What is the future of agriculture? Colorado State University has been connected to agriculture from the very beginning. It was right there in the school’s original name in 1870: Colorado Agricultural College. But recognizing the importance of agriculture technology, research and education is not a thing of the past at CSU; the University’s deep Aggie roots and land-grant mission are as important today as ever — integral to navigating complex problems as a changing climate affects our ability to sustainably produce high-quality, nutritious food.

An estimated 600 million people will be chronically undernourished by 2030, according to a recent report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. What’s more, with a growing population expected to near 10 billion by 2050, the challenge of feeding the world isn’t getting easier. And yet, researchers across every college at CSU are engaged in finding solutions of all shapes and sizes — combating declining crop yields, improving the health of poor soils, overcoming insufficient investments in agricultural research and mitigating the far-reaching impacts of a warmer, drier climate.

This special report from SOURCE explores the breadth of multidisciplinary, agricultural work happening at CSU — a place where researchers, students and food producers can all gather around a kind of university-wide table to acknowledge the vital importance of ag in Colorado and beyond.