URBANA, Ill. — A new field crop plant pathologist is joining the Department of Crop Sciences at the University of Illinois this fall. Nathan Kleczewski will be working directly with growers to diagnose and mitigate the impact of major crop diseases across Illinois.

 

Although he won’t officially start until November, Kleczewski plans to attend this year’s Agronomy Day – yet another reason to make the trip to the U of I campus on August 17.

Kleczewski grew up in Wisconsin and spent most of his career in the Midwest. His undergraduate degree is from the University of Wisconsin- Oshkosh in ecology and plant biology, and he earned a doctorate in plant pathology at The Ohio State University.

He spent some time as a post-doc at Indiana University and Purdue University, worked in the fungicide/nematicide group at FMC Corp. and, in 2013, started as an extension field crop pathologist at the University of Delaware.

“I’m excited to be a part of Illinois, a big state with a lot of field crops and many opportunities to do good field crop pathology.

It’s pretty exciting to be working in this state that has roughly 10 million acres of soybeans,” he said, adding he will continue some of the work he’s been doing in Delaware, such as working on fusarium head blight in wheat through the U.S. Wheat and Barley Scab Initiative.

“As far as other crops, some of my initial projects may involve soybean cyst nematode, fungicide sensitivity, endophytes and the impact of cover crops on

field crop diseases.”

ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Eight college students from five states have completed the inaugural Ag Voices of the Future program hosted in Washington, D.C.

The program, sponsored by Valent U.S.A. and the American Soybean Assoc. (ASA), provides an opportunity for young people to improve their understanding of major policy issues that impact soybean farmers, the importance of advocacy and careers that can shape agricultural policy. The class was July 10-13, in conjunction with the ASA Board Meeting and Soy Issues Forum.

An application process for the program was initiated in the spring, and the following students were selected to participate in this year’s program: Corbin Bell of Missouri, Kelsey Cassebaum of Alabama, Mason Gordon and Abigail Steinkamp of Indiana, Evan Jackson and Will Nalley of Kentucky and William Raftis and Kelsey Smith of Illinois.

“More and more, regulations that impact the ag industry are being directedby legislative and regulatory leadership many generations removed from the farm,” said Jeffrey Smith, industry affairs manager for Valent. “We believe the best way to ensure sound regulation is to encourage more young leaders with a practical understanding of ag production to consider careers based in Washington, D.C.”

The new Ag Voices of the Future program is designed to give young people, with a connection to the farm, an education on major policy issues and advocacy and encourage these future leaders to consider careers within agriculture associations and industry, as well as government regulatory and legislative positions.

“It’s important that young people have an understanding of the important policy issues that directly impact the productivity and economic well-being of our farms and the soybean industry,” said ASA President Ron Moore, a farmer from Roseville, Ill.

The four-day program was packed with activities and valuable networking opportunities including the chance to hear from ASA and Valent’s Washington representatives and a Senate Ag Committee staff member about their current positions and past career experience. The group also attended an ASA policy issues briefing, Capitol Hill visits with farmer- leaders, a visit to the USDA, a presentation from an EPA representative and a meeting at CropLife America’s office for additional education on talking with consumers about modern agriculture.