Tom DeSutter, NDSU assistant professor of soil science in the School of Natural Resource Sciences, was lead principal investigator on a two-state $915,785 Conservation Innovation Grant from the USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service. The grant, titled “Drainage, Plant Type, Cover Crops Mixtures, Soil Amendments and Residue Cover Impacts on Soil Health, Crop Nutrient Uptake, Water Quality and Productivity in the Northern Great Plains,” also included five other soils faculty and four other NDSU faculty from the agricultural and biosystems engineering and agribusiness and applied economics departments.
The project will develop management and soil amendment guidelines that optimize production on saline- and sodium-affected soils in the Northern Great Plains region. It also will develop non-drainage options that reduce salinization and sodification in high-risk soils, maintain wildlife habitat and reduce flooding risks along the Red, Missouri and Mississippi Rivers.
NDSU is recognized as one of the nation's top 108 public and private universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.