Dr. K. Ramesh Reddy (Chair, Soil and Water Sciences Department, UF/IFAS), Dr. Jack Payne (Sr. Vice President for Agriculture and Natural Resources, UF/IFAS) and Dr. James Anderson (Professor and Director, Institute for Sustainable Food Systems, UF/IFAS) provided opening remarks at the 17th Annual Soil and Water Sciences Research Forum, September 15, 2016.