AgNext: The future of sustainable animal agriculture

A cow grazing at Colorado State University's Agricultural Research, Development and Education Center on Oct. 27, 2022, in Fort Collins, Colo. (Photo by Eric Forbes)

AgNext is a research group at Colorado State University (CSU) dedicated to finding sustainable solutions for animal agriculture. According to the director of AgNext, Dr. Kim Stackhouse-Lawson, the growing research collaborative has built the Climate Smart Research Facility – the largest greenhouse gas emissions research facility for beef production in the country. With this new research infrastructure and exciting hires like Dr. Sara Place, Associate Professor of Feedlot Systems, AgNext will bring cutting-edge science to the animal agriculture industry.

Tags:

sustainability, animal agriculture, climate smart agriculture, food, beef

How do you move the Planet Forward? Tweet us @planet_forward or contribute to the conversation with your own story.

An area between a building and a field that is filled with landscaped plants, trees, and bushes that dips down to collect rainwater.

A bioswale is an aesthetically pleasing green infrastructure option that captures rainwater and runoff that can also be used to create habitats for native species, birds, or other plants; they can also filter out pollutants as they capture water. (Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 4.0)

Mia Rosenblatt

George Washington University

Hooked on fishing: Hains Point fishers discuss the regulations surrounding their favorite pastime

Hains Point fishing and regulations

Hannah Loder

George Washington University

This is my food justice

Shirley Chen

SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry

Indigenous plant sovereignty and Cherokee culture

A wide expanse of mountains behind a line of trees and a grassy meadow.

Cherokee, North Carolina is part of the Blue Ridge Parkway and is home to the Great Smoky Mountains. This place is also known as the ancestral homelands of the ᎠᏂᎩᏚᏩᎩ, or Cherokee people. (Raylen Bark)

Raylen Bark

Indigenous Correspondents Program | Dartmouth College

Antarctica is collapsing – what can we do?

A woman in a blue jacket stands on a snowy ship deck in Antarctica

Breathing in the peace and stillness during our first evening in Antarctica. (Courtesy of Agam Dhingra)

Libby Mohn

Middlebury Institute of International Studies

Kids can do it too: How a children's book can inspire community-based action for the environment

An illustration of three people bending down near a stream to pick up trash.

(Images from the picture book courtesy of Maria Zaharatos, Shelby Atherton, Ruby Walker)

Maria Zaharatos

The Middlebury Institute of International Studies

Unsustainable dairy in the United States

Dana Fries

SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry

Sustainable agriculture provides a unique solution to food insecurity for D.C. residents

A man stands next to a raise garden bed, gesturing as he speaks. Other raised garden beds can be seen in the background.

Outreach and education manager at Arcadia Farm, Juan Pablo Echeverria, gives a tour of the sustainable agriculture non-profit. (Alyssa Landolfi)

Alyssa Landolfi

George Washington University

Perennial grains are the future of sustainable agriculture

Illustration showing annual grains and perennial grains growing from 12 to 24 months, with longer roots for perennial grains.

Standard annual grain roots vs. perennial grain roots of the Kernza grain. (The Land Institute/CC-BY-NC-ND)

Cassidy Hough

Michigan State University

With Corn Belt inching north, farm diversification gains momentum

A man and a woman stand at the doorway of a wooden farmhouse. Lush green trees frame both sides of the house.

Jordan Welch talks to her grandfather Charlie Payne on July 20 in Concordia. Charlie Payne purchased the Payne family’s land more than 60 years ago, and he still helps out in an advisory capacity on the farm. (Jia Wu/Columbia Missourian)

Adam Goldstein

University of Missouri