US Fruit & Vegetable Supply Chains: Climate Adaptation & Mitigation Opportunities

About the Webinar Series

The primary aim of the webinar series is to present the project findings in a way that is immediately actionable for the many stakeholders who are involved, both directly and indirectly, in US supply chains for these essential foods. Direct supply chain participants include growers, processors, and retailers, and those indirectly involved include nutritionists, experts engaged in food system sustainability issues, developers of new fruit and vegetable varieties, researchers, educators, and extension personnel. Participants will learn about the remarkable resilience in the investigated supply chains, surprising opportunities for certain food preparation methods to significantly reduce carbon footprints, and the massive role that consumer waste plays in their overall environmental impact. They will also hear how this unique, integrated approach has helped the team tackle a broad range of other fundamental questions about future food supply chains, including:

• How will climate change impact future crop yields and prices?
• Will crop production move to new regions?
• How will grower profitability be impacted?
• How will environmental footprints change and what are the biggest opportunities to reduce future environmental impacts?

Three 90-minute sessions will be held on consecutive Tuesdays in March 2022, each starting at 11:30 am EDT. After hearing from the three experts presenting on each day, participants will have the opportunity to ask questions during a 30-minute moderated panel discussion. Registration is required, but there is no cost to attend. Registering once will allow participation in all three sessions, but registrants need not attend all three and are free to join whichever day or days they prefer.

Video Recording & Agenda - Day 1

March 8, 2022 | 11:30-13:00 EDT

Video Recording & Agenda - Day 2

March 15, 2022 | 11:30-13:00 EDT

Video Recording & Agenda - Day 3

March 22, 2022 | 11:30-13:00 EDT

Dr. Dave Gustafson

Agriculture & Food Systems Institute

Dr. Dave Gustafson is an independent scientist and author working to help food systems meet human nutrition needs in more sustainable ways. His academic training was in chemical engineering (Stanford, B.S., 1980; University of Washington, Ph.D., 1983). He worked 30 years in private industry (Shell, Rhône-Poulenc, Monsanto), and then served at the Agriculture & Food Systems Institute as founding Director of the Center for Integrated Modeling of Sustainable Agriculture and Nutrition Security (CIMSANS) through 2016. Dr. Gustafson’s early career focused on predicting agricultural impacts on water quality. He subsequently developed new modeling approaches to pollen-mediated gene flow and the population genetics of insect and weed resistance. Beginning in 2007, Dr. Gustafson began leading efforts to understand climate adaptation and mitigation imperatives in the global agri-food system. He has served on various national and international teams looking at this issue, including the Executive Secretariat of the US Government’s National Climate Assessment Development & Advisory Committee (2011-2014).

Mr. Chad Kruger

Director of Wenatchee Fruit Research & Extension Center and Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources, Washington State University

Chad Kruger currently directs WSU’s Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center (TFREC) in Wenatchee and Center for Sustaining Agriculture & Natural Resources (CSANR). He received a B.A. in Philosophy and History (1997) and an Academic Certificate in Ecointensive Agriculture Technologies (1998) from Northwest College in Kirkland, Washington, and he completed an M.S. (2003) in Land Resources from the Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. He was an Au Sable Graduate Fellow at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. He joined WSU in 2004 and spent the first 11 years of his career located at TFREC in Wenatchee as part of the Center for Sustaining Agriculture & Natural Resources, and directed WSU’s Northwestern Washington Research & Extension Center (NWREC) in Mount Vernon (2015-2020) and the Puyallup Research & Extension Center (2017-2020).

Mr. Kruger served on the 2007/2008 Washington State Climate Action Team, co-chairing the Agriculture Sector Carbon Market Workgroup, the Washington Department of Natural Resources Expert Council on Climate Change, the board of the Northwest Ag Business Center, and was a Commissioner on the Douglas County Water Conservancy Board. He currently co-chairs the Sustainable Ag Committee for the Cascadia Innovation Corridor, serves on WSDA’s Dairy Nutrient Advisory Committee, the WDNR Climate Resilience Advisory Council, ex officio for the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission, and represents WSU on the Washington Food Policy Forum. He co-chaired the Outreach, Extension, Service and Engagement Concept Team for the WSU 2021-2025 Strategic Planning process, serves on WSU’s Forward Together: Campus and Locations Operations Working Group, and is the lead author of the multi-agency Washington Soil Health Initiative. He was raised in Washington State and is blessed to be from generational farm families in both Eastern (wheat and cattle near Spokane) and Western Washington (berries in Whatcom County).

Dr. John Kruse

Principal and Co-founder,  World Agricultural Economic and Environmental Services, LLC

Dr. John Kruse is currently a principal and co-founder of World Agricultural Economic and Environmental Services, LLC (WAEES). John works with a team of agricultural analysis experts providing policy, technology, environmental and life cycle analysis support to a variety of agribusinesses, trade organizations, and government entities. Within WAEES, he directs the structural partial equilibrium modeling for the global agricultural sector conducting simulation analysis of a variety of domestic and international policy, technology, macroeconomic, and weather alternatives.

Dr. Kruse has built global econometric models for the grains, oilseeds, cotton, beef, pork, broiler, fruits, and vegetable sectors and has run a variety of policy and technology scenarios, including China, over the past 20 years. He participated in the WTO trade negotiation analysis with FAPRI both at Iowa State University and University of Missouri, with special emphasis on the implications of WTO negotiations for US agriculture. More recently, he has worked on special proprietary studies focusing on technology and China’s future import needs for grains and oilseeds. He also has experience with fruits and vegetable models for China and the rest of the world.

He has worked in the consulting sector, providing commodity market and regulatory insight to agri-business, government agencies, trade associations, executives, and researchers. While at the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) at the University of Missouri-Columbia, he was co-program director for biofuels and transportation research. In this position, he was responsible for biofuels and grain transportation analysis, the U.S. crop sector outlook, and development of global crop models.

He has co-authored numerous journal articles. He is currently Adjunct Professor, Agricultural Economics, University of Missouri-Columbia, where he completed his PhD.

Dr. Rachel Melnick

Senior Manager – Scientific Programs, Agriculture & Food Systems Institute

Dr. Rachel Melnick joined the Agriculture & Food Systems Institute as Senior Manager – Scientific Programs in 2019, bringing with her seven years of experience managing competitive federal grant programs. Dr. Melnick worked for the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) for nearly a decade, both as a researcher and as a program manager. Prior to joining the Agriculture & Food Systems Institute, she was the National Program Leader for Agroclimatology and Production Systems at the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, where she co-led competitive interdisciplinary research and extension grant programs on climate change, sustainable agricultural systems, agricultural microbiome, integrated pest management, and joint programs with the National Science Foundation. She also managed a topic area in the USDA Small Business Innovation Research program. During her postdoctoral studies at the USDA Agricultural Research Service, Rachel studied the molecular mechanisms behind the physiological condition known as cherelle wilt of cacao and the mechanisms leading to formation of witches’ broom and frosty pods diseases.

Dr. Melnick received her M.S. and Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from Pennsylvania State University, where she studied biological control of cacao diseases. She currently serves as editor for the journal Biological Control.

Dr. Ranjan Parajuli

Research Associate, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Arkansas

Dr. Ranjan Parajuli is a Research Associate at the Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Arkansas. He completed his Ph.D from the Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University, Denmark. During his Ph.D research, he applied the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method for assessments of potential environmental impacts of agricultural and bio-based product production systems. He is proficient in LCA modeling of different types of agricultural crops, including annuals and perennials. Environmental footprint assessment of the biomass conversions pathways, including in an integrated biorefinery, is also among his expertise in LCA modeling.

Dr. Parajuli holds an undergraduate degree in Agricultural Engineering from the Institute of Engineering, Tribhuvan University, Nepal. From the same institution, he acquired an M.Sc. in Renewable Energy Engineering. In a quest for more advanced learning on energy planning and management systems, he went for an MSc. in Sustainable Energy Planning and Management from Aalborg University, Denmark. In addition to LCA, Dr. Parajuli’s expertise are on sustainable natural resource management and on delivering solutions for the promotion of sustainable energy options. During this career path, he worked with different national and international organizations in different capacities and responsibilities. Some of the exciting research that he executed both at the community and policy level, back in Nepal, were, e.g., developing appropriate technologies to increase energy access to rural communities and formulating energy poverty reduction plans of the country. He was also involved in developing tools and mechanisms for assessing climate change vulnerabilities in the energy sector and thereby delineating climate change adaptive renewable energy plans.

Currently, at the Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Arkansas, Dr. Parajuli is involved in a multidisciplinary project aimed at enhancing the productivity, resilience, and sustainability of domestically produce fruits and vegetable (F&V) supply chains of the US. The project evaluates various strategies that can be applied to pursue climate adaptation and mitigation opportunities in US F&V supply chains, thereby helping the nation to maintain a nutritious, reliable, affordable, and environmentally-sound food supply. Under this project, Dr. Parajuli, with a team at the University of Arkansas, has the task of modeling agricultural supply chains during environmental climate stress and adaptation scenarios, using the LCA method.

Dr. Parajuli, as an LCA analyst, is interested in contributing to noble solutions and alternative ways of producing materials and commodities with minimum environmental damage. He believes that combined production of food, feed, fuel, and fibers from agricultural crops and residues is one of the utmost necessities for optimizing available resources and supporting a green economy.

Dr. Kirti Rajagopalan

Assistant Professor - Biological Systems Engineering, Washington State University

Dr. Kirti Rajagopalan is part of the Land, Air, Water Resources, and Environmental Engineering emphasis area of the Department of Biological Systems Engineering. Her Agricultural, Natural, and Human Systems modeling group develops and utilizes a variety to modeling approaches to better understand and manage water and agricultural resources. The group focuses on trans-disciplinary efforts to problem solving and works closely with colleagues from a broad range of disciplines, including engineering, economics, entomology, physiology, statistics, and agronomy.

Dr. Claudio Stöckle

Professor of Biological Systems Engineering, Washington State University

Dr. Claudio Stöckle’s research is in the Land, Air, Water Resources, and Environmental Engineering (LAWREE) research emphasis area. His focus is on the development and application of analytical tools to study, understand, and manage the interaction between soil, weather, and crops. He is particularly interested in modeling the environmental impact of agricultural production at the field and water shed levels and in further enhancement and support of the Agricultural Crop Systems Modeling Software (CropSyst) he developed.

His research team develops and applies computer-based analytical tools to study and evaluate the economic and environmental effects of soil, climate, and man on the land.

Dr. Greg Thoma

Professor, Bates Teaching Endowed Professorship in Chemical Engineering, University of Arkansas

Dr. Greg Thoma is currently the lead investigator for a number of life cycle initiatives in the food and agriculture sector, including studies on fluid milk, cheese, and milk delivery systems, and is project director for a 5-year, $5M USDA multi-university project focused on greenhouse gas mitigation for US swine production. Dr. Thoma also consults on other LCA work at the University of Arkansas, focusing on rice, cotton, corn, and sweet corn.  Recently, he became the scientific lead for the UNFAO Partnership on the Environmental Benchmarking of Livestock Supply Chains technical advisory group for poultry, which is working to create guidance in the application of LCA for assessment of sustainable poultry and egg production.