NCR-SARE's 2022 Graduate Student Grant Awards

December 13, 2022
Caydee Terrell received a 2020 SARE Graduate Student grant to study the utility of black soldier fly larvae composting on urban farms. Photo courtesy of Purdue University Entomology.

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.

Related Locations: North Central