Hallie Sandeen graduates from the University of KY

Hallie Sandeen graduation photo standing in corn

This holiday season, we celebrate the graduation of another member of our Graduate Education Community, Hallie Sandeen. Hallie has earned her Master’s degree from the University of Kentucky, where she was mentored by Dr. Erin Haramoto, Co-Project Director of RegenPGC. Hallie’s thesis, “Evaluation of Poaceae Species and Suppression Application Methods for Perennial Groundcover in Corn,” will contribute to the perennial ground cover research portfolio that our project is developing.

Hallie is the fifth graduate student to complete their degree with support from RegenPGC.

Hallie Sandeen, December 2025, Crop Ecology & Management (Master’s, University of Kentucky) – Dr. Erin Haramoto

Jack Moran, June 2025, Crop Ecology & Management (Master’s, Iowa State University) –  Drs. Susana Goggi & Ken Moore

Oluwatuyi (“Tuyi”) Olowoyeye, June 2025, Ecosystem Services and Modeling (Ph.D, Iowa State University) – Dr. Amy Kaleita

Max Eness, May 2025, Soil Health & Nutrient Management (Master’s, Iowa State University) – Dr. Marshall McDaniel

Kaila Topping, 2023 May, Ecosystem Services & Modelling (Master’s, University of Wisconsin, Madison) – Dr. Rob Anex

Learn more about Dr. Cynthia Bartel, RegenPGC policy specialist and dairy farmer

RegenPGC's Dr. Cyndi bartel on the farm

Cynthia Bartel is the ag policy specialist on our project, and yes, she knows policy, but that’s not all she knows about.

Hint… It’s also about the cows and a lot more. Dr. Bartel qualifies as an all-around Ag-Renaissance woman.  Learn more about Dr. Bartel in Wisconsin dairy farm embraces robots, health monitoring and intercropping (https://www.farmprogress.com/dairy-cattle/wisconsin-dairy-farm-embraces-robots-health-monitoring-boluses-and-intercropping)

SeedWorld names RegenPGC CoPD Dr. Susana Goggi a top 50 woman

Susan Goggi award flyer

RegenPGC CoPd Dr. Susana Goggi was recently recognized by SeedWorld magazine as one of thirty “high-impact women” in the US seed industry. According to SeedWorld, Dr. Goggi and her distinguished peers have “carved out space in a field long dominated by others, proving that grit, skill, and collaboration are the true markers of excellence. From the lab to the boardroom, from seed physiology to supply chain, they are rewriting what impactful leadership looks like in our industry.”

Having Dr. Goggi on our team, we could not agree more with this assessment! Learn more about Dr. Goggi and the SeedWorld high-impact women’s group at: Nielson, Aimee (2025, September 23). A league of her own: 30 high-impact women. SeedWorld. https://www.seedworld.com/us/2025/09/23/shes-in-a-league-of-her-own-3/

Jack Moran thesis is available for download

Jack Moran Master's Thesis

RegenPGC graduate student Jack Moran’s master’s thesis, Improving the establishment of Kentucky Bluegrass as a perennial groundcover, is now available to download at https://lnkd.in/gRUhFFDs

Jack’s key research takeaway is: “Strategies such as using Hydroloc™ seed treatment and optimizing seed ratios and rates can significantly improve the establishment of Kentucky bluegrass as a perennial groundcover in corn production.”

Additional topics discussed include:
– Seed treatments for crop establishment
– Impact of irrigation on plant growth
– Economic considerations in agricultural practices

Learn more about Jack and the entire RegenPGC Graduate Education Community at https://www.regenpgc.org/theme-3-education/graduate-education-copy/

Meet Audrey Tucker, Undergrad researcher and trombonist

Audrey Tucker Headshot

Meet Audrey Tucker who come to RegenPGC via Wartburg College. Audrey brings something truly unique to the project… she is a trombone player.

My name is Audrey Tucker. I am 19 years old from Mount Vernon, Iowa. I am currently a first-year student at Wartburg College (Waverly, Iowa). I am studying biology and education and plan to have an endorsement in All-Science. I enjoy running, wrestling, reading, and hiking. Something unexpected is that I play the trombone at Wartburg.

I applied to the REU program because… it will be a good experience, and an amazing way to spend my summer. Participating in this program will help me use new tools to become a better teacher in the future. It could help me understand concepts, so I’m able to help teach students in the future and help others my age as well.

My expectations from the REU program are… for everyone to put in an equal amount of work, and questions, and not be afraid to make mistakes.

Why do you want to become a teacher? I was always frustrated in school because I never understood science. In my sophomore year of high school, my teacher helped me understand the content by drawing diagrams for me. Two years later, I had her as a teacher again. The first thing that she said to me that year was “I remember you learned by diagrams and drawings.” At that point, I realized that I wanted to be able to help students understand science just like my teacher. She made me enjoy science again. I want to be able to do that for others.

Reporting research makes it real!

“Above all else, show the data.” (Edward R. Tufte). We agree! This is why we share our progress reports and all our research updates. Our Year 4 Q3 report shows our team moving towards our goal of “creating well-adapted PGC systems for a range of farm operations that require low labor inputs, provide significant ecosystem benefits, increase row crop resiliency, and have similar economic profiles as conventional row crop practices.”

You can check out our Year 4 Q3 report here. We think you will also conclude that we continue demonstrating strong momentum, with significant achievements across all five research objectives and four cross-cutting themes. RegenPGC is effectively transitioning from foundational research to practical application and knowledge transfer, positioning itself well for Year 5!

Elobeid honored with research award

CoPd Amani Elobeid Headshot

It’s raining awards on our RegenPGC Team, but that’s no surprise given the quality of our research collaborators and graduate students. Today, the sun shines brightly on Dr. Amani Elobeid from our Socioeconomic Impacts & Policy Objective.

Dr. Elobeid, who is an Iowa State University professor in economics and the Ron and Lynn Deiter Endowed Chair for Sustaining Excellence in Agricultural Business, has been honored with the term faculty 2025 Outstanding Achievement in Research Award from the Iowa State University – College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Dr. Elobeid was recognized for her impressive research portfolio that addresses such issues as the causes of food insecurity, World Trade Organization trade agreements and their impact on the developing world, and the effects of biofuels, among other issues. Dr. Elobeid has more than 30 academic publications. She also has a powerful teaching presence at Iowa State University.

USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Iowa State University
(Photo: Courtesy of Iowa State University College of Agriculture & Life Sciences)

RegenPGC Airs Webinar Series Jan-Feb 2025

Week 2 of our January- February 2025 Webinar Series, “UNLOCKING THE POTENTIAL OF PERENNIAL GROUNDCOVERS IN CORN AND CORN/SOYBEAN PRODUCTION SYSTEMS,” will air live on January 21 at noon (Central Time).

Learn more about the entire 5-week series at https://www.regenpgc.org/resources/webinars/

Register now. If you missed Week 1, you can catch up on our YouTube site at https://www.youtube.com/@RegenPGC

Week 2. Selecting Perennial Groundcovers for Corn & Soybean Production Systems and Their Ideal Characteristics

Amina Moro (Iowa State University)

  • Crop Zone Requirements

Dr. Sara Lira & Brent Wilson (Corteva Agrisciences)

  • Techniques for maintaining a crop growth zone in corn and soybean production systems

Dr. Erin Haramoto & Kiera Searcy (University of Kentucky)

  • Chemical weed control options for perennial groundcover systems. Experiences & Options

RegenPGC grad student honored at 2024 World Food Prize

World Food Prize Graduate Student Poster Competition awardees - RegenPGC Pratyusha Cheguri

RegenPGC Graduate Education Community member Prathyusha Cheguri (4th from left) earned a significant award from the World Food Prize’s “Norman Borlaug Lecture Poster Competition for Graduate and Undergraduate Students.” Prthyusha’s presentation focused on her research “on one of the ideal candidates (Poa bulbosa) to use as the ground cover of the Perennial Ground Cover based cropping systems.” Prathyusha’s achievement speaks well of her efforts as a graduate student at Iowa State University and the mentoring she has received from RegenPGC CoPd, Shui-zhang Fei.

Three graduate students were honored in the Borlaug Competition on Oct. 28 as part of the 2024 World Food Prize. Entrants submitted research posters on global issues in food, climate, technology, and more.
Graduate Students Awards
1st place – Esther Y. Akoto, industrial and agricultural technology
2nd place – Brady Clausen, sustainable agriculture
3rd place – Prathyusha Cheguri, genetics and genomics

You can learn more about Prthyusha and her colleagues in our RegenPGC Graduate Education Community at https://www.regenpgc.org/theme-3-education/graduate-education-copy/

(Photo: World Food Prize)

Research? Just never stop learning.

“Withut deviation progress is not possible.” This is probably the first time a USDA-NIFA report has inspiration in a quote attributed to Frank Zappa!

The quote is interesting, but we don’t totally agree with it in the context of our latest quarterly report (May 1 – July 31, 2024). We have never stopped learning about perennial groundcover since we started this project in 2021. Each research result teaches us something new, and we reassess what we previously believed in light of new information. At the same time, we never deviate from our goal of developing and increasing the reliability of perennial ground cover systems.

We measure our progress on our ability to make continuous course corrections. With that mindset, we think we are well on our way to demonstrating that perennial groundcover can be a useful approach to providing a range of farm operations with cover crops that require low labor inputs, provide significant ecosystem benefits, increase row crop resiliency, and have similar economic profiles as conventional row crop practices.