Two academic leaders in organic agriculture receive recognition and a key position

Erin Silva, who holds the Clif Bar Endowed Chair in Organic Agriculture and Outreach at University of Wisconsin-Madison’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, has been named director of the Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems (CIAS) for a three-year term.

Silva, a plant pathologist, will set priorities for research, outreach, and funding efforts. CIAS’s goal is to build sustainable agriculture research programs. The thirty-year old Wisconsin Integrated Cropping Systems Trial is one of the center’s projects, as well as a federally funded soil health study done with USDA.

As a researcher, Silva focused on improving organic and sustainable cropping systems, with special emphasis on organic no-till production and cover crops. She directs the university’s Organic Grain Resource and Information Network (OGRAIN). Recognizing the need for agricultural resilience—heightened by the pandemic—CIAS prioritizes cover crops, perennial crops, grazing, organic agriculture, and supply chains.

Kathleen Delate

Kathleen Delate has been named a 2022 Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy. A professor and extension organic crops specialist at Iowa State University, she was on a team at ISU researching organic nutrient and pest management. This involved the Long-Term Agroecological Research site, one of the longest running comparisons of conventional and organic systems in the U.S.

Delate helped establish the Organic Management Systems community in the American Society of Agronomy. She hosts the largest university-sponsored organic conference in the country, this year set for Nov. 20-21 at the Memorial Union in Iowa City.

To view source articles, visit:

https://news.cals.wisc.edu/2022/07/20/erin-silva-appointed-director-of-cias/

https://www.extension.iastate.edu/news/delate-receive-american-society-agronomy-award

Organic & Non-GMO Insights October 2022