Vivian M. Cook received a SARE Graduate Student Grant to support a podcast series featuring thirteen conversations with artists, farmers, community-engaged researchers, and community organizers and activists who have used arts and storytelling strategies to talk about climate change and agriculture in Iowa.
The North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (NCR-SARE) Program is pleased to announce the projects selected for the 2024 Graduate Student Grant Program. Twenty-two projects were awarded more than $414,000 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:
- Annaliese Wargin along with Dr. Alexandra Harmon-Threatt at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in Urbana, IL was awarded $19,494 for the project, “Helping or hurting? Identifying the role of CP42 in promoting or diluting parasites for pollinators.”
- Milena Agila along with Dr. Laura Ingwell at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN was awarded $19,025 for the project, “Application of Insect-Derived Resources as Soil Amendments.”
- Christine Elliott along with Dr. Ian Kaplan at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN was awarded $19,993 for the project, “From the Ground Up: Revealing How Regenerative Agriculture Nurtures Soil Arthropod Communities.”
- Binod Joshi along with Dr. Yichao Rui at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN was awarded $19,999 for the project, “Evaluating the Nitrogen Fertilization Effects on Optimizing Root Traits System, Soil Health, and CO2 Emission Flux on Short and Tall Corn Hybrids.”
- Jessica Bezerra de Oliveira along with Dr. Chuck Rice at Kansas State University in Manhattan, KS was awarded $19,355 for the project, “Estimating Soil Nitrogen Availability in Cropping Systems With and Without Cover Crops.”
- Endy Lopes Kailer along with Dr. Chuck Rice at Kansas State University in Manhattan, KS was awarded $19,965 for the project, “Fungi Fueling Farms: Assessing the Influence of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi on Increasing Soil Health and Climate Resilience in Kansas.”
- Vanessa Whalen along with Dr. Eleni Pliakoni at Kansas State University in Manhattan, KS was awarded $19,962 for the project, “Knowing Growers: Understanding and Supporting Farmers Where They Are.”
- Claire Wineman along with Dr. Nellie Hill at Kansas State University in Manhattan, KS was awarded $14,908 for the project, “Creating a Framework to Facilitate Land Management Relationships Between Non-Operating Landowners and Beginning Producers.”
- Rekha Bhandari along with Dr. Rufus Isaacs at Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI was awarded $19,995 for the project, “Interactive Effects of Leaf Pulling and Nontoxic Chemical Interventions on Rot Management in North Central Region Vineyards.”
- DeShae Dillard along with Dr. Hannah Burrack at Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI was awarded $19,870 for the project, “Harnessing Diptera Diversity as a Bioindicator for Carbon and Nitrogen Loss During Litter Decomposition.”
- Cynthia Fiser along with Dr. Douglas Landis at Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI was awarded $14,731 for the project, “Barriers to Adoption of Prairie Strips: Farmer Perspectives.”
- Rebekah Schulz along with Dr. Len Marquart at the University of Minnesota in Saint Paul, MN was awarded $19,845 for the project, “Consumer Demand for Regionally Sourced Artisan Bread and its Impact on the Upper Midwest Grain Value Chain.”
- Leah Gastonguay along with Dr. Deborah Finke at the University of Missouri in Columbia, MO was awarded $19,792 for the project, “Companion Planting to Optimize Beneficial Insect Ecosystem Services in Pepper Cropping Systems.”
- Abbeah Mae Navasca along with Dr. Thomas Baldwin at North Dakota State University in Fargo, ND was awarded $20,000 for the project, “Cross-infectivity, Genomic Analysis, and Transcriptomic Profiling of Fusarium graminearum in Artificial Barley-Broadleaf Crop Rotation.”
- Jesse Fulton along with Dr. Mary Drewnoski at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Scottsbluff, NE was awarded $19,987 for the project, “Enhancing Mineral Supplementation Decision-Making for Cow-Calf Producers.”
- Pedro Henrique Jota Fernandes along with Dr. Yijie Xiong at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Lincoln, NE was awarded $20,000 for the project, “Smart Grazing: A Web-Based Solution for Pasture Management.”
- Isaiah Franco along with Dr. Douglas Jackson-Smith at The Ohio State University in Columbus, OH was awarded $18,876 for the project, “Latine Farmworker Recruitment and Community Wellbeing in Ohio.”
- Arnol Gomez along with Dr. Ashley Leach at The Ohio State University in Wooster, OH was awarded $19,987 for the project, “Triple Threat: Combining Multiple IPM Tactics to Improve Thrips Control in Peppers.”
- Luke Waltz along with Dr. Sami Khanal at The Ohio State University in Columbus, OH was awarded $19,987 for the project, “Developing Practical On-Farm Research Tools for In-Season Field-Specific Nitrogen Recommendations.”
- Courtney Cameron along with Dr. Leslie Holland at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Madison, WI was awarded $14,179 for the project, “Assessing the Impact of Different Canopy Management Practices on Disease Control of Cold-Climate Wine Grapes in Wisconsin.”
- Clarissa Dietz along with Dr. Randall Jackson at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Madison, WI was awarded $17,364 for the project, “Valuing the Margins: Identifying Marginal Land Within Fields and Valuing the Benefits of Conversion to Perennial Grassland.”
- Emilie Parkanzky along with Dr. Christelle Guédot at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Madison, WI was awarded $17,183 for the project, “Impact of Attract-and-Kill Expansion on Popillia japonica (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) in Wisconsin Vineyards.”
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.se mix of regional agricultural stakeholders. Council members hail from regional farms and ranches, the Cooperative Extension Service, universities, federal agencies, and nonprofit organizations.