Discussion to focus on advancing agriculture, protecting ecosystems

Agricultural production must increase more than 70% by 2050 to meet the global demand for food, fuel, feed and fiber. Meeting this goal will require far-reaching growth in agriculture, more efficient use of marginal lands and new methods to deal with extreme weather, soil degradation and biological invasions. Strategies for achieving these advances while preserving Nebraska’s healthy agricultural ecosystems will be the topic of a panel discussion during the first Heuermann Lecture of the season Nov. 25.

Panelists will include Craig Allen, professor in the School of Natural Resources; Andrea Basche, assistant professor in the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture; and Michael Forsberg, co-founder of the Platte Basin Timelapse Project and assistant professor of practice in the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication. The panel will be moderated by Martha Mamo, head of the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, and John Carroll, director of the School of Natural Resources.

The panel discussion, sponsored by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, will be at 3:30 p.m. at the Nebraska Innovation Campus Conference Center, 2021 Transformation Drive. It will be followed by a showing of the documentary film “Follow the Water.” Dinner is included to those staying for the showing. The event is free and open to the public.

The film tells the story of connections between the environment and people, and a river that shaped the land. Forsberg, a conservation photographer, and Pete Stegen, a filmmaker, journeyed for 55 days through the watershed by bike, foot and canoe, gathering footage with their smartphones. A panel discussion will follow the viewing so the audience can explore the themes of the film with Forsberg and his team.

Heuermann Lectures are funded by a gift from B. Keith and Norma Heuermann of Phillips. The Heuermanns are longtime university supporters with a strong commitment to Nebraska’s production agriculture, natural resources, rural areas and people.

Lectures are streamed live and air live on campus channel 4. Lectures are archived after the event and are later broadcast on NET2.