On the dust and winds of Midwestern October, combines roll through an annual rite of passage. In 2024, a hotter and (mostly) drier fall is capping off a strong growing season helping speed the harvest of an expected bumper crop (Thiesse, October 10, 2024; Pope, October 9, 2024; Barnett, September 24, 2024). In the cab, many farmers are also likely planning for next year; like scientists, they use data, observations, and experience to tweak the formulas for optimal outcomes. Farmers rely on the results from their fields and the collective knowledge of agriculture writ large. For researchers, this all can feed the imagining of a digitized repository of field experiments and information on crop performance, coupled with weather and management practices, accessible for critical on-farm decisions, further research, and public policy. To those ends, this article introduces a series discussing innovations in research and extension by the DIRECT4AG project (USDA-REEIS).
