Alexandra Osborn is from Wellington, Missouri. Her parents are Scott and Amy Osborn. She is a Sophomore studying Agriculture and Society with a minor in Public Relations. She says she developed an interest in seed science while working as an assistant seed analyst at the ISU Seed Science Center. This interest led her to her current position as a Corn Breeding Research Intern for Beck’s Hybrids. At Beck’s, she plays a part in hybrid seed development and says she has learned numerous things about the process leading up to a hybrid being sold commercially. Her future goals are to make sure the public knows as much as possible about the seed industry. 

Nolan Monaghan is from Manchester, Iowa. His parents are Allen and Keila Monaghan. Nolan is a senior in Horticulture and Global Resource Systems. Nolan says he is very interested in how the seed system can be optimized to achieve goals related to global food security, sustainability, and agroecology. He currently works at the ISU Seed Science Center. After graduation, he plans to pursue a career in the organic or heirloom seed sector working to improve the availability of varieties of seed to farmers and gardeners. He serves as the National Director of the International Association of Students in Agriculture and Related Sciences, is a member of the ISU Horticulture Club and Oxfam, and a volunteer at the Pork Producer Association in his home county. 

Jensina Davis is from Bruce, South Dakota. Her parents are Kalyn Gutormson and Tom Davis. She is a senior majoring in Agronomy, Seed Science with a minor in Statistics. Jensina has been passionate about seed science since working at an independent seed testing lab during high school. She is a student member of the American Seed Trade Association, A student admissions representative, member of the Agronomy Club, member of the International Association of Students in Agricultural and Related Sciences (IAAS), and served as the IAAS USA National Exchange Coordinator from November 2018 –April 2020 and a member of the University Honors Program. Jensina plans to pursue a graduate degree in Agronomy or a related field, followed by a career in seed science research.

Ashlynn Weiland is from Wesley, Iowa. Her parents are Jim Weiland and Karla Krogman. She is a sophomore majoring in Agricultural Business and employed at the ISU Seed Science Center. Ashlynn is active in many clubs including the Agricultural Business Club, National Agri-Marketing Club (NAMA), Iowa Corn Growers Association, and Salt. Growing up she was involved in FFA and received several FFA Foundation scholarships. After graduation, she plans to pursue a career in the seed sales industry and hopes to work with farmers to help them reach their goals economically and efficiently. 

Brayden Evans is from Ellsworth, Iowa. His parents are Jayson and Lori Evans. He is a Junior majoring in Agronomy. Last summer Brayden worked with Key Cooperative in Story City, Iowa as a crop scout. He says the experience taught him a lot about how much all goes into producing high-quality corn and soybeans. He hopes to work with Syngenta this coming summer as a seed production intern. He has been an active member of many different clubs including FFA, the Lyon Kings 4-H Club, the Block, and Bridle Club, and the Iowa State Trap and Skeet Club. He was inducted into the National Honor Society as a member and is a Webster City Rotary Club member. He plans to pursue a career involving the development of technologies that increase crop and says he looks forward to helping farmers maximize their crop yields.

Cooper Tracy is from St. Murray, Iowa. His parents are Bruce and Crissi Tracy. Cooper is a junior majoring in Agricultural Systems Technology and Industrial Technology. He says he has been interested in agriculture from an early age spent around family friends’ farms and learning about everything involved with row crops.  Cooper plans to pursue a career where he would be at the forefront of revolutionizing planters while also understanding the real-world application. He aspires to come up with innovative ideas that will help everyone from small family farms all the way up to large commercial operations.

Haley Stahl is from Marshalltown, Iowa. She is a senior majoring in Agronomy and is an active member of the ISU Agronomy Club. Haley has worked and interned for three years at Beck’s Hybrids getting valuable experience characterizing inbred traits, creating marketing forms, initiating cold germination testing, obtaining a drone pilot license to operate drones for research purposes, and learning about a state-of-the-art corn pollination system. This coming summer she will intern as Simplot as an agronomy research intern in Idaho working with potatoes. After graduation, she plans to pursue her passion which is a career in the seed industry.

Clara Schmitz is from Crawfordsville, Iowa. Her parents are Todd and Laura Schmitz. Clara is a junior majoring in Agronomy, on the Dean’s list, is an active member of the Agronomy Club, and a member of Alpha Gama Delta. Clara has served as the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) Council as a junior representative and on the CALS Council representing the Agronomy Club. She says she learned a lot about the seed industry working for Cedar Family Farms as a crop scout last summer especially how seed salesmen and customers interact, the popular hybrids and varieties, and good general knowledge that every agronomist should know. She hopes to use her good communications skills and problem-solving skills in the seed industry sales helping communicated seed science innovations to growers.

Hannah Holdsworth is from Denison, Iowa. Her parents are Travis and Tina Holdsworth. Hannah is a senior in Agronomy. Hannah says she developed a passion for agronomy and seed science by competing on multiple crop scouting and agronomy teams through FFA and 4-H Club. She has since had the opportunity to compete at state, regional, national, and collegiate levels. She is on track to graduate in just three years and has spent some of her semesters at Iowa State on the Dean’s list. She has interned at NEW Cooperative and served an apprenticeship at Farm Service Cooperative. Her goal is to become a Sales Agronomist where she can help farmers make decisions about which seed varieties best fit their needs.

 Kira Rieck is from McGregor, Iowa. Her parents are Barbara and John Rieck. Kira is a double major sophomore in Agronomy and Global Resource Systems. While she is a sophomore, this is her first year on campus after completing 38 college credits while still in high school. Kira was a 2020 Borlaug Scholar who was inspired to use access to seed as a way to help others with food security after a trip to Uganda. She plans to serve in the Peace Corps after graduation before returning to Iowa State to pursue a graduate degree in Agronomy.

Rebecca Noe is from Eureka, Illinois. Her parents are Andrew and Jennifer Noe. Rebecca is a sophomore in Agronomy. She credits great teachers and her high school FFA Agronomy CDE Team with her decision to pursue an education in Agronomy and Seed Science. Rebecca has not decided exactly what her future career will be but is interested in plant breeding, research agronomist, and crop consultant. She graduated from high school with Summa Cum Laude Honors, Crop Science Students of the Year, and Biology Student of the Year. She has been on the Dean’s list all four of her college semesters and is currently a research assistant in the Agronomy Department and a member of the Agronomy Club.

Melinda Zubrod is from Merrill, Iowa. Her parents are Denis and Nancy Zubrod. Melinda is a sophomore in Agronomy. She currently works for the Singh soybean breeding program and is a board member of the ISU Agronomy Club. Her goal after graduation is to pursue a graduate degree and a Ph.D. in plant breeding. Melinda is looking forward to an internship at Corteva AgriSciences working in the wheat and corn breeding programs this coming summer and taking part in a second mission trip to Honduras. 

Louis Burton is from Lane Rogers, Minnesota. His parents are Chad and Lisa Burton. Louis is a senior in Agricultural Business and Economics. Louis has worked at the ISU Seed Science Center for three years and has demonstrated a great work ethic and interest in seed science. He has interned for two summers in agronomy sales at Dominick Seeds and CHS Co-op. He has also interned as a grain operations intern gaining experience of how the output of seed production moves to end-users. He has been on the Dean’s list for most of his time at ISU, is a member of the Agricultural Business Club, and a volunteer for Ducks Unlimited Rogers Chapter. After graduation, he aspires to be a Sales Agronomist working with farmers on a day-to-day basis. 

Malcolm St. Cyr is from Washington, DC. His parents are Donna Tracey and Alioune Badara M’Backe’. He is a sophomore in Agronomy and Global Resources. Born in the United States, Malcolm grew up in Senegal, West Africa in a farming community. Malcolm worked as a farm laborer for ten years where he watched the impact that limited food yields have on an entire community. This experience has fueled his interest in Agronomy. He says seeds, along with soil are the foundation of agricultural sciences. He is an APEX Scholar and was selected to attend the Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences Conference last semester. He is actively involved in several campus organizations and will be presenting at two conferences over the next year. Malcolm says he is interested in the science applied to seed selection, breeding, and the seed industry. He hopes to someday help the community he grew up in, as well as assist with solving international and regional food quality, security, and systems problems.  

Erin Stichter from Erie, Illinois is the winner of the 2021 Iowa Crop Improvement Association Scholarship. Her parents are Brandon and Casey Stichter. She is a senior in Agronomy. Erin has interned in seed corn production at Wyffel’s Hybrids where she experienced the production of seed corn, field operations, bulk seed processing, warehousing, and distribution. She currently works in the ISU soybean breeding research lab where she has gained insight into the development of new seed genetics. Erin served as a delegate to the National American Society of Agronomy - Students of Agronomy, Soils and Environmental Sciences conference just this past November where her research, based on assessing the potential for soybean yield improvement through plant architectural modification, achieved second place in the National Darrel S. Metcalfe Journalism Contest. She says this experience is a prime example of the outstanding opportunities Iowa State offers to supplement education and learning in and out of the classroom environment.

Madeline Frischmeyer is from Reinbeck, Iowa. Her parents are Chris and Julie Frischmeyer. Madeline is a senior in Agronomy and Seed Science. During her college years, she has been an active member of the Farm Operations Club, the Agronomy Club, and the Women in Agronomy Club. Madeline has also maintained a high GPA and been on the Dean’s list. She has worked as a sales agronomy intern for Heartland Co-op, a corn production intern for Syngenta, and has accepted a seed sales internship for the coming summer with Corteva. After graduation, she would like to work as a plant breeder for a company and eventually own her own seed business.

Iowa State University’s Seed Science Center (SSC) has been awarded two back-to-back grants to strengthen the capacities of national seed and biosafety authorities in the Philippines and Africa.

The effort dovetails a grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), “Biotech Innovations for Food Security: An Enabling Policy Platform.” The award aims to foster an enabling policy climate for the introduction of new crops developed using new breeding technologies. The SSC is a subgrantee to this $20 million grant being led by the International Food Policy Research Institute’s Program for Biosafety Systems.

“These two projects recognize that any effort to stave off food insecurity and malnutrition, two grand challenges of our time, begins with quality seeds,” said Manjit Misra, SSC Director. “Ultimately, the goal is to help farmers generate more income so they can feed themselves and their communities. We have a better chance for enduring peace when people have adequate, safe, and nutritious food to support a healthy and productive life.

”The two-year USDA-FAS grant involves the online and on-site training of scientists, executives and policymakers, senior technical officers and middle-level managers of national seed and biotech authorities. Face-to-face training of scientists, researchers, and officers of African biotechnology and seed authorities will take place in Ethiopia.

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