California Ag Network

Tag: CSSA

  • Crop Science Society of America Announces New Leadership

    The Crop Science Society of America (CSSA) announced its newly elected leaders for the next office term, beginning January 2024.

    The CSSA annual election, which was held March 6 – April 6, 2023, was open to all members of the Society. Candidates, either self-nominated or nominated by others, ran for positions including President, a member of the Board of Directors, and Division Chairs. Elected leaders represent members of the Society as a whole, and make decisions on areas such as how time and money are spent on programs and resources.

    The following individuals will serve during the 2024 term:

    President-Elect
    Mark E. Sorrells (Cornell University)

    Division Chair Leadership

    Division C-1 Crop Breeding and Genetics Chair-Elect
    Aaron J. Lorenz (University of Minnesota Agronomy & Plant Genetics)

    Division C-2 Crop Physiology and Metabolism Chair-Elect
    Cristiane Pilon (University of Georgia-Tifton)

    Division C-3 Crop Ecology, Management & Quality Chair-Elect
    Mark A. Licht (Iowa State University)

    Division C-4 Seed Physiology, Production, & Technology Chair-Elect
    Karen A. Cichy (USDA-ARS)

    Division C-5 Turfgrass Science Chair-Elect
    Aaron J. Patton (Purdue University)

    Division C-6 Forage & Grazinglands Chair-Elect
    David Mirabedini Jaramillo (U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center)

    Division C-7 Genomics, Molecular Genetics, and Biotechnology Chair-Elect
    Michael J. Thomson (Texas A&M University)

    Division C-8 Plant Genetic Resources Chair-Elect
    Vivian M. Bernau (USDA-ARS)

    Division C-9 Crops for Nutrition and Health Chair-Elect
    D. Jo Heuschele (USDA-ARS Plant Science Research Unit)

    Board Representative Leadership

    Graduate Student Board Representative
    Tina Marie Sullivan (Utah State University)

    Division C-2 Crop Physiology and Metabolism Board Representative
    John L. Snider (University of Georgia-Tifton)

    Division C-5 Turfgrass Science Board Representative
    Cale A. Bigelow (Purdue University)

    CSSA Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Member-at-Large Board Representative
    Geoffrey Michael Koch (University of California-Davis)

    President-elect Mark Sorrells earned his Ph.D. in Plant Breeding and Plant Genetics at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, and is a professor in the Department of Plant Breeding & Genetics at Cornell University. Sorrells comes with an extensive leadership background, holding many elected positions throughout his professional career.

    As part of his vision statement, Sorrells’ plan for CSSA is to create a diverse and inclusive workforce that can innovate and apply sustainable plant science solutions. He hopes that by enhancing crop production systems, it will nourish a growing world population while protecting the environment.

    Jim Cudahy, Chief Executive Officer of the Alliance of Crop, Soil, and Environmental Science Societies, welcomes the newly elected leadership, saying, “I am looking forward to working with this talented and dedicated group of leaders and extend a warm welcome in their new roles. I know they will enhance and strengthen the Society they serve.”

    CSSA is also part of the Alliance of Crop, Soil, and Environmental Science Societies (ACSESS): a nonprofit organization providing management and administrative, support services to founding members, the American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), and Soil Science Society of America (SSSA). The headquarters office is located in Madison, Wisconsin, USA.

    For more information and to learn about the Society and its leadership, visit our Governance webpage: www.crops.org/about-society/governance

    American Society of Agronomy, Soil Science Society of America, Crop Science Society of America: Collectively, these Societies represent more than 12,000 individual members around the world. Members are researchers and professionals in the areas of growing our world’s food supply while protecting our environment. Together we work toward solutions to advance scientific knowledge in the areas of agronomy, crop science, and soil science.

    Twitter: @ASA_CSSA_SSSA & @SSSA_soils | Facebook: ASA, CSSA & SSSA | Instagram: @sustainablefoodsupply & @iheartsoil

  • Celebrating Seed Week – Food Security and Hope

    To bring awareness to the importance of seeds, the Crop Science Society of America is celebrating Seed Week March 22-28, 2021.Seed week logo

    Anyone who plants a seed is investing in hope. That’s one of the attractions of seeds. For the gardener, it could be hope for a beautiful flower, or perhaps a delicious zucchini squash. For our farmers, seeds are the hope of this year’s yields of produce, cash crops or forage. No matter the size or shape of the seed, they all can bring forth new life.

    Seeds also are crucial for the food security of the human population. Scientists keeps seeds in seed banks in case of disaster. They use seeds from different cultivars to breed new crops that are disease resistant. Other attributes for new varieties like drought tolerance and improved shelf life start with the genetic material contained in seeds. Sometimes genetic diversity needs to be stored in other ways, but the large majority of the genetic information of our crops is contained in seeds.

    The content collected for Seed Week includes:

      • Seven new blog posts just for Seed Week, in addition to ones previously published on the Sustainable, Secure Food Blog. Topics include:
      • A collection of CSSA news stories about seed science.
      • A video about a crop scientist who studies seed germination.
      • Science research from journals published by CSSA.
      • A variety of K-12 activities to learn about seeds.
    Seeds in being inspected at the USDA (Photo by Scott Bauer)

    American Society of Agronomy, Soil Science Society of America, Crop Science Society of America: Collectively, these Societies represent more than 12,000 individual members around the world. Members are researchers and professionals in the areas of growing our world’s food supply while protecting our environment. Together we work toward solutions to advance scientific knowledge in the areas of agronomy, crop science, and soil science.

    Twitter: @ASA_CSSA_SSSA & @SSSA_soils | Facebook: ASA, CSSA & SSSA | Instagram: @sustainablefoodsupply & @iheartsoil