Blog - Page 2 of 14 - Department of Agronomy

Agronomy Senior Enjoys Summer Internship with Corteva Agriscience

Allison Smith and two other interns collect corn rootworm beetles.

Smith inoculates corn for the disease nursery at Corteva.

Allison Smith, a senior in agronomy from Colona, IL, served as a Field Science Traits Intern with Corteva Agriscience in Princeton, IL. She helped with multiple projects at the station, which included root digs, herbicide and fungicide spraying, disease trials/nurseries and pollinating.

“I have learned so much during my summer from learning how notes are taken in a field, how experiments are set up and more about the plant breeding. I also got to talk and learn from multiple people throughout the company, which has helped me decide on a career path,” said Smith.

At top: Elizabeth Schillinger, Purdue University, Allison Smith and Carli Wright, Iowa State University collect corn rootworm beetles.

Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

Undergrad Zion Bloom with mentor ” Dr. Brian Hornbuckle.

Zion Bloom presents at summer undergrad symposium — Agronomy undergraduate student Zion Bloom presents at the Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium.

Agronomy undergraduate student Zion Bloom participated in the Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium on August 1. Bloom presented on “Identifying the Transition from Measurements of Soil Roughness to Vegetation Optical Depth by the NASA SMAP Satellite Mission in Central Iowa.” Dr. Brian Hornbuckle served as Bloom’s mentor. Bloom’s work is helping Matt Kavanaugh, a graduate student in agricultural meteorology, complete his MS degree. Together, Bloom and Kavanaugh are laying the groundwork for how the SMAP satellite might be used to monitor changes in soil surface roughness related to tillage, in addition to its original intent of only observing soil moisture.

In photo at top: Undergraduate student Zion Bloom with mentor Dr. Brian Hornbuckle.

Agronomy Faculty Attend World Mollisols Workshop in China, Cruse Receives Lifetime Achievement Award

Rick Cruse receives lifetime achievement award — Rick Cruse, right, was awarded the World Mollisols Lifetime Achievement Award by the ANSO – World Mollisols Assoc.

Rick Cruse, Mindy Devries and Brian Gelder (research staff in ABE and soil science graduate faculty member) were invited to attend the International Workshop on Mollisols Erosion and Degradation in Harbin, Heilongjiang, China from July 20- 25, 2024. The attendees presented research and information on soil degradation and conservation in the U.S. Midwest, attended field visits to research and demonstration sites, and engaged in discussions on how to share conservation approaches across the world mollisol regions. During the workshop, Rick Cruse was awarded the World Mollisols Lifetime Achievement Award by the ANSO – World Mollisols Association.

Agronomy Students Participate in North Central Weed Science Society Contest

Iowa State fielded a graduate and undergraduate team for the North Central Weed Science Society (NCWSS) Weed Contest. This year’s contest was hosted by ABG Ag Services near Sheridan, Indiana on July 25, 2024. Mindy DeVries, agronomy and Quincy Law, horticulture, served as coaches.

The NCWSS Weed Contest tests students across four categories: weed identification, sprayer calibration, herbicide identification, and plant production problem solving + recommendation.

Iowa State participants included agronomy graduates Megan Blauwet and Courtney Harle; agronomy undergraduates Emma Davidson, Ephraim Van Zante, Abe Dieleman and Alex Coughlin; entomology graduate Wyatt Bailey; horticulture graduate Keyshell Cole Hodgson and horticulture undergraduate James Sprague.

The students gained valuable experience and had an excellent performance. The undergraduate team took third place, Courtney Harle won first place for the Graduate Individual Written Calibration, and Alex Coughlin won first place for Undergraduate Individual Weed Identification, Undergraduate Individual Herbicide Identification, and Overall Undergraduate Individual.

In addition to the Weed Contest and related networking events, students were provided the opportunity to tour Corteva Agriscience Headquarters in Indianapolis, IN. Byron Sleugh, an ISU Agronomy alumnus, was one of our tour guides. Thank you to the Department of Agronomy for supporting these enriching learning experiences.

Agronomy Staff Participate in ISRC Meals from the Heartland Event

Many agronomy faculty, staff and graduate students volunteered for the Iowa Soybean Research Center’s annual Meals from the Heartland meal-packaging event on August 1^st to kick off Soybean Month in Iowa. Cargill provided financial sponsorship for the ingredients, which includes soy protein. More than 50 ISU volunteers packaged 38,000 meals in 2.5 hours at the Hansen Agriculture Student Learning Center. Most of the meals will stay right here in Iowa with some going to SHOP and Food at First. Thank you to all who volunteered for this wonderful cause! See you next year!

In top photo: From left, Alison Robertson, PPEM, Ken Moore and Mark Licht, agronomy, help package meals.

2024 Deborah A. Muenchrath Award Recipient is Cody Schneider

Muenchrath Award Recipient Cody Schneider

Congratulations to Cody Schneider (BS, MS ISU Agronomy) on being selected as this year’s winner of the Deborah A. Muenchrath Award. The Muenchrath Award is presented annually to recognize a graduate of the MS in Agronomy Distance Education Program. The award is available to a distance education student who has distinguished themselves academically and who has demonstrated outstanding creativity and completeness in the development and written presentation of his or her creative component (CC).

The title of Schneider’s CC was “Effects of fungicide application timing on disease severity, standability, and yield of hybrid corn in southeast Iowa.” His major professors were Mark Licht, agronomy and Alison Robertson, plant pathology, entomology and microbiology. Schneider is the Superintendent of ISU’s Southeast Research Farm in Crawfordsville, IA.

The award is named in honor of Dr. Deborah Muenchrath, who served as a course developer, faculty member, and dedicated student mentor. She is remembered for her incredible creativity, amazing intellect, abiding commitment to students and indefatigable spirit.

Study Abroad Takes Agronomy Student to Greece and Italy

The CALS study abroad group at the Holy Monastery of Varlaam near Meteora, Greece.

Emma Davidson, far left, and the CALS study abroad group at the Colosseum in Rome, Italy.

Agronomy student Emma Davidson participated in a CALS study abroad program to Italy & Greece from May 12-24. She said she had always wanted to visit Italy and Greece for cultural and historical experiences, but this trip also allowed her to see the agricultural side of these countries that she wouldn’t have otherwise seen on her own.

“My favorite part of this trip was visiting Dr. Archontoulis’s hometown. It was amazing to see where he grew up and to meet his family. They welcomed us into their home and showed us around their farm. It was a great experience to learn more about the crops they grow, like cotton,” said Davidson.

The group also visited a rice farm in Greece. “This was really interesting to learn about because they do a lot with technology to identify problems within the field. The other farms we visited in Greece and Italy did much more hands-on practice. They also shared more about their irrigation system and how their seed is supplied,” said Davidson.

She said May was the perfect time to visit, and appreciated those leading the travel course saying, “Our directors were amazing. They knew every area very well and suggested every day where we should visit during our free time; they even joined us sometimes. This trip was very beneficial to my personal growth as well as my academic growth and I highly recommend others applying for this travel course!”

In photo above: The CALS study abroad group at the Holy Monastery of Varlaam near Meteora, Greece.

Agronomy Welcomes First-Year Students and Families During Orientation

Agronomy Interim Chair Mary Wiedenhoeft talks with incoming freshmen and their families during an orientation session.

Heidi Ackerman advises a new student. — Agronomy’s Heidi Ackerman meets with a student for an advising session.

Agronomy is excited to welcome 46 freshmen and 16 transfers coming this fall! During the month of June, agronomy staff and faculty are busy hosting first-year students and their families for two-day, summer orientation sessions. Those involved include Stephanie Zumbach (student recruitment), advisors Amber Anderson, Heidi Ackerman, Mindy DeVries, Brian Hornbuckle, Michael Thompson and Mary Wiedenhoeft. Ackerman also serves as Learning Communities coordinator.

This fall’s incoming students are from Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri, Michigan, Kansas, Maryland, New York and Wisconsin.

At top: Agronomy Interim Chair Mary Wiedenhoeft talks with incoming freshmen and their families during an orientation session.

Agronomy Graduate Students, Faculty and Staff Involved in Research Day

Agronomy graduate student Carolina Freitas and student intern Thiago Roque provide information on a soybean project.

Srikanth Panthulugiri and Yanben Shen discuss a research poster with ISA Research Analyst Suzanne Fey.

The Iowa Soybean Research Center (ISRC) and the AI Institute for Resilient Agriculture (AIIRA) hosted a research day for 25 Iowa Soybean Association farmer board members and research staff at ISU’s AEA Farm and FEEL Lab on June 18. The day involved many agronomy students, faculty and staff.

Agronomy graduate student Carolina Freitas and intern Thiago Roque provided an overview of Dr. Sotirios Archontoulis’ continuous soybean project funded by the ISRC. Dr. Arti Singh, Dr. Danny Singh and their graduate students and staff participated by organizing the AIIRA portion of the day, hosting a poster session and demonstrating technology.

Ag Specialist Brian Scott provided an overview of AIIRA and soybean breeding updates, Arti Singh provided a demonstration of her weed and insect identification app which implements AI through the use of millions of images. Dr. Soumik Sarkar, computer science, provided an overview of cyber-agricultural systems, which involved agronomy graduate students Joscif Raigne and Sam Blair in demonstrating the use of drones for see and spray applications in weeds. Dinakaran Elango, Srikanth Panthulugiri and Heidi Dornath, agronomy, discussed abiotic stress tolerance studies (N-FAST).

Dr. Arti Singh demonstrates her insect/weed app.

Dr. Baskar Ganapathysubramanian, mechanical engineering, with graduate students Juan Di Salvo and Hernan Torres Pacin, agronomy, and Shambhavi Joshi (ME) demonstrated 3D phenotyping. A poster and demonstration area at FEEL featured projects incorporating AI including sensors, 3D phenotyping, virtual augmentation and drones.

Agronomy graduate students Joscif Raigne and Sam Blair talk drones.

In photo at top: Graduate student Carolina Freitas and student intern Thiago Roque provide information on a continuous soybean project with ISA farmers.

Iowa 4H Students Visit Agronomy

Dr. Amber Anderson provides an agronomy demonstration to visiting 4H students.

Jamie O'Rourke, back right, provides a hands-on experiment opportunity for visiting students. — Jamie O’Rourke, back right, provides a hands-on experiment opportunity for visiting students.

Agronomy recently hosted 36 high school 4H students from Adair and Cass Counties. Faculty: Amber Anderson, Jamie O’Rourke, Arti Singh, Mindy DeVries and Brian Hornbuckle, along with several graduate students, provided a variety of hands-on demonstrations and activities for the visiting students.

Dr. Arti Singh and graduate students from the Singh lab provide an overview on how drones are used in farming.

In photo at top: Dr. Amber Anderson provides an agronomy demonstration to visiting 4H students. Photos by David Patch.

Agronomy Student Spends May in Japan

Agronomy student Emily Caspers spent May in Japan.

Agronomy student Emily Caspers spent May 12 to June 1 in Japan as part of a study abroad program for a technical communications course through ISU’s College of Engineering (English 314). Students had the opportunity to navigate the streets of Tokyo and Kyoto by creating their own travel directions, using instructions from other teams and receiving feedback from local students.

Five months earlier, Caspers had traveled to Ghana in Africa from December to January for a CALS study abroad program, but she had never visited Asia. “I wanted to expand my horizons while completing my degree, and fortunately, study abroad programs fit perfectly,” said Caspers. She enjoyed learning about Japan’s history and visiting cemeteries to see how people honor their loved ones. “It offered a new perspective on life and its brevity, and how people will remember you. It’s not about what you take when you leave, but what you leave behind. Seeing legacies and traditions from thousands of years ago, still alive today was fascinating,” said Caspers.

The group toured Microsoft and learned about their connections with organic strawberry farms they helped establish following natural disasters (earthquakes and tsunamis). Another highlight was being able to see a Giant Panda. “With the pandas in U.S. zoos officially returned in December 2023, I knew this trip might be my only chance to see one. I also got to see Mt. Fuji and a Cherry Blossom Tree – such an amazing experience,” said Caspers.

At top: Agronomy student Emily Caspers the Golden Temple and with a Giant Panda.

Agronomy Hosts FFA Career Development Event

ISU Agronomy faculty and staff hosted the 2024 Iowa FFA Agronomy Career Development Event at Iowa State University on June 6, which included 101 students from 28 chapters. The event provided students an opportunity to display their agricultural knowledge and skills in the area of agronomy. Activities included demonstration of skills and problem solving in crop, weed, insect and seed identification; crop and seed judging and evaluation; and grain grading. A written examination was included along with a team problem solving competition.

The Little Switzerland FFA Chapter from Waukon was named the Iowa Champion FFA Agronomy Team. The team will go on to compete in the National FFA Agronomy Career Development Event during the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana in October. The top individual was Colton Zupke with the Sumner-Fredericksburg FFA. The event was made possible with support from Pivot Bio through the Iowa FFA Foundation. For a list of winners, visit the FFA website.

In photos: FFA students from 28 Iowa chapters participated in several activities, which included identifying different grains, weeds, crops and insects. Photos by Stephanie Zumbach