Position Overview:Agriculture faces numerous challenges as the global human population grows and environmental pressures on agriculture intensify. To address these challenges, agricultural practices must be intensified while reducing our environmental footprint. Expanding the use of perennial crops, increasing continuous cover systems, reintegrating livestock agriculture into our landscapes, and exploring novel value-added biomass  and protein sources will be essential to meeting global demands. Forage crops, such as alfalfa, play a vital role in this transformation by providing ecosystem services, enhancing landscape diversity, and supporting livestock production. The Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics is committed to increasing perennial acreage, including