This proposal requests approval for a special session at the ASA/CSSA/SSSA annual meeting in Phoenix, AZ.  While a small funding request is included, the primary request is for scheduling of a half-day oral (two, 2-hour sessions) and an associate poster session at the meetings.  The subject matter is cross disciplinary and especially appropriate to the annual theme of the meeting and coincides with a 2013 USDA-NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant program.  Invited speakers will represent drought adaptation projects from across the U.S. and will bring together multidisciplinary aspects of adapting cropping systems to drought.

Background

Seasonal or prolonged periods of drought have always challenged crop production. The economic importance of drought on cropping systems has recently been observed in the Western and South Central U.S. While droughts cannot be controlled or avoided, factors within a cropping system can be employed to mitigate the effects of drought.  Drought adaptation depends upon sound decision making using a systems approach that integrates climate information with crop, soil, and water management strategies. In 2013, the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service established a Conservation Innovation Grant program to demonstrate innovative cropping systems that increase resiliency to drought via improved soil health, drought resistant plant material, and improved irrigation practices.  This proposal is to create a special session at the 2016 ASA/CSSA/SSSA international meeting to highlight a systems approach to drought adaptation from the perspective of different agricultural regions in the U.S.