NCR-SARE's 2022 Graduate Student Grant Awards

NCR-SARE is pleased to announce the projects selected for the 2022 Graduate Student Grant Program. Twenty-one projects were awarded more than $311,000 through this NCR-SARE grant program. The Graduate Student Grant program is a competitive grant program to fund graduate student projects that address sustainable agriculture issues.

The awarded projects are in order by state and then by the graduate student’s last name:

Vivian Cook, along with Dr. Monica Haddad, at Iowa State University in Ames, IA, was awarded $14,991 for the project, “Supporting Climate Dialogue in Agricultural Communities: Artistic Strategies for Engagement.”
Sarah Castle, along with Dr. Richard Brazee, at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in Urbana, IL, was awarded $14,938 for the project, “Mapping the Current Extent and Suitability of Agroforestry in the US Midwest.”
Elizabeth Taylor, along with Dr. Bethia King, at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, IL, was awarded $14,229 for the project, “The Impact of Buckwheat Plantings on Releases of Parasitoid Wasps on a Dairy Farm.”
Jiaying Wu, along with Dr. Matthew Stasiewicz, at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in Urbana, IL, was awarded $14,764 for the project, “Testing the Potential of Distilling as an Alternative use for DON-contaminated Wheat.”
Hongxu Zhou, along with Dr. Rabin Bhattarai, at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in Urbana, IL, was awarded $14,844 for the project, “Recovering the Lost Nutrients from Subsurface Drainage Systems Towards Agricultural Sustainability.”
Taylor Hartson, along with Dr. Elizabeth McClintock, at the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, IN, was awarded $14,972 for the project, “Gender, Sexuality, and Social Sustainability: Exploring Queer Farmers' Relationships, Ethics, and Practices in the Midwest.”
Riley Seavers, along with Dr. Daniel Quinn, at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN, IN was awarded $14,740 for the project, “Field-Scale Evaluation of Corn Response to Nitrogen Fertilizer Application Timing following a Rye Cover Crop.”
Sachin Dhanda, along with Dr. Vipan Kumar and Dr. Augustine Obour, at Kansas State University in Manhattan, KS, was awarded $14,996 for the project, “Integrating Fall- and Spring-Planted Cover Crops for Weed Suppression in semiarid Central Great Plains.”
Ellen Mendez, along with Dr. Jessie Vipham, at Kansas State University in Manhattan, KS, was awarded $14,594 for the project, “Expanding the Technical Food Safety Capacity of Small and Very Small Meat Processors in Kansas through Food Safety Program Development Workshops.”
Jean Ribert Francois, along with Dr. Katherine Nelson, at Kansas State University in Manhattan, KS, was awarded $14,510 for the project, “Does Community Well-Being Matter in Landscape Management of U.S. Farming Systems?”
Logan Simon, along with Dr. Augustine Obour, at Kansas State University in Hays, KS, was awarded $14,845 for the project, “Cover Crop Biomass Removal Rates to Optimize Livestock Production and Soil Health in No-Tillage Dryland Cropping Systems.”
Ellen Badger Hanson, along with Dr. Kathryn Docherty, at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, MI, was awarded $14,997 for the project, “Exploring the Effects of Prairie Restoration Management on Soil Microbial Carbon Storage.”
Maxwell Benning, along with Dr. Dean Current, at the University of Minnesota in St. Paul, MN, was awarded $14,768 for the project, “Identifying Factors that Influence Farmer and Rancher Decisions to Adopt and Manage Agroforestry Systems.”
Miranda Medrano, along with Dr. Cesar Corzo, at the University of Minnesota in St. Paul, MN, was awarded $14,934 for the project, “Characterization and Description of Alternative Pig Farms in Minnesota.”
Sourav Bhadra, along with Dr. Vasit Sagan, at Saint Louis University in Saint Louis, MO, was awarded $14,966 for the project, “SustaiN: A Decision Support System for Sustainable Nitrogen Management in Corn and Sorghum using Satellite Remote Sensing.”
Kendra Esparza-Harris, along with Dr. Ashley Conway, at the University of Missouri-Columbia in Columbia, MO, was awarded $14,983 for the project, “Transition of Wooded Paddocks to Woodland Silvopasture for Integration into Rotational Grazing System.”
Christopher McNabb, along with Dr. Ryan Winston, at The Ohio State University in Columbus, OH, was awarded $14,912 for the project, “Biological Soil Health and Water Quality in Sustainable Agroecosystems.”
Ashley Becker, along with Dr. Randall Jackson, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Madison, WI, was awarded $14,740 for the project, “Finding Common Ground: Identifying Barriers to Sustainable Agriculture Transitions Among Upper Midwest Row Crop Farmers.”
Omkar Chandrakant Prabhune, along with Dr. Younghyun Kim, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Madison, WI, was awarded $14,993 for the project, “Early Prediction of Heat Stress in Dairy Cattle Using Artificial Intelligence for Sustainable Livestock.”
Erica Shoenberger, along with Dr. Valentin Picasso, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Madison, WI, was awarded $15,000 for the project, “Maintaining Kernza Intermediate Wheatgrass Grain Yields Over Time in Organic and Conventional Systems in WI.”
Casey Trickle, along with Dr. Christelle Guédot, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Madison, WI, was awarded $14,658 for the project, “Investigating the Biology of False Blossom Phytoplasma and its Leafhopper Vector to Inform Integrated Pest Management Approaches for Cranberry Growers.”

View NCR-SARE’s recently funded projects and their descriptions—including the Farmer Rancher, Youth Educator, Partnership, and Professional Development grants awarded earlier this year—online at https://northcentral.sare.org/grants/apply-for-a-grant/ (scroll to the bottom of page).

NCR-SARE’s Administrative Council (AC) members decide which projects will receive SARE funds. A collection of farm and non-farm citizens, the AC includes a diverse mix of regional agricultural stakeholders. Council members hail from regional farms and ranches, the Cooperative Extension Service, universities, federal agencies, and nonprofit organizations.