Nebraska’s water leaders gathered in Lincoln Jan. 27-28 for the annual Natural Resources District (NRD) Legislative Conference, bringing together local districts, state agencies, and university experts to explore emerging issues in water policy. Representatives from DWFI and the University of Nebraska joined the discussions, reinforcing the importance of science-driven policy and collaborative problem solving.
Crystal Powers, Extension Educator with the Nebraska Water Center and DWFI, organized a tour of Nebraska Innovation Campus for 20 NRD communications professionals. During the tour, participants learned about current university-led water and agronomy research and educational initiatives designed to support Nebraska’s agricultural and natural resources community. Powers also provided updates to NRD and partner agency leaders during the NRD Manager’s Meeting, highlighting ongoing university contributions to water management challenges across the state.
DWFI sponsored the conference and also organized a conference session featuring faculty fellow Dr. Joe Luck and Dr. Yu Pan, Research Assistant Professor and Data Management Specialist in Biological Systems Engineering. Their presentation showcased the Agricultural Data Management and Analytics platform and demonstrated how artificial intelligence can help producers and agencies organize, interpret, and coordinate diverse on-farm data streams.
Additional DWFI engagement included participation from Dr. Krista Brown of the Water, Climate and Health Program at UNMC; Rachael Herpel, Assistant Director; and Nebraska Water Center Director Dr. Chittaranjan Ray. Their involvement throughout the conference helped elevate conversations linking research, policy, and real world resource management.
