Agriculture plays a critical role in the national and Mississippi economy. Changes in state, local, federal, and international policies, a changing world state regarding terrorism, increased financial risk in agricultural production, exposure to global market uncertainties, environmental concerns, rising costs, and diminishing profit margins are forcing producers to capitalize on every possible opportunity to become more efficient. A major focus of the GeoResources Institute (GRI) at Mississippi State University is to develop and verify applications of geospatial technologies related to managing, conserving and protecting natural resources. Many GRI programs are specifically focused on agriculture, conducting research that is robust enough to have significant positive impacts, and extending new techniques to the farm level. The GRI provides a center of expertise in agricultural and related areas that builds focused multidisciplinary research teams from across the academic, governmental, and commercial communities. This integrated effort maximizes the likelihood of moving research results into agriculture-related operations.

Precision Agriculture, or "site-specific management" refers to the management of row crops and pastureland on the basis of the geographic variability of the land. View a summary of "Precision Agriculture".

Areas of current research:

• Pest management
• Water management
• Productive capacity mapping
• Advanced production systems
• Nutrient management
• Stress detection
• Directed scouting
• Crop growth regulation

The GRI approach is to develop solutions based on understanding the agronomics, then applying geospatial technologies to extract and deliver information in time to provide a quantifiable benefit. All research projects have an education and extension component to assist in the incorporation of new operational level management capabilities.

Dr. David Shaw, director of the GeoResources Institute, is co-chair of the Technical Steering Committee of the Mississippi Delta Management Systems Evaluation Area (MDMSEA) Project. Find out how he and other researchers have been helping farmers in the Mississippi Delta learn affordable methods of environmentally-friendly farming practices and, as a result, protect and improve water quality in area lakes.