Page 7 - Impact Summer 2021

JOLEEN HADRICH IS ONE OF 31 AGREETT-FUNDED FACULTY MEMBERS.
Solving agricultural challenges, addressing critical issues
In 2015, Minnesota lawmakers approved legislation that created the Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Technology Transfer program (AGREETT). This includes
a multi-year, $5 million state investment through the Minnesota Department of Agriculture in agricultural research, Extension, and teaching at the U of M. The AGREETT program benefits Minnesotans through work at CFANS, Extension, and the College of Veterinary Medicine.
In one CFANS example, AGREETT-funded
Joleen Hadrich, PhD, associate professor and Extension specialist in the Department of Applied Economics, combines animal health, production and farm financial data to help dairy producers become more profitable and sustainable.
Hadrich’s recent research has examined changes in wealth and income variation on U.S. dairy farms across time, and applied human health concepts to dairy cows to determine the economic cost of common animal diseases at a farm level. She works closely with livestock and crop producers to study the interaction between economic concepts and biological processes of the production system.
AGREETT funds also improve preparation for, and response to, crisis situations. In summer 2020, for example, Hadrich had a particular focus on rapid response work related to the impact of COVID-19 on the food system.
“The AGREETT investment in the University benefits
all Minnesotans,” said Hadrich. “It advances our state’s food economy, communities and environment — making Minnesota healthier and more sustainable for its citizens.”
Today, 31 AGREETT faculty and Extension educators have been hired to focus on issues that impact the state’s health, including clean water; climate change; soil health; crop and livestock productivity; microbial science; agricultural technology; and pest resistance.
As Earth warms,
lakes are losing oxygen
Oxygen levels in the world’s temperate
freshwater lakes are declining at rates faster
than in oceans, according to research published
in Nature and co-authored by Gretchen Hansen, PhD, assistant professor of fisheries ecology in
the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife
and Conservation Biology. It’s a trend
researchers found is largely driven
by climate change and land use,
threatening freshwater biodiversity
and water quality.
The team discovered that:
• oxygen levels in lakes
across the temperate zone (between the tropics and
polar regions) have declined
5.5% in surface waters, and 18.6% in deep waters since 1980;
• in a large number of nutrient-polluted lakes (e.g., lakes with excess phosphorus), the falling oxygen levels are indicative of rising water temperatures and harmful algal blooms; and
• lakes are releasing increased amounts of methane into the atmosphere as a result of methane- producing bacteria thriving in oxygen-poor lakes.
Although lakes make up only about 3% of Earth’s land surface, they contain a disproportionate concentration of the planet’s biodiversity. “Previous research has documented global declines in oxygen of oceans, or focused on individual lakes, but this project is the first to document dramatic loss of oxygen in the deep waters of lakes around the world,” said Hansen.
According to Hansen, Minnesota has been a leader
in identifying the importance of coldwater, oxygenated habitat in lakes and working to restore and protect the watersheds of lakes to counteract these concerning trends. “This research highlights the importance of that ongoing work for adapting to climate change,” she said.
As research continues, Hansen and collaborators, including Lesley Knoll with the U of M’s Itasca Biological Station and Laboratories, recently received a grant to examine in-depth the drivers of oxygen loss in Minnesota lakes.
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AGREETT