Exploring the path from data to decision-making
Thursday, April 18 | 4:30 p.m.
Steitz 102
What does it mean to measure soil health in agricultural systems? Once we measure it, how can we translate the science into practice to support sustainable agriculture?
In this presentation, Dr. Hava Blair, LU ’13 and Dept. of Soil Science at UW-Madison, will share how she have grappled with these questions through research conducted in farm fields, at laboratory benches, and between the pages of more than 200 meta-analyses drawn from the literature.
Dr. Blair’s research journey took her into the fields of 27 commercial farms across Minnesota, where she quantified the effects of agricultural practices on the soil with a suite of commonly used soil health indicators. This on-farm research experience spurred her to think more broadly about what it takes to translate science to practice. How do we synthesize primary research into a body of evidence that might be useful for decision-making? Dr. Blair will share how she explored one facet of this question through the lens of meta-research, and how she continues to explore it through her current work as a soil scientist who develops decision support tools for agriculture in Wisconsin.