It was a busy few days for the Soil Health Institute team at the 2024 ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting November 10-13! The team had 14 presentations, showcasing their latest research – check out the sessions here.
Dr. Cristine Morgan and Dr. Dianna Bagnall were recognized for their outstanding contributions to the agronomy field during the conference. Dr. Morgan was recognized as an American Society of Agronomy (ASA) Fellow, an award given to individuals based on their significant impact on agronomy through research, education, leadership, and other contributions. Dr. Bagnall received the ASA Early Career Award, which recognizes a scientist who has made an outstanding contribution in agronomy within seven years of completing their final degree. Learn more about Dr. Bagnall in this Q&A and discover how she became interested in soil science.
To further their commitment to sharing soil health knowledge, Dr. Ayush Gyawali and Dr. Bagnall organized a Soil Health Tour at Texas A&M University-Kingsville and Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Corpus Cristi. The tour provided a unique picture of soils and soil health in south-central Texas and allowed soil health professionals to communicate and foster relationships for future collaboration. The Corpus Christi Center showcased a unique mixture of soil health-related long-term plots. It presented an opportunity to observe and understand Texas agriculture. Participants also toured state-of-the-art labs focused on Unoccupied Aerial Vehicles and other remote sensor technologies. While at Texas A&M University-Kingsville, soil science faculty and students discussed Texas soils and showed participants soil pits that were prepared and characterized by NRCS employees.
Dr. Gyawali, Kade Flynn, and Jared Conner also volunteered to moderate and judge various sessions and competitions during the meeting. Dr. Gyawali moderated oral sessions on greenhouse gas and soil health, and in both sessions, he also served as a judge for talks. Additionally, he judged soil health posters. Flynn and Conner were judges for the student competition in one of the soil health sessions, allowing students to showcase their work and enhance their resumes.
“Participating as a judge is a good way to build the community,” Flynn said.
The Soil Health Institute looks forward to continuing this momentum and building on the relationships and insights gained during the meeting.