a woman holds a drone in a field

Research

Integrating Existing and Emerging Data-Driven Technologies and Practices

CAST is the testbed and demonstration site for the USDA NIFA Farm of the Future. Our research demonstrates the value of integrating existing and emerging data-driven technologies and practices under commercial-farm-like conditions. We envision a world where precision agriculture, smart automation and data connectivity work together to support climate-change mitigation, environmental health, material and economic sustainability, and the well-being of rural communities.

Research Themes

CAST's research infrastructure and activities focus on the following four main themes.

hands hold soil
Crops & Soils

Climate-smart agriculture comprises a range of adaptation and mitigation practices for crops and the soils they depend on.

a man puts a sensor collar on a cow
Livestock

Precision management and automation in animal systems can potentially enhance animal and human health, well-being, and performance, while improving farm profitability and sustainability.

a man presents data projected on a screen
Data Integration & Analytics

We focus on researching, developing and demonstrating technologies and practices to convert raw, uninformative data from multiple sources and in diverse formats into high-quality data streams.

a man and a boy stand in a farm field
Farm, Food & Social System Impact

Successful long-term adoption of new technologies depends on their consequences.

three logos for NIFA, CIDA, and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff

CAST for the Farm of the Future research is supported by the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative grant no. 2023-77038-38865 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture.