Blog - Page 2 of 15 - Department of Agronomy

Agronomy Graduate Students/Research Staff Participate in ISRC Research Day

Graduate students and research staff that participated in the ISRC research day.

Graduate student Mercy Fakude discusses her research project with Professor Steve Whitham.

Several agronomy graduate students participated in the Iowa Soybean Research Center’s first ever research day on September 5 at Reiman Gardens. The event was an opportunity to showcase ISU student talent and the variety of research being conducted to 19 different ag industry representatives, farmers and faculty. Several faculty researchers also provided updates on projects that were funded by the ISRC.

Agronomy Research Scientist Fernando Marco discusses his research during a poster session at the ISRC’s Research Day at Reiman Gardens.

Visiting Scholar Leticia Prada De Miranda discusses her research with soybean farmer Barry Christensen.

At top, graduate students and research staff that participated in research day. From agronomy, participants included Leticia Prada De Miranda, Mercy Fakude, Carolina Freitas, Liza Van der Laan, Sarah Jones, Natan Seraglio, Fernando Marcos and Naresh Boddepalli.

Agronomy Student Earns Wings during Summer Internship

Agronomy student Molly Blum with a drone.

Agronomy student Molly Blum flies a drone during her summer internship.

Molly Blum, a sophomore in agronomy from Polo, Illinois, spent her summer working and gaining valuable experience, as well as earning some new credentials during a summer internship with Thomas Elevated Ag in Bellevue, Iowa. A relatively new agricultural service company, Thomas Elevated Ag provides drone applications of chemicals and spreading cover crop seed in large areas of eastern Iowa and northwestern Illinois.

Due to the nature of the internship, Blum had to become a licensed drone pilot. “I had to learn a lot about flight safety, laws, regulations, airspace, etc. I can say I never thought I would be a pilot before this,” said Blum.

She learned to fly three types of drones. “We used a DJI Mavic to map out fields, then sprayed them with either a DJI T40 or an XAG P100. In a typical day, I would take turns with another employee either piloting or filling the drone with product and changing the batteries,” said Blum. “A lot of people don’t realize how big agricultural drones are. The ones I’ve been flying, DJI T40s for example, weigh around 55 lbs. empty, fly at 15 mph and can carry upwards of 250 lbs.”

Agronomy at the Farm Progress Show

On top of a busy first week of classes for the fall semester, many agronomy faculty, staff and students helped at the Iowa State University exhibit at the Farm Progress Show August 27-29. Additionally, others were on hand for interviews and other affiliated responsibilities. Lee Burras, Bradley Miller, Michael Thompson and Mary Tiedeman were part of the soil exhibit; Mark Licht was part of the climate and weather exhibit; Marshall McDaniel and Matt Woods were part of the STRIPS exhibit; and Arti Singh, Danny Singh and several graduate students were part of the AI exhibit. Following are a few photos from the event.

Richard Roth, agronomy, participates in a Podcast at the Farm Progress Show.

Arti Singh, agronomy, with Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig. — Arti Singh, agronomy, with Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig providing an overview of her weed and insect identification app.

Agronomy graduate student Sarah Jones shared her excitement about drones with a young visitor.

In photo at top, Lee Burras, agronomy, discusses organic carbon.

Agronomy Experts Meet with Visiting Farmers from Brazil

Mark Licht, agronomy, speaks to a group of farmers from Brazil.

Mark Licht, Sotirios Archontoulis and graduate student Carolina Freitas presented on soybean-related topics during a visit by a group of 40 soybean farmers from Brazil who were here for the Farm Progress Show. Freitas, who is from Brazil, was a big hit as she was able to speak to the group in Portuguese. The group also toured the Seed Science Center with help from Susana Goggi. The Iowa Soybean Research Center assisted the Iowa Soybean Association in coordinating the group’s visit to Iowa State University.

Susana Goggi, agronomy, assists with a tour of Seed Science.

Graduate student Carolina Freitas provides a research overview to the group of visiting farmers. — Agronomy graduate student Carolina Freitas provides a research overview to the group of visiting farmers.

Sotirios Archontoulis, agronomy, speaks with the group.

In top photo: Mark Licht, agronomy, welcomes the group of visiting farmers from Brazil.

Agronomy Ice Cream Social Sept. 3

Join us from 4-6pm on Tues., Sept. 3, in the Agronomy Hall Commons area for an ice cream social Sponsored by the CARE (Connecting AgRonomists from Everywhere) Committee. Comments from Department of Agronomy Interim Chair Dr. Mary Wiedenhoeft and a representative from the CARES Committee will be at 4:30pm. Faculty, staff, undergraduate and graduate students are welcome!

Agronomy Learning Community Field Trip

Students learn about cover crops at Iowa Cover Crop in Jefferson.

Forty-three agronomy freshmen participated in the Agronomy Learning Community field trip August 23-24. On Friday, the group visited Syngenta in Slater to learn about seed corn production and testing and Iowa Cover Crop in Jefferson where students learned about starting a business, on-farm seed production, and the benefits of cover crops. They stayed overnight in Storm Lake at King’s Pointe Resort where students enjoyed the water park.

On Saturday, the students visited an independent crop consultant and his team near Storm Lake where they scouted a cornfield for pest pressures, discussed crop consulting and hot and how different landscapes require different management. Drs. Burras and Hornbuckle spoke about their areas of research and met up with Dr. Kendall Lamkey at the Agronomy Farm near Boone, where he talked about research, Extension and research farm management.

Students with Dr. Lamkey at the AEA Farm near Boone.

In photo at top: Students learn about cover crops at Iowa Cover Crop in Jefferson.

Students Experience Agron2790: Field Exploration of Agronomy

December McGrew with a mung bean plant at the AEA Farm

Molly Blum flies a drone with Ashlyn Rairdin from the Singh Lab at FEEL.

Agronomy undergraduates recently participated in Agron2790, which led to some hands-on experiences at the AEA Farm and FEEL Lab. Students had the opportunity to fly drones and examine plants with the Singh Lab, they saw equipment from the digital ag group, visited the long-term rotation site with Matt Woods and even spotted tadpoles in a very wet soil pit.

Agron2790 is designed to give students an opportunity to get out in the field and engage in hands-on learning, interact with extension professionals, and see insects, diseases, plants, and soils interacting in the field. After the basics of crop stages, soil features, insects, plant diseases, equipment, weed management, plant genetics, and professional communication skills, students have the opportunity to practice problem-solving, through sample “field calls” like a practicing field agronomist might complete.

Left, Henry Larson finds tadpoles in a soil pit. Right, Yanben Shen from the Singh Lab demonstrates technology to Ben Brushaber.

At top: December McGrew with a mung bean plant at the AEA Farm.

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.