Robert Walters | CPF Agrosphere

Crop Intelligence

Mon, 06 Jul 2026 00:00:00 UTC

AMPLIFY is a public-private research platform designed to propel innovation and resource-efficient methods to increase food yields. Created by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at NC State University in 2014, AMPLIFY was conceived as a transdisciplinary, entrepreneurial platform that provides infrastructure to mobilize research and intellectual capacity to solve complex global issues in agriculture. Advances in telemetry, remote sensing, digital imaging, and precision machine guidance systems are generating high-dimensional information that could drive agricultural decision-making at ground level and beyond if we know how to harness it. By pulling together basic and applied expertise from N.C. State’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, College of Sciences, and College of Engineering, AMPLIFY seeks to: (1) model photosynthesis, carbon metabolism, partitioning, water use efficiency, and abiotic stress (2) develop custom multi- and hyper-spectral imaging systems for a seamless, integrated high-throughput phenomics pipeline; (3) fuse remote sensing information to quantify crop phenology, stress indicators, and soil-plant nutrient and water status; (4) model and identify high performance, resilient yield traits and create improved management strategies and decision support tools. Note: AMPLIFY was supplanted by the Plant Sciences Initiative (PSI) in 2019. Links to timely PSI news and events are posted below. We continue to publish under the AMPLIFY banner because its original framework perfectly aligns with the global Agrosphere vision driving our current efforts.

Watch: Crop Intelligence Video — Brief descriptor for the YouTube video goes here.
AMPLIFY Progress Report (Abridged) — Brief descriptor goes here.
AMPLIFY 2015 IF Presentation — Brief descriptor goes here.
NDVI-PRI IF Panel — Brief descriptor goes here.

Soil Moisture Trends This Spring

Sun, 15 Mar 2026 00:00:00 UTC

Notes on Controlled Drainage Infrastructure

Thu, 08 Jan 2026 00:00:00 UTC

This is placeholder body content for the second test post, independent from the first — separate file, separate content, no shared data.

About

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 UTC

I lead technical training, project design, and infrastructure development supporting the research and outreach mission of the NCSU Water Resiliency Initiative, based at the Vernon James Center in Plymouth, NC. Our Phase II work (2024–2026) is building out soil-plant-environment sensor networks, wireless telemetry, and water-efficient irrigation and controlled drainage infrastructure at the Tidewater Research Station and a private site near Bath, NC. We also conduct soil and groundwater investigations to assess the agricultural and environmental impacts of salinity, an emerging threat to coastal communities tied to climate forcing. This work draws on decades of combined experience across soils and agronomy, mechanization, advanced sensor technology, irrigation and drainage contracting, and civil water and wastewater infrastructure. I leverage that expertise daily to mobilize R & D capacity to solve complex global issues in how we feed, fuel, clothe, and shelter ourselves, and as the owner and operator of Cypress Prong Farms, a commercial operation producing premium hay, novel and emerging crops, and timber.

Improved Agronomic Practices for Cassava

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 UTC

Cassava (*Manihot esculenta* Crantz, family Euphorbiaceae), is a tropical root crop that tolerates uncertain rainfall, long dry periods, and poor soil. Cassava is a source of food, livestock feed, and income generation for some 800 million people, for whom it also holds strategic potential as a famine reserve crop. Cassava also has attracted interest as a bio-energy crop with potential as a cash crop for smallholders.

Africa produces over 50% of the world’s cassava, but the continent lags behind global peers in productivity. Cassava is popular with African farmers because it is amenable to mixed cropping, with processing and infrastructure technology firmly embedded in many local and regional food systems. Surplus production coupled with growing industrial demand has stimulated commercial exploitation of the root. In turn, improved varieties, mechanization, and agronomic practices have become focal points in boosting Africa’s cassava yield curve.

The Improved Agronomic Practices for Cassava Production assignment was initiated in Ghana, West Africa by ACDI/VOCA under USAID’s Farmer-To-Farmer Program (F2F) authorized by the U.S. Congress in the Farm Bill. Primary in-country host was Caltech Ventures Limited (CVL), a commercial producer of cassava starch, flour, and starting 2015,ethanol. CVL has 3,000 hectares of farmland in the Volta region near Ho, of which 350 hectares are under cultivation either by CVL directly, or by outgrowers who produce cassava for CVL under agreement in exchange for crop inputs and marketing support. The objectives for this assignment were to: (1) assess the current practices of CVL’s farm and that of their outgrowers and provide recommendations for improvement; (2) based on the assessment, train staff on best practices to boost production; (3) train CVL on how to mechanize their operation; and (4) make recommendations on any other professional support that will strengthen the CVL in its operations.

GHA-FY15-039 End of Assignment Debriefing Report — Brief comment about the debriefing report.
Blog Post Title — Placeholder — link to be added once blog is transferred from WordPress.

Improved Compost Preparation and Technology

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 UTC

Composting has come a long way since the days of Sir Albert Howard and the Indore experiments. Once an arcane, if faintly suspect practice of organic farmers and gardeners, composting has evolved into a full-fledged science with built-in engineering controls that make the composting process predictable and much more efficient. Material properties like carbon to nitrogen ratio (C:N ratio), bulk density, moisture, and porosity influence microbial decomposition of waste material in compost. Knowledge of the optimal conditions for organic decomposition ensures efficient bioconversion of waste products so that they can be beneficially and safely used as fertilizers and soil conditioners.

The Improved Composting Production and Technology Project (BAN320) was initiated in Bangladesh under The John Ogonowski-Doug Bereuter Farmer-to-Farmer Program jointly administered by USAID and Winrock International. This Project aimed to (1) provide training in improved compost preparation in Bangladesh; (2) build capacity for composting as an environmentally sound method of converting agro- and municipal solid waste into useful products; and (3) increase awareness of the role of organic matter in sustaining soil productivity. The Project’s primary in-country host was Bismillah Fish and Poultry Farm (BFP), an integrated agro-based enterprise comprising fish and prawn culture, 20,000 poultry layers with a capacity for up to 40,000 birds, cow fattening and milking, and vegetable growing. Local traditional methods are used for composting poultry manure, cow dung, and other waste, which largely remains unused due to a lack of better knowledge. BFP also wants to increase composting capacity by using different types of locally available raw materials (cow dung, water hyacinth, farm by-products, etc.) and marketing their excess compost fertilizer. The compost will be used as a fertilizer and soil conditioner for vegetables and other crops in the Khulna region. Click on the image tiles below to access the Project’s documents.

Water Resiliency

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 UTC

The Water Resiliency Initiative was established in 2020 by the Agricultural Water Management Group within the NCSU Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering to address the global challenges facing agricultural producers and rural communities, as they compete for that precious, irreplaceable substance —water. Strategically located in the agriculturally rich Blacklands region of North Carolina’s lower coastal plain, the Water Resiliency Initiative consists of two technology validation field sites, one located at the NCDA Tidewater Research Station near Plymouth, N.C., and the other near Bath, N.C., on private land. Both sites are dedicated to evaluating promising new technologies and agronomic strategies to augment water productivity, sustainability, and environmental quality. Through these efforts, we aim to gain insight into the mechanisms driving yield and the components of yield and stress resilience that are favorable for efficient and profitable crop production in climate-vulnerable locales. Identifying crop genotypes that respond positively across environments or are more productive under specific soil and drainage conditions is crucial, given rising input costs. To this end, we are partnering with the North Carolina Cooperative Extension, commodity groups, agribusinesses, and technology developers to match crop genetics, biology, and fertility with site-specific environments.

In addition to stress testing, the Water Resiliency Team conducts soil and groundwater investigations to assess the agricultural and environmental impacts of salinity, a significant threat to coastal communities affected by climate forcing. We are equipped to conduct RTK-assisted surveys for precision land leveling, optimizing surface drainage, and building controlled drainage capacity, enabling producers to increase their return on investment by making informed planting decisions.

Phase Reports

In The Arena Phase I Report 2021–2023 — See what our team has accomplished over the last three years and key priorities for the future.

Water Resiliency Technical Reports

2022 Water Resiliency Corn Report — CPF Agronomics, NC Corn Growers Assoc., NC Cooperative Extension
2022 Water Resiliency Soybean Report — CPF Agronomics, NC Corn Growers Assoc., NC Cooperative Extension
2023 Water Resiliency Corn Report — CPF Agronomics, NC Corn Growers Assoc., NC Cooperative Extension
2023 Water Resiliency Soybean Report — CPF Agronomics, NC Corn Growers Assoc., NC Cooperative Extension
2024 Water Resiliency Corn Report — CPF Agronomics, NC Corn Growers Assoc., NC Cooperative Extension
2024 Water Resiliency Soybean Report — CPF Agronomics, NC Corn Growers Assoc., NC Cooperative Extension
2025 Water Resiliency Corn Report — CPF Agronomics, NC Corn Growers Assoc., NC Cooperative Extension
2025 Water Resiliency Soybean Report — CPF Agronomics, NC Corn Growers Assoc., NC Cooperative Extension

Other Resources

JP Lilley — The Blacklands Soils of North Carolina — The Blacklands are agriculturally important organic and mineral-organic soils in the lower coastal plain of eastern North Carolina. It’s no exaggeration to say that the Blacklands are North Carolina’s “breadbasket.” However, these poorly to very poorly drained soils require special care to remain productive. This technical bulletin, first published in 1981, remains a key reference on the genesis, characteristics, and management of blackland soils.

Ag Water Literacy Publications