet industry in North Dakota and eastern Montana generated an estimated economic impact of more than $6 billion. Yet during winter, certain storage conditions can cause losses of tens of millions of dollars. Indicators in a sugar beet pile — such as temperature fluctuations, changes in pile shape, gas emissions, and shifts in electrical properties —c an reveal early spoilage. Using machine learning, NDSU is collaborating with Minn-Dak Farmers Cooperative in Wahpeton and the USDA Fargo site to develop technology that identifies spoilage causes for growers.

Braaten’s team is also focused on honeybee populations. North Dakota is the nation’s top honey producer, producing 38.3 million pounds in 2023, according to the USDA. Bees also pollinate over 100 crops in the United States, yet colony numbers are threatened by habitat loss, invasive pests, nutritional deficits and pesticide exposure. The team is partnering with the USDA-ARS to assess environments around bee colonies, including during transportation.

This research arrives as global population growth increases food demand on existing resources. Beyond honey production, North Dakota ranks first nationally for 11 different grain crops. Precise application of fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides can lower costs for growers, reduce environmental impact through decreased water use and chemical runoff, and potentially lower grocery prices — aligning with the goals of the FEWS initiative.

Ag Data Analytics

Ana Heilman-Morales is the director of the NDSU Agricultural Data Analytics Team, an area of the FEWS research that helps NDSU Agriculture researchers make better, more informed data decisions. At a time when more data than ever is available and being accumulated, these efforts focus on developing advanced data technologies to address pressing agricultural challenges in North Dakota and around the world.

Heilman-Morales’s team is developing automated data workflows to support researchers of the North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station (AES), Extension specialists and end users. Central to this work are scalable data-processing systems that enable researchers, such as breeders to explore agronomic, phenomic and genomic data while generating actionable insights to accelerate crop variety development.

Among the key tools developed by the team are ExLibris, PredictPro, AGSkySight and the Pest Management App. ExLibris streamlines access to agronomic data by automating data storage, transformation and retrieval. Scientist can quickly analyze field trial results across years, locations and traits, allowing for faster, data-informed decisions in variety development. PredictPro focuses on analyzing omics data — including genomic and phenomic datasets — collected from field trials. By strengthening predictive modeling capabilities, PredictPro enhances the efficiency and effectiveness of plant breeding and other omics-driven research programs. AGSkySight is designed to simplify drone image stitching and vegetation index calculations for agricultural research. The platform addresses challenges related to scalability, vegetation index accuracy, and integration with high-performance computing (HPC) systems.

The FEWS initiative at North Dakota State University is a collaborative, innovation-driven effort to address critical challenges in food, energy and water resources. Through this initiative, NDSU is delivering long-term impacts that strengthen sustainability and ensure a secure supply of food, energy and water for the future.