Daugherty Water for Food Podcast

Joe Sanders, the new executive director of the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute (DWFI) at the University of Nebraska, brings more than 27 years of experience in international agricultural development to his role. In this episode, hosted by Arianna Elnes, he reflects on his career path—from serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Bolivia to leading USAID-funded projects across Africa, Asia and Latin America—and shares how those experiences shaped his approach to leadership, problem-solving and working across diverse agricultural systems. Sanders also offers early insights from his first months in Nebraska, highlighting the state's strengths in agriculture, water management and collaboration. He discusses the importance of building on DWFI's strong foundation, deepening partnerships and identifying practical, scalable solutions. His perspective underscores the value of combining global experience with local expertise to strengthen water and food systems in Nebraska and beyond.

In this episode, host Frances Hayes dives into the Nebraska Master Irrigator Program, a new approach to advanced water stewardship. Joining Frances is Crystal Powers, DWFI Water and Cropping Systems Extension Educator and a co-collaborator on the new initiative. Through the Nebraska Master Irrigator Program, organizers invite participants to dig deeper and "talk shop" about the critical issues facing agricultural producers in Nebraska and throughout the U.S. The podcast discussion focuses on how this program helps farmers grow more with less, maximize existing farm investments, improve margins, and ultimately strengthen the long-term future of Nebraska's soil and water resources.

In this special episode, host Frances Hayes sits down with Peter McCornick, Executive Director of the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute, as he concludes nearly a decade of leadership. This deep-dive conversation covers Peter's distinguished career, from his early life on a farm in Scotland and pivotal international work in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, to what drew him to lead the Institute in Nebraska. They discuss DWFI's greatest strategic achievements, the lasting impact of its work both globally and within Nebraska's agricultural community, and the philosophy behind investing in student research. Finally, they tackle the most urgent challenges facing water and food security in the next decade and the legacy Peter hopes to leave behind. Join us for a look back at institutional growth and a look ahead at the future of global innovation for a water and food secure world.

In this episode, we explore a unique initiative that puts water quality testing directly into the hands of high school students across Nebraska. Sara Brock-Contreras, a PhD student advised by Dr. Dan Snow, joins us to discuss her work on the Know Your Well program—an innovative educational and participatory science effort that equips students with the tools, training, and confidence to test domestic wells in their communities. Through hands-on learning, students gain a deeper understanding of water quality, local geology, and science communication while generating real data about local water quality. Sara shares how this interdisciplinary program is inspiring and engaging the next generation of water leaders. Learn more about the UNL Nebraska Water Center's Know Your Well program at https://knowyourwell.unl.edu/

Episode 44 - The Vadose Zone - A critical indicator for Nebraska groundwater quality The vadose zone is the area between crop roots and the water table, and is a critically important region for storage, transport and transformation of chemicals that can impact groundwater quality. In this episode of the Water for Food Podcast, host Frances Hayes talks with Arindam Malakar, a researcher with the Nebraska Water Center (NWC, a part of DWFI) who studies Nebraska's vadose zone and monitors the impacts of irrigation and fertilizer on groundwater. Hayes is also joined by Marie Krausnick, assistant general manager for Nebraska's Upper Big Blue Natural Resources District (NRD). The Upper Big Blue NRD and other NRDs across the state have partnered with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the Nebraska Water Center in researching nitrate concentration in their districts. While nitrate levels in some areas have decreased in the Upper Big Blue NRD, there has been an overall increase of 54% in the district. In Nebraska, as in many parts of the world, one of the key chemicals monitored in the vadose zone is nitrate. Nitrogen is a critical plant nutrient, but once it sinks below the roots and enters the vadose zone, it becomes a liability: both an economic loss for the farmer and a potential public health risk for some rural communities where wells have not been recently tested. Excess nitrate in drinking water can cause adverse health effects, particularly in infants and vulnerable populations, as too much nitrate in the body makes it harder for red blood cells to carry oxygen. Contaminants, like nitrates, present in the vadose zone can eventually appear in the underlying aquifers. NWC takes soil cores all the way down to the groundwater table, sometimes over 100 feet, and tests them for nitrate and other contaminants. These cores are crucial for understanding how water and chemicals move through the soil and potentially reach groundwater. They can also be useful in predicting water quality issues. The Nebraska Water Center Water Sciences Lab has collected vadose cores for decades. To increase the usability of all this data, they launched the Nebraska Vadose Zone Program online portal in 2015 with funding from the Nebraska Environmental Trust, Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy (now the Nebraska Department of Water, Energy, and Environment), and several Natural Resources Districts (NRDs).

This special episode of the Water for Food Podcast commemorates the 15th anniversary of the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute by sharing the story of its origin. Read the full historical account here. The 15th anniversary year will be highlighted by a celebration reception at the upcoming 2025 Water for Food Global Conference, held in Lincoln, Nebraska, April 28-May 2. Learn more at waterforfood.nebraska.edu.

In the 40th episode of the Water for Food Podcast, DWFI Director of Communications and Public Relations Frances Hayes sits down with Darren Siekman at the Valmont Industries headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska. Darren is the Vice President of Policy and Industry Strategy at Valley Agriculture, a Valmont Company. The two discuss Valmont's history and global presence and the importance of center pivot irrigation in agricultural productivity, as well as current challenges and future innovations in achieving global water and food security.

Episode 38 - Irrigation expansion's varying impacts on nutrition Irrigation expansion can provide the water necessary to increase food production for our growing world. It can also be a means for moving farmers from simply producing enough food for their families to generating more income through domestic markets or export of additional production. However, increasing use of irrigation can have varying impacts on the nutrition of the local communities and it's important to consider these costs and benefits when striving to reduce poverty, end hunger and protect our water resources. In this episode of the Water for Food Podcast, DWFI Director of Communications and Public Relations Frances Hayes talks with experts in irrigation and nutrition as they dive into the interconnectedness of irrigation, water availability and nutrition. Guests include Dr. Piyush Mehta and Assistant Professor Dr. Kyle Davis, both in the Department of Geography & Spatial Sciences at the University of Delaware. View the research mentioned in the episode here.

Drought is a prolonged dry period that can occur anywhere in the world and results in a water shortage. Unlike some other disasters, drought has a slow onset and a prolonged impact on health, agriculture, economies, energy and the environment. An estimated 55 million people globally are affected by droughts every year and as many as 700 million people are at-risk of being displaced as a result of drought by 2030. As of June 4, 2024, more than 10 percent of the U.S. is experiencing a drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. In fact, drought is one of the costliest and deadliest climate-related disasters in the United States In this episode of the Water for Food Podcast, DWFI Director of Communications and Public Relations Frances Hayes chats with experts in drought and health who shed light on this complex topic, including the areas of respiratory concerns, stress among farmers, engagement with the public health community through the Drought and Public Health Roadmap and a global public health perspective. Guests include Dr. Yeongjin Gwon, Rachel Lookadoo, JD and Dr. Jesse Bell of the University of Nebraska Medical Center and affiliated with DWFI, as well as Dr. Jesse Berman of the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. If you or a loved one is experiencing or affected by a mental health, substance use, or suicidal crisis, please call or text "988" (or chat online on the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline website) for free, confidential, and immediate help.

The Fifth National Climate Assessment is federally mandated by Congress and released every four years to serve as the foremost review of research on the current and future impacts of climate change in the United States. In this episode of the Water for Food Podcast, DWFI Director of Communications and Public Relations Frances Hayes discusses key findings of the report with three of its co-authors. DWFI Faculty Fellows Andrea Basche and Tonya Haigh co-authored the Northern Great Plains chapter, which includes Nebraska. DWFI Director of Water, Climate and Health Jesse Bell, who leads the Water, Climate and Health Program at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, co-authored the chapter on human health. The authors share their take on regional differences related to climate change, who is most affected by its impacts and what bright spots exist. View the full assessment here. Find webinars on each topic hosted by the U.S. Global Change Research Program here.

The Melting Cryosphere and Food & Water Security, with Randall Ritzema, Tika Gurung, and Nick Brozović A 2023 report called Water, ice, society, and ecosystems in the Hindu Kush Himalaya: An Outlook (HI-WISE), published by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), was an urgent call for how disappearing snow and ice in the Hindu Kush Himalayas will impact water resources for nearly two billion people. But the cryosphere exists elsewhere, too, as part of the globe's hydrological system. Populations and ecosystems of The Andes, California and Nebraska, for example, all rely on a healthy cryosphere for water. With a changing climate, what are the implications to food and water security? How do we adapt? In this episode, DWFI Communications Specialist Arianna Elnes discusses the changing cryosphere with DWFI Research Program Scientist Randall Ritzema, who contributed to Chapter Three of the HI-WISE report; University of Nebraska-Lincoln Graduate Student of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Tika Gurung, who studies glaciers in the Himalayas; and DWFI Director of Policy Nick Brozović. Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute is co-hosting a webinar on the Water-Food Nexus in Mountain Systems on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024 at 3-4 P.M. UTC (9-10 A.M. CT). The link to register, and the recording after, is available at go.unl.edu/waterfoodnexus. For more on Water for Food's work visit waterforfood.nebraska.edu

Since 2013, UNL Water Sciences Lab Director Dan Snow and other researchers in the University of Nebraska system (NU) have collaborated with faculty and students in Central Asian institutes to improve water quality research across the globe. The purpose of this effort is to share NU's knowledge and expertise in water quality research with a region that has limited resources and important water quality issues to address. In this episode, guest host Ann Briggs, public relations and engagement coordinator at the Nebraska Water Center, chats with Dan during one of his visits to Kazakhstan, along with Marjan Kalmakhanova, an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Technology at M.Kh. Dulaty Taraz Regional University in Kazakhstan. Both discuss the importance and impact of global partnerships in water quality research. To learn more about this partnership, visit centralasiawater.unl.edu.

Ron Yoder is a pillar of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln community and most recently served as the senior associate vice chancellor for the University of Nebraska–Lincoln 's (UNL's) Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources (IANR). In this episode, DWFI Director of Communication and Public Relations Frances Hayes talks with Ron about the important role he played in formation of DWFI more than 10 years ago. They also look back on Ron's storied career on the eve of his retirement. Ron joined UNL in 2004 as the department head for the Department of Biological Systems Engineering before becoming the associate vice chancellor for IANR in 2011. He also served as interim NU vice president and IANR vice chancellor in 2016, after then-IANR vice chancellor Ronnie Green was named the UNL chancellor.