APSIM Training Course
Evaluating Production and Environmental Performance of
Cropping Systems with APSIM

The APSIM Initiative in collaboration with Iowa State University announces a 3-day APSIM training course to be held in Ames, Iowa, June 17-19, 2024.

The APSIM simulation platform
The Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator (APSIM) is internationally recognized as a highly advanced simulator of agricultural systems. It contains more than 80 modules which enable the simulation of systems that cover a range of plant, animal, soil, climate, and management interactions (www.apsim.info). APSIM is used by scholars for research, education, and as a decision support tool in agriculture. APSIM users easily create virtual farms on their computers by making use of the model’s very friendly user interface (no need to write code), and then visualize a thorough prediction of several soil and plant variables on a daily time step. Users can then assess and explore different combinations of management practices and/or cropping sequences to increase farm profitability and decrease environmental deterioration. To run a simulation, the model needs information on climate, soil, and management.

Course objectives and structure
The goal of this course is to provide training in the use of the model, explain the science behind the crop and environmental modules, present the data requirements, and familiarize participants with simulations. The course will consists of presentations and simulation exercises and will focus on Midwestern production systems that include corn, soybean, wheat, and cover crop rotations. Participants will have the opportunity to simulate different aspects of the soil-plant-atmosphere system such as plant growth and development, crop yield response to management practices (e.g. planting date, cultivar, N rate), crop rotations, soil water processes (e.g. drainage, evaporation), soil carbon, nitrogen and surface organic matter dynamics (e.g. N mineralization and residue decomposition), CO2 and N2O emissions, and climate change impacts. Also, the participants will familiarize themselves with scenario risk analyses to inform decision making.

Target audience and course fee
This course is designed for students, faculty, and agronomists who have interest in using simulation models in their work. The course is designed mainly for beginners and also for users who have developed simulations and require specific technical assistance.

The course fee is $1250 and the registration deadline is May 31, 2024.

The course fee includes AM/PM snacks, lunch on training days, and dinner on the second day, transportation to/from hotel to/from the conference venue, learning materials, USA soil and meteorological databases, and access to APSIM developers and experienced users. The registration fee does not include breakfast, lodging, and transportation to/from the airport. Each participant is responsible for these costs. Enrollment is limited to 25 participants. A minimum of 12 participants is required to run the workshop.

Course requirements
To participate in this course you will need to have a laptop PC, a licensed copy of APSIM installed on the laptop (to download APSIM: https://www.apsim.info/download-apsim/) , and for advanced users, the current simulations you are working on or background data for building simulations.