< PreviousHow challenging is it to farm sustain- ably? The answer is complex. While tech- nological and scientific advancements have improved the resiliency of modern farms, there are challenges that today’s farmers face in adopting conservation practices. Enter the Alabama Cooperative Ex- tension System, the Auburn University College of Agriculture and the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station. A team of researchers from these entities com- prise what is known as The Future of Farming Project, created to increase adoption of soil, nutrient and water con- servation practices by establishing on- farm demonstrations. It’s an effort with farmers, for farmers. “We are helping farmers adopt digital technologies and sustainable agricultur- al practices,” said Brenda Ortiz, Alabama Extension specialist and professor in the Department of Crop, Soil and Environ- mental Sciences. “My responsibilities are demonstrating, evaluating and training farmers and crop consultants on how to best use digital technologies to increase crop productivity while strengthening environmental sustainability.” Ortiz’s specialty is in precision irriga- tion. She helps farmers adopt a sustain- able approach that allows the applica- tion of water to the plant at the right time and place, and in measured doses, creat- ing optimal growing conditions. This is a win-win for the farmer: less water wast- ed, plus better yields. And Ortiz represents just one part of The Future of Farming Project. She’s joined by fellow Auburn faculty mem- bers and Alabama Extension specialists Audrey Gamble, Rishi Prasad and Mi- chelle Worosz, as well as Auburn alumna and agricultural economist at Compli- ance Services International Leah Duzy. Together, they aim to help farmers adopt conservation practices and tackle the social or economic barriers they face. “One challenge is the fact that con- servation practices do cost money for growers to adopt and install and may in- crease the management time required by the grower,” Duzy said. “However, for growers to invest in conservation prac- tices such as cover crops and smart ir- rigation practices, they need to clearly understand the cost of the practices and the benefits that will impact their profit- ability across a field.” For example, growers adopting smart irrigation practices such as soil moisture sensors and variable-rate irrigation are likely to increase overall yield and profit- ability across the field. And adding cover crops — a crop planted to protect and improve soil during the seasons in which cash crops are not actively growing — has the po- tential to decrease the need for irrigation through improved water holding capac- ity. “Some farmers may plant cover crops with the primary goal of increasing soil moisture storage and improving drought resilience, while other farmers may plant cover crops to provide supplemental nu- trients to the following cash crop,” Gam- ble explained. If they are fully informed on the costs and benefits of these conservation prac- tices, growers can make decisions re- garding adoption. Prasad’s focus is nutrient manage- ment, which he calls “an art as well as a science.” He helps farmers practice the 4R principles: the right rate of nutrients, at the right time, with the right source and the right method of application. “Managing nutrients sustainably in Alabama farms will ensure that farmers have a profitable crop harvest and have fewer nutrient losses to the environ- ment,” he said. “Fertilizers are expensive, and losing them means losing money and, at the same time, contributing to environmental issues such as polluting freshwater bodies or emitting green- house gases.” These experts partnered with Posey Farms in North Alabama, L.C. Farms in South Alabama and Lazenby Farms in Central Alabama to provide regional on-site demonstrations, allowing Ala- bama farmers to learn in person from both the researchers and from their peers. Mitch Lazenby of Lazenby Farms hosted one of these on-site demonstra- tions over the summer. He shared his story of adopting conservation practices over the last 25 years. “We are seeing how we can close up our gaps,” he said. “How can we get seed to soil with more cover, tighter and closer, with more biomass? There are so many nuances to these conservation practices, you really can pick any one of them and begin.” To read more about The Future of Farming Project, visit the College of Ag- riculture website. UNIVERSITY NEWS BY KRISTEN BOWMAN 50 UNIVERSITY NEWS AUBURNTIGERS.COM Auburn alumna and agricultural econ- omist Leah Duzy works closely with College of Agriculture faculty in The Future of Farming Project. Faculty and Alabama Extension specialists in Auburn’s College of Agriculture work with farmers to help them adopt conservation practices and tackle social or economic barriers. AUBURN AGRICULTURALISTS SHAPING THE FUTURE OF FARMING IN ALABAMACardiacandVascularAwards from EastAlabamaMedicalCenteristheONLYhospital inAlabamatobeamongthetop5% ofhospitalsnationwideforcardiacsurgery! 2023Women'sChoiceAwardsBestHospitalsfor CancerCare,Orthopedics,andObstetrics Congratulationstoourstaff forearningtheseprestigiousawards! ServingOpelika,Auburn,Valleyandan11-countycoveragearea52 MEET THE COACHES: AUBURN OFFENSIVE LINE COACH JAKE THORNTON Jake Thornton, Auburn’s offensive line coach who was hired in December, has been to Jordan-Hare twice before coming on board with the staff – once as a graduate assistant at Alabama in 2017 and again as the offensive line coach at Ole Miss in 2021. Alabama came in ranked No. 1 while Ole Miss was ranked No. 9. Auburn won both games. “Every SEC stadium is big. They’ve got great stuff. But when you play here at Auburn, it’s very intimidating,” Thornton said. “When you pull into the stadium, like in 2017 for the Iron Bowl, the Auburn people are all over you. It’s not that they’re shak- ing the bus or throwing stuff at the bus. It’s just – they’re ev- erywhere. They’re all wearing their Auburn stuff, and they’re chanting ‘War Eagle.’ It’s very imposing. “That game in 2021 was the loudest crowd I’ve ever been a part of. It was deafening. Right when we walked out for pre- game, the student section was already filled. That’s the most packed stadium I have ever been in that early. They’re on top of you right away.” Thornton is a football guy. He grew up around the game. At six years old, he spent the week in Canton, Ohio when his grandfather, Billy Shaw, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Shaw played 10 years in the NFL as an offensive guard for the Buffalo Bills. “I can remember just about everything about it,” Thornton said. “At the time, I didn’t understand how special that was. But now looking back on it, it was awesome. He still calls me, talks about football. He’s involved with a lot of different things in my life and my family’s life.” Thornton, like Shaw, played offensive line. He was a three- year starter at Western Carolina before graduating and get- ting into coaching. He started out as an assistant offensive line coach at his alma mater and made stops at Alabama (GA), Ten- nessee Tech, Gardner-Webb and most recently Ole Miss. That’s when Hugh Freeze called and offered him the job at Auburn. Immediately, Thornton was intrigued. He’d seen the atmo- sphere at Auburn first-hand. He knew how special it was. He also knew what Auburn was capable of with the right coach. Growing up in Toccoa, Georgia – right in between Clemson and Georgia – it was Auburn who was the premier program during that time. The Tigers consistently won nine or more games and then won a national championship in 2010. But the biggest reason Thornton took the Auburn job wasn’t the atmosphere or the tradition. It was Freeze. He had never played or coached under Freeze, but he saw the success Freeze had at Ole Miss on the field and knew how important family was to Freeze off the field. “I always knew he had a winning mentality when it came to football,” Thornton said. “And then when I was at Ole Miss, Der- rick Nix – Coach Freeze’s running backs coach at Ole Miss – he and I got close. I look at him like a mentor of mine. He always talked highly of Coach Freeze – how good of a guy he was, how he treated them in the office, and most importantly, how he treated families. “I’m willing to work, I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get our guys ready to go play and win games, I just want my family taken care of. Because when I know they’re taken care of, I feel like I can do my job to my maximum performance.” Thornton’s family consists of his wife, Alyssa, and their two children, Shaw (3) and Sutton (8 months). The decision to come to Auburn was as much about them as anything. “We came to Auburn to be at Auburn and to be here,” Thornton said. “In the world of college football where there’s so much transition all the time, we wanted to come here and to grow here and grow as a family and build this o-line up to be the best unit in the country. We’re devoted to doing that. We want to be involved in the community and be a part of Auburn and be Auburn people.” For any coach, the first year is always a challenging one. But Thornton has had his hands full since he arrived at Auburn with building an offensive line that features so many new faces and meshing those new players with the returning players. The Ti- gers brought in six transfers and four freshmen this offseason. It is up to Thornton to put the best unit on the field and lay a foundation for the future, but he hasn’t had to do too much to build chemistry. The players have already done a good bit of that on their own. “I felt like it took our guys a month, and they acted like they had been together for five years,” Thorton said. “That’s a huge credit to the culture of Auburn, what this community means to these guys and also what Coach Freeze has done with the cul- ture of the team.” JAKE THORNTON BY GREG OSTENDORF AUBURNTIGERS.COM MEET THE COACHES: AUBURN OFFENSIVE LINE COACH DINE IN // DELIVERY // CURBSIDE // CATERING Opelika 2664 Enterprise Drive, Opelika, AL 36801 GO TIGERS!54 2023 STADIUM MAP 2023 STADIUM MAP AUBURNTIGERS.COM SOUTH CLUB BROADWAY CLUB NORTH CLUB 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 12 14 14 13 151617181920 383940414243 3744 44 45 46 46 36 37 35 35 21 21 22 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 100 99 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 AUBURN VISITOR 23 23 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 9 8U 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 20 21 BILL & CONNIE NEVILLE LOBBY 0 EXIT GATE STUDENT GATE STUDENT GATE EAST UPPER DECK ACCESS ONLY SOUTH SERVICE GATE FOOTBALL RECRUITING SOUTH DONAHUE DRIVE HEISMAN DRIVE HD VIDEOBOARD NEVILLE ARENA MIKE & JANE McCARTNEY BRICK PLAZA TICKET OFFICE SALES & PICK-UP GAMEDAY TRANSIT & FANFEST (NS PASS) NORTH STADIUM LOT VISITOR TICKET SALES HARBERT FAMILY RECRUITING CENTER AUBURN PLAYER GUEST EXIT GATEVISITING TEAM LOCKER ROOM SUITE TICKET PICK-UP STUDENT GATE SOUTH NORTH WEST EAST BROADWAY CLUB & MEDIA CREDENTIALS TIGER WALK CLUB ENTRANCE HIGH SCHOOL COACHES 11 10 TIGERWALK TICKET SALES TICKET SALES BROADWAY CLUB ONLY HRC ONLY ADA SHUTTLE PICKUP 1U VISITING PLAYER GUEST & VISITING FAN TICKET PICK-UP ADA SHUTTLE PICKUP NORTH SERVICE GATE OLYMPIC SPORT RECRUITING Entry GateElevator First Aid Tiger Babies LEGEND Charging Station Student Section Seating bowl closed to non-students Team Shop Medical Bag Entry Special Access Statues Guest Services ADA Shuttle56 2023 AUBURN PARKING MAP 2023 AUBURN PARKING MAP AUBURNTIGERS.COM2023 AUBURN PARKING MAP LEGEND 57 2023 AUBURN PARKING LEGEND AUBURNTIGERS.COM© 2022 Textron Specialized Vehicles Inc. 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