Lessons Learned from University of Nebraska-Lincoln - Monsanto Company Collaboration on Research and Extension Programs.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Monsanto Company have had an active collaboration in research and extension programs since 2012. For 3 ½ years a UNL Extension Educator was physically located at the Monsanto Water Utilization Learning Center at Gothenburg, NE for about ½ of his time with Monsanto covering that portion of his salary. Major activities included: participated in demonstration/research plot design, presenter at tours, seminars and staff trainings, demonstration plot reports and collection of research data. Joint programming was not limited to the Learning Center, as a joint deficit irrigation program in the Republican Basin with 197 attendees was developed. An Irrigation Summit was hosted at the Learning Center with University and Ag Research Service faculty from Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas and Texas attending. The main output from the summit was an Irrigation Handbook for the Great Plains. Another jointly developed publication was a Dryland Water Management Guide for Corn in the Great Plains. In addition, a co-funded Research Technologist was located at the Henry J. Stumpf International Wheat Center at Grant, Nebraska. The Technologist helped with farming operations, wheat plot research and extension field days at the Stumpf Center. More than ten research studies have been jointly conducted at the Learning Center and UNL research farms in North Platte and Brule. This presentation will look at the positive aspects and the lessons learned from this unique public/private collaboration.