The Joint Institute for Strategic Energy Analysis (JISEA) and Colorado State University (CSU) hosted a sustainable agriculture workshop on Oct. 21 to discuss collaborations aimed at improving energy resiliency within the agriculture sector. Sponsored by the Colorado-Wyoming Climate Resilience Engine, the one-day event brought together stakeholders from various areas of agriculture, including researchers, government representatives, farmers and technology innovators.
Brittany Staie, Sustainable Agriculture Catalyzer lead at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), based in Golden, emphasized the importance of integrating community perspectives, saying, “Agriculture is so diverse. Getting folks who are working on impacts to ecosystem services and the environment together with actual farmers whose daily lives and bottom lines are impacted by implementing new solutions is one of the main goals of this work.”
The workshop featured discussions on new agricultural methods, energy opportunities, and technology adoption, with speakers from CSU, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and NREL. Jordan Lambert, director of Ag Innovation at CSU Spur, stated, “CSU is so proud to work with NREL to think creatively about bringing these industries together to decrease emissions.”
Topics addressed included carbon emissions’ effects, soil health, rural energy considerations, and technologies like agrivoltaics. A panel discussion revealed challenges farmers face when adopting new technologies, including data gaps and economic viability. Many producers expressed a preference for observing real-world demonstrations before implementing new methods.
Looking ahead, JISEA and CSU plan to organize more workshops, including one on a farm to showcase agricultural technologies in practice. Elizabeth Doris, JISEA Center Director, stated, “Success looks like keeping the momentum going, getting all of those voices in the room at once, and especially engaging more agricultural producers.”
