Institute of Water Research

Project Summary

The Building Resilience in Agriculture through Climate-smart Practices and Socioeconomic Evaluation (BRACE) project is a collaborative initiative that aims to strengthen the resilience and sustainability of Michigan agriculture by developing a statewide Decision Support System (DSS) that provides farmers with customized, science-based recommendations for climate-smart agricultural management. The project addresses the growing impacts of climate change, including increasing temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, more frequent extreme weather events, and water resource challenges that contribute to crop yield variability and threaten long-term agricultural productivity. It also seeks to overcome limitations of Michigan's current irrigation management system and the lack of farm-specific information needed to support effective climate-smart decision-making. 

BRACE integrates climate science, socioeconomic analysis, groundwater flow modeling, agrochemical fate and transport modeling, watershed analysis, and field observations into a comprehensive decision-support framework. The system will provide farm-level recommendations accompanied by cost-benefit analyses that evaluate economic performance, environmental impacts, groundwater recharge, and water-use efficiency. Through partnerships with Michigan State University Extension, commodity organizations, Midwest Water Stewards, and other agricultural stakeholders, the project will establish a statewide network of more than 40 groundwater monitoring wells and collect field data from major crop production systems, including corn, soybean, and potato. The project will also incorporate findings from over 13,000 Midwest farm surveys to improve adaptation strategies and encourage widespread adoption of climate-smart practices. Ultimately, BRACE will improve agricultural decision-making, promote sustainable water management, enhance environmental quality, and increase the long-term climate resilience and profitability of Michigan farming systems.