SUMMER RESEARCH MINIGRANT PROGRAM 2023

    John Canfield explored how a complex network of ranchers, conservation groups, and community organizations in Montana’s Northern Great Plains work to promote resiliency.

    Delaney Gobster (left) worked with UW-Madison students and community partners to promote local gleaning initiatives, developing the Wisconsin Food Access project.

    Celeste Huff worked with cranberry growers to understand their opinions and trusted resources for cranberry management practices.

    Laura Lawler analyzes global Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) conceptual frameworks and governance strategies, supported with a case study of CSA implementation in Zambia.

    Ben Lebowitz is connecting with stakeholders and experts in the Colorado River Basin to investigate farmer/producer responses to shifting water prices.

    Tristian Lee worked with urban and peri-urban farmers in Montréal, Québec to understand the growing role of women and queer youth in urban agriculture.

    Eliza Pessereau investigated the use of flowering cover crops to provide habitat for wild pollinators and support pollination of nearby crops.

    Erica Shoenberger explored agronomic management practices to maintain grain yields overtime in the perennial grain and forage crop, Kernza, on research stations and farms throughout Wisconsin.

    Andrew Sommer is investigating the role of muscid flies in disease transmission on dairy farms.

    Doee Yang uses aerial mapping to quantify air emissions from rotationally grazed dairy pastures.

    Yoonhong Yi is designing a ventilation system for an old tie-stall building, which is being repurposed to house calves.

    SUMMARY

    Rurality as Relations: Organizational networks, multispecies interactions, and place-based knowledge in north central Montana’s changing socio-ecological landscape
    Student Researcher: John Canfield, Sociology
    Faculty Advisor: Katherine Curtis, Sociology

    John Canfield explored how a complex network of ranchers, conservation groups, and community organizations in Montana’s Northern Great Plains work to promote resiliency.

    Geographies of Food Excess and Access: Visualizing Dane County foodscapes
    Student Researcher: Delaney Gobster, Geography

    Faculty Advisor: Holly Gibbs, Geography

    To explore the root causes of food excess and access issues within the Dane county community and the greater Wisconsin foodscape, the Wisconsin Food Access (WiFA) project was founded at the start of the spring 2023 semester. As a campus-community collaborative, WiFA integrates community-based learning within UW-Madison coursework, while supporting organizations within our local food system.

    Pressures and incentives for cranberry management practices
    Student Researcher: Celeste Huff, Agroecology and Entomology

    Faculty Advisor: Shawn Steffan, Entomology

    Celeste Huff worked with cranberry growers to understand their opinions and trusted resources for cranberry management practices.

    The political ecology of climate-smart agriculture
    Student Researcher: Laura Lawler, Geography

    Faculty Advisor: Matt Turner, Geography

    Laura Lawler analyzes global Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) conceptual frameworks and governance strategies, supported with a case study of CSA implementation in Zambia.

    Examining the effects of increased water prices to agricultural producers in the Colorado River basin
    Student Researcher: Ben Lebowitz, Environment and Resources

    Faculty Advisor: Chuck Nicholson, Agricultural & Applied Economics

    Ben Lebowitz is connecting with stakeholders and experts in the Colorado River Basin to investigate farmer/producer responses to shifting water prices.

    Growing Resistance: An analysis of Montreal’s urban agriculture
    Student Researcher: Tristian Lee, Sociology and Community and Environmental Sociology
    Faculty Advisor: Nan Enstad, Community and Environmental Sociology

    Tristian Lee worked with urban and peri-urban farmers in Montréal, Québec to understand the growing role of women and queer youth in urban agriculture.

    Evaluation of flowering cover crops to support wild pollinators in Wisconsin
    Student Researcher: Eliza Pessereau, Agroecology and Entomology

    Faculty Advisor: Claudio Gratton, Entomology

    Eliza Pessereau investigated the use of flowering cover crops to provide habitat for wild pollinators and support pollination of nearby crops.

    Managing inter-row spacing and nitrogen fertility in dual-use Kernza intermediate wheatgrass (Thinopyrum intermedium) to sustain grain yield over time
    Student Researcher: Erica Shoenberger, Agronomy and Environment and Resources

    Faculty Advisor: Valentin Picasso, Agronomy

    Erica Shoenberger explored agronomic management practices to maintain grain yields overtime in the perennial grain and forage crop, Kernza, on research stations and farms throughout Wisconsin.

    Genetic diversity of mastitis-associated bacterial isolates from stable flies in Wisconsin dairy barns
    Student Researcher: Andrew Sommer, Bacteriology
    Faculty Advisor: Kerri Coon, Bacteriology

    Andrew Sommer is investigating the role of muscid flies in disease transmission on dairy farms.

    Aerial mapping of ammonia emissions from rotationally grazed dairy pastures
    Student Researcher: Doee Yang, Biological Systems Engineering

    Faculty Advisor: Neslihan Akdeniz, Biological Systems Engineering

    Doee Yang uses aerial mapping to quantify air emissions from rotationally grazed dairy pastures.

    Ventilation design for calf barns
    Student Researcher: Yoonhong Yi, Biological Systems Engineering

    Faculty Advisor: Neslihan Akdeniz, Biological Systems Engineering

    Yoonhong Yi is designing a ventilation system for an old tie-stall building, which is being repurposed to house calves.