Iowa State University Department of Agronomy

05/26/2026

Agron 1820 students took part in field trips to get hands-on practice with soil feature and property identification. Some of the activities they participated in: identifying color from a soil sample, identifying horizon boundaries in a soil pit (soils can get a little wet in Iowa in the spring), and texturing a sample to determine sand, silt, and clay content by hand.

05/19/2026

Michael Geissinger ('19 Agronomy) is the CALS young alum of the month. Read more about his time at Iowa State University and how he is using his Agronomy major. Iowa State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

May 14, 2026 Michael Geissinger Name: Michael GeissingerMajor: Agronomy, minor: animal scienceGraduation year: 2019Current job title and company/organization: Grazing and nutrient management outreach specialist for University of Wisconsin-Madison ExtensionWhat moment or experience at Iowa State most...

05/15/2026

Congratulations to all Spring 2026 Agronomy Seniors that are celebrating graduation this weekend! We recently celebrated all 2026 Seniors at our Agronomy Awards Ceremony.

05/14/2026

Agronomy & Seed Science graduating Senior Zach Utley is the Spring 2026 CALS Academic Achievement awardee. During his time at Iowa State, Zach has been involved in the Crops Team, Iowa Corn Growers Collegiate Club, Kairos Student Ministry and also served as a teaching assistant for six semesters. Read more about Zach here: https://www.cals.iastate.edu/news/2026/honoring-spring-2026-cals-council-awardees .
Iowa State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

05/12/2026

In moments of panic, Emma Davidson learned that asking for help isn’t a weakness but a key to success.

Davidson, a senior in agronomy and seed science, exemplified resilience and courage when unexpectedly stepping into a leadership role at the Iowa State University Seed Science Center. Her critical action of noticing her supervisor’s absence led to a lifesaving wellness check at his home. Iowa State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

In moments of panic, Emma Davidson learned that asking for help isn’t a weakness but a key to success. Davidson, a senior in agronomy and seed science, exemplified resilience and courage when unexpectedly stepping into a leadership role at the Iowa State University Seed Science Center. Her critica...

05/06/2026

During Spring Break Dr. Amber Anderson traveled with a group of students to Costa Rica. While in country, the students toured a pineapple farm, a rice farm, an organic vegetable farm, learned about sugarcane farming and processing, coffee production, bamboo production, and toured a volcano and waterfalls. The group consisted of several Agronomy students. Abby Fleming, Sophomore in Agronomy said a highlight for her was, " eating fresh pineapple from the pineapple farm we toured".

04/29/2026

Recently two Agronomy students that are members of the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program presented their research at a poster session on campus. Malinali Sanchez Carmona and Ninette Gonzolez are part of the McNair program. The McNair program is named for one of the Space Shuttle Challenger's astronauts, Dr. Ronald E. McNair. It encourages undergraduate students to pursue graduate studies.

04/23/2026

The summer of 2025, Agronomy sophomore Isabell Olsasky participated in the Borlaug-Ruan International Internship at the International Maize Improvement Center in El Batán, Mexico. Read more about her experience in Mexico.

This Iowa FFA member took a chance on a scholarship essay and ended up on an adventure of a lifetime.

04/15/2026

During spring break, Dr. Mary Wiedenhoeft traveled with a group of students and Agricultural Business faculty to Australia. The group visited farms that were producing grain corn for human consumption, rice, table beets, heritage fruit trees, vineyards, a prome fruit orchard, seed and walnut processing plants, a citrus packhouse, and several livestock farms. They also toured the Sydney Fish Market (the second largest fish market in the world), the Aboriginal cultural center, and the Sydney Opera House. Many agronomy students were a part of this group and enjoyed their time in Australia. Leah Parker, senior in Agronomy and Agricultural Studies said, "A highlight of the trip for me was getting to see crop production outside of the United States. It was really great l to connect what I’ve learned in class to real-world practices..."

04/10/2026

Traditional approaches, like applying a fixed amount of fertilizer early in the season, do not account for how crop needs change over time, according to Richard Roth, an assistant professor of agronomy at Iowa State University. Too much fertilizer or poorly timed applications often lead to wasted in...

04/01/2026

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