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.
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’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.
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 Labon 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, SrikanthPanthulugiri 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.
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 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.
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
Four PhDs, 13 Masters and 44 Bachelors students graduated from the Department of Agronomy this spring. We wish them well and much success!
In photo above: Agronomy students, staff and faculty at 2024 Spring Convocation at Hilton Coliseum on May 10.
Akintayo F. Oluwatoyosi is awarded with a PhD in Plant Biology by Major Professor Madan Bhattacharyya.Online Masters of Agronomy graduates from left, Cody Schneider, Martin Gaudet, Kelsey Richie and Paige Rystrom stand outside Hilton Coliseum.Left, Minjeong Kang, PhD in plant biology, with Major Professor Kan Wang. Dr. Kang was also a recipient of the Research Excellence Award. Center, Kai Goble stands ready to walk across the stage at Hilton Coliseum during the undergraduate commencement ceremony. Right, Agronomy Interim-Chair Mary Wiedenhoeft and Ashley Hanks share a celebratory hug at convocation.
PhDs
Oluwatoyosi Akintayo – Plant Biology (Bhattacharyya)
Amruta Bapat – Genetics and Genomics (Lubberstedt & Scott)
Leila Fattel – Genetics and Genomics (Lawrence-Dill)
Minjeong Kang – Plant Biology (Wang)
Masters
Ethan Aizikovitz – Agronomy (Kwaw-Mensah)
Richard Ancel – Agronomy (Kwaw-Mensah)
Lee Boles – Agronomy (Licht)
Barry Christensen – Agronomy (Licht)
Marty Gaudet – Agronomy (Kwaw-Mensah)
Jacob Knopf – Agronomy (Cruse & Kwaw-Mensah)
Leanne Makens – Soil Science (Castellano)
Nali Sanchez Carmona petting a sleepy cat at the Agios Neofytos CatPark in Cyprus.
Nali Sanchez Carmona, a sophomore in agronomy, spent the spring semester in Greece through CALS study abroad program at the American Farm School in Thessaloniki.
During her time there, she was able to visit six different countries. “One of my favorite experiences was hiking Mount Olympus, just around two hours away from the American Farm School and attending the tulip festival in Amsterdam,” said Sanchez Carmona.
One of her favorite classes was Viticulture. “In this class, we learned the anatomy of the vine, the different types of grapes in other regions, and the seasonal processes of pruning and harvesting. The best part was learning hands-on in the vineyard grown and produced by the school, as
well as attending commercial vineyards and wine
tastings,” said Sanchez Carmona.
Mount OlympusTulip Festival in Amsterdam.Vineyard at the American Farm School in Thessaloniki, Greece.
Mbacke was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, then moved with her family to Senegal, where she lived most of her childhood. She returned to the U.S. in her mid-teens and lived in New York. With the decision to attend college on the horizon, Mbacke worked hard to make that a reality.
She enrolled at Iowa State University as an agronomy student during the spring 2020 semester and soon realized she needed to find a way to finance her education. She enlisted in the National Guard, taking advantage of the GI Bill to pay for her college degree.
After completing basic training, Mbacke was deployed overseas in December 2020, returning to the U.S. and Iowa State in time for the fall 2021 semester. She said her time in the National Guard has taught her resilience.
“I had to work hard to excel in the Army, just as I have had to do in my classes,” Mbacke said.
With an interest in research, Mbacke began working in associate professor of agronomy Marshall McDaniel’s lab, where she was paired with an older student who introduced her to horticulture. Mbacke was so inspired by the work that she declared horticulture her second major.
“I’ve gained a lot of experience working in the lab and appreciate the graduate students who have guided me,” Mbacke said.
“The McNair program has really helped set me apart from other graduate school candidates by helping me write my CV and statement of purpose,” Mbacke said. “It’s a really supportive organization.”
Ashley Garrin, director of the McNair Program, said Mbacke has sought to find ways to bring what she’s learning and researching back to Senegal to improve their farming operations.
“Khadija is a strong scholar who will do great things,” Garrin said. “I am continually amazed by her thoughtfulness, maturity and sureness of her academic and career path.”
The combination of her McNair program involvement and research background gave Mbacke the experience needed to be accepted into Purdue’s graduate program. There, she’ll study controlled environment horticulture.
Reflecting on her Iowa State adventure, Mbacke said she has enjoyed the campus environment. Her journey to earning her bachelor’s degrees has not always been easy, but she is grateful to everyone at Iowa State who has supported her.
“A lot of barriers and challenges came up, but I always tried to do my best, and I was willing to put in the work,” Mbacke said.
In photo at top: Sokhna “Khadija” Mbacke is dedicated not only to doing well as a student, but to serving the United States through her involvement in the National Guard.
Iowa State University, Region V, hosted the National Soil Judging Competition April 21-26 at the Horticulture Research Station north of Ames. About 260 students and coaches made up 25 teams that participated from a variety of universities across the country, including from California Texas, Alabama and Delaware. The top overall placings were: 1) Virginia Tech, 2) University of Nebraska-Lincoln and 3) University of Wisconsin-Platteville.
Many thanks to everyone who helped make the event a success:
Lee Burras, Elizabeth Severson (undergrad), Adam Subora (graduate), ISU soil judging team and Soil & Water conservation club (with adviser Bradley Miller) hosted a meal.
The ISU Soil Judging Team were pit monitors for the event and helped with other activities.
Jon Sandor (retired agronomy faculty), Rich Pope, Mike Konen, and Michael Thompson checked soil pit descriptions.
Angie Rieck-Hinz (extension agronomist) assisted with contest logistics.
Heidi Ackerman and Stephanie Zumbach served as pit monitors and contest day help.
Agronomy Interim-Chair Mary Wiedenhoeft gave the opening address
Alum Erik Christian, Becca Clay helped pit monitor
Glenn Wiedenhoeft took photos of the contest.
Agronomy alum Wade Dooley hosted the group judging contest location, Jeff & Shelley Taylor (CALS Global Programs) and Ron Huhn (ISU alum) hosted individual contest sites.
Practice site locations, so students could see variety of soils in the area, were hosted by Agronomy/Ag Engineering Farm, Horticulture Research Station, FEEL Farm, Draintech and the Rhodes Farm.
Information provided by Amber Anderson Photos by Glenn Wiedenhoeft
The Crops Team spent last week in Twin Falls, Idaho for the NACTA Judging Conference. We all learned a lot more about potatoes and sugar beets, enjoyed the beautiful scenery of southern Idaho and of course challenged ourselves through competition. The Crops Team placed 2nd overall in the Crops Contest with Courtney Harle placing 2nd as an individual. The official Crops Team included Aidan Bobholz, Emma Davidson, Courtney Harle and Elizabeth Tranel and Ephraim Van Zante was an alternate. All of our participants were in the top half of four-year students.
The team earned 1st place in the Precision Ag contest with Alex Coughlin placing 2nd as an individual. The official team for the Precision Ag contests included Aidan Bobholz, Alex Coughlin, Courtney Harle, and Ephraim Van Zante. A special thank you to Assistant Coaches Megan Blauwet, Alex Coughlin (for crops) and Lauren Schwarck and thank you to ICIA for providing sponsorship to travel to these contests and to the Agronomy Department for providing these opportunities for our students!
The Crops Team learning to cross sugar beets at KWS.
By Mindy DeVries
Photo at top, the Crops Team at the awards ceremony.
