Brandon Francis and Emiliano McLane are embarking on a Southwest tour this Spring, showcasing their research within the Transformation Network as graduate students at New Mexico State University’s (NMSU). Both students are based at NMSU’s Agricultural Science Center in Farmington, NM and are advised by Kevin Lombard. They kicked off their presentations in late February at NMSU’s Research & Creativity Week in Las Cruces, NM, where they shared their experiences and preliminary research findings.

Emiliano’s poster presentation, titled, “Agrivoltaic System: Impacts of Photovoltaic Array and Intercropping Design on Culturally Valued Crops of the Four Corners Region,” delved into the innovative agricultural system of agrivoltaics (AgV), which integrates food and energy production by placing agricultural systems within the same space as photovoltaic panels.

Originating in Japan and Germany in the early 2000s in response to climate change and population growth, AgV creates a food, energy, and water nexus to moderate resources and reduce external inputs. Emiliano’s project focuses on studying select culturally significant crops in the Four Corners Region intercropped in an AgV system. The project seeks to achieve adequate yields while minimizing inputs and supporting energy needs for an adjacent controlled environment system.

Brandon’s presentation, “The Feasibility of Controlled Environment Agriculture from the Perspectives of Indigenous Farmers in the Four Corners,” highlighted his experience surveying of over 100 Indigenous farmers in the Four Corners region on a variety of topics and preliminary research findings. Brandon’s work is specifically looking at farmer’s opinions on controlled environment agriculture, which refers to any method of farming that controls some aspect of the production method. This includes vertical farms, high tunnels, low tunnels, hoop houses, greenhouses, hydroponics, and more.

Brandon also discussed the process of acquiring Institutional Review Board approval from the Navajo Nation for his research. He enjoys talking about this aspect of his research so that other researchers understand what working with sovereign Nations entails. He continues to work with the Navajo Nation for approval to share his research and thinks the data collected in this project will be useful tool for other researchers. He emphasized the importance of data sovereignty and the research going back to the community.

“We don’t want this information to sit on a shelf. We want the information to go back to the communities and be utilized by them,” Brandon said. “Researchers will come in and extract data and that leads to research fatigue and often research not being approved in the future because the communities don’t see the results.”

Additionally, Brandon shared updates on the Healthy Soils project that he is a part of, which involves 19 farmers in the region with fields that have been fallow for at least five years and is exploring how incorporating cover cropping into their production impacts soil health. This project is happening in tandem with the San Juan Soil & Water Conservation District and involves Transformation Network team members at the University of Arizona.

Brandon presented his research again at the AISES Conference at the University of Arizona in Tucson, AZ on March 23 and is scheduled to speak at the New Mexico Water Workshop in Albuquerque, NM on April 5.

Brandon and Emiliano’s endeavors showcase the dedication and impact of student research within the Transformation Network, contributing to valuable insights on agricultural practices and community engagement. Congratulations to Emiliano and Brandon for their impactful contributions!