W.K. Kellogg Biological Station KBS Long-Term Agroecosystem Research

Past Events

2025 KBS LTAR Scientist and Stakeholder Summit - January 17, 2025
Eight-five participants joined the KBS LTAR for our second annual Winter Summit for Scientists and Stakeholders. The purpose of the Summit was to: further explore priority research topics that were identified at the 2024 Summit, identify emergent synergies with the community, and strengthen relationships across scientists and stakeholder in the LTAR community. Read more about the event here. 

2024 EDF-LTAR Collaboration Meeting - October 29th-30th, 2024
KBS LTAR worked with the Environmental Defense Fund and Emory University to host a collaborative workshop focused on climate adaptation in the Upper Midwest agricultural system. The event brought together a diverse group of stakeholders from across the agricultural system along with regional climate scientists. The team created the foundation for a research proposal aimed at evaluating the social, economic and environmental impacts of feasible adaptation scenarios and filling data gaps required to support adaptation pathways.

2024 LTAR Annual Leadership and Data Managers Meeting - October 17th-19th, 2024
KBS hosted the LTAR Annual Leadership Meeting alongside the Network Data Managers meeting this year. Site leaders came together to discuss the Network's strategic plan while data mangers learned about the Network’s new data management platform. Read a summary of the event here.  

2024 KBS LTAR Field Day - September 4th, 2024
The second annual KBS LTAR field day welcomed over 90 participants and showcased early agronomic and ecological changes in fields managed with advanced conservation strategies while also offering practical tips to make these practices work. Read a summary of this field day here.

2024 Food-Grade Grains Field Day – June 19^th, 2024
Over 60 participants from across Michigan’s supply chain discussed food-grade grains and the opportunities and challenges going from Field to Mug, Spoon, and Jug. Read a summary of this field day here.

2024 KBS LTAR Scientist and Stakeholder Summit – January 19, 2024
Over 100 scientists and stakeholders gathered at KBS to identify key research priorities for the KBS LTAR. The group developed a list of thirteen questions that will address areas of crop diversification, nutrient cycling and livestock, no-till, precision conservation and management, and systems management.

2023 KBS LTAR Field Day – September 15, 2023
The first annual KBS LTAR welcomed over 90 individuals, including farmers, ag advisors, agencies, and agribusiness. Participants learned about opportunities for creating a more sustainable agricultural system, and how the KBS LTAR will be a source of information for farmers in the Upper Midwest. Read a summary of this field day here.

2022 Metrics Workshop - June 30^th, 2022
Eighty eight participants from a wide variety of sectors met gathered for the first year of the KBS LTAR to 1) strengthen current stakeholder relationships and establish new ones and 2) gather input from stakeholders on measurements and metrics for the KBS LTAR. Several key outcomes from the meeting included:

• Participants were more focused on outcomes (e.g. water quality) than metrics (e.g. nitrate leaching, phosphorous runoff)
• Social and economics were a key focus for all groups
• It's important to present metric results in ways that address stakeholder concerns, for example: Economic analysis in real-time, define relationships among metrics (e.g. soil health versus yield)

2021 Cropping Experiment Design Workshops & Focus Groups
In multiple workshops and focus groups, farmers, farmer advisors, Extension educators, and researchers collaborated to design the Aspirational Treatment of the KBS LTAR Aspirational Cropping Systems Experiment. Participants identified the key principles, boundaries, and practices that are needed to support agronomic, environmental and social outcomes for sustainable agriculture. Questions the group addressed included: What should the aspirational treatment accomplish for farmers? For the environment? What rotations and practices can meet desired outcomes?

2021 Visioning Symposium - January 11, 2021, Virtual
Title: Future Farming Systems of the Upper Midwest: A Long-term View
This event set the stage for designing the first aspirational treatment in the KBS LTAR Aspirational Cropping Systems Experiment. Invited speakers presented about their vision for future farming systems of the Upper Midwest. Speakers included: Laura Lengnick (Cultivating Resilience LLC), Marc Hasenick (Hasenick Brothers Farm), Lisa Schulte Moore (Iowa State University), Tim Boring (Boring Farms and Michigan Agricultural Advancement), Rick Clark (Clark Land and Cattle and Farm Green Consulting), Adam Davis (University of Illinois). Watch video of the presentations here.