Our Team

Gregg Sanford

Principal Investigator
Assistant Professor, Department of Soil & Environmental Sciences

Ph.D. Agronomy (minor in Soil Science), UW-Madison
M.S. Agronomy, UW-Madison
B.A. Field Botany, New College of Florida

gsanford [at] wisc [dot] edu

ORCiD
Google Scholar
Research Gate

I am a Dairy Innovation Hub-funded Assistant Professor in the Department of Soil & Environmental Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

As an agroecologist and soil scientist, I study the impact that long-term management choices have on ecosystem services such as yield and soil organic carbon as well as other critical metrics of system health and performance (soil health, GHGs, water, economics). I work in diverse Midwestern Agroecosystems spanning a continuum of crop life cycles (annuals > perennials), diversity (monocultures > polycultures), and management philosophy (organic & non-organic). Much of my work is directed at understanding the role agroecosystems can play in climate change adaptation by building stable and resilient agricultural landscapes, as well as the critical role such landscapes have in mitigating rising levels of anthropogenic greenhouse gases via the stabilization and accrual of organic carbon (SOC) in soils. I approach much of my work through the lens of ecological intensification.

Mia Keady

Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Soil & Environmental Sciences

Ph.D. Environment & Resources (minor in Soil Science), UW-Madison
M.S. Biology, George Mason University
B.A. Biology, Nebraska Wesleyan University

mkeady [at] wisc [dot] edu

ORCiD
Google Scholar

My work focuses on soil health, land stewardship, and conservation incentives. I came to the field of soil ecology after studying gut and milk microbiomes during my M.S. I shifted research systems to study soil carbon cycling in restored and remanent prairies during my Ph.D. In my current role, I look forward to working with tribal partners to meet soil health goals in Indigenous cropping systems, including polycultures, crop rotations, and managed rotational grazing.

Adam von Haden

Scientist II, Department of Soil & Environmental Sciences

Ph.D. Environment & Resources (minor in Soil Science), UW-Madison
M.S. Environmental Science & Policy (emphasis in Ecosystem Studies), UW-Green Bay
B.S. Environmental Science, UW-Green Bay

avonhaden [at] wisc [dot] edu

ORCiD

I am an associate scientist in the Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. My research focuses on the biogeochemistry of agroecosystems, including row crop agriculture and perennial systems. My work seeks to understand how land use and management practices affect soil organic carbon (SOC) storage, soil greenhouse gas emissions, and ecosystem productivity. My hope is that this research will help to inform policies and decision-making to improve the ecosystem services provided by agroecosystems while maintaining high-quality food production.

Greta Hippensteel

Research Specialist, Department of Soil & Environmental Sciences

B.A. Community and Environmental Sociology, UW-Madison

mhippensteel [at] wisc [dot] edu

My role as a research specialist in the Department of Soils and Environmental Science gives me the opportunity to apply and study agronomic practices designed to improve environmental health while sustaining high-yield systems of farm production. With a degree in Community and Environmental Sociology from UW-Madison and a background in organic and local food systems and agronomic management, I organize and conduct agricultural field research, lab analyses, and data collection and management. At the Sanford Lab I help design and facilitate the workflow and processes of our ambitious longitudinal soil carbon study. I also implement a dairy forage study that focuses on soil health, greenhouse gas emissions, and innovative manure products. I am passionate and hopeful about aligning agricultural practices with environmental needs to improve the health of our planet.

Grace Parrott

Research Technician, Department of Soil & Environmental Sciences

B.A. Environmental Science (minor in Biology), Luther College

gparrott [at] wisc [dot] edu

As a research technician in the Sanford Lab, I collect, verify, and process data on various multi-year projects studying the effects of different agricultural management practices on soil greenhouse gas emissions, carbon, water infiltration, and other soil health metrics. I grew up in Iowa City, Iowa where I experienced firsthand the environmental consequences of widespread agricultural intensification. At Luther College I obtained my B.A. in environmental science and had the opportunity to engage with farmers, conduct research on cyanobacteria blooms associated with agricultural runoff, learn the ecological complexity and value of soils, and the win-win benefits of increasing environmental health and agricultural outcomes. I am excited to be a part of projects working on innovative ways to improve environmental, farmer, and agricultural resilience.  

Camory Repenshek

Research Technician, Department of Soil & Environmental Sciences

B.S. Agronomy and Conservation Biology, UW-Madison

repenshek [at] wisc [dot] edu

Mark Walsh

Agricultural Operations Manager, Department of Soil & Environmental Sciences

Agricultural Mechanization Certification
Land-Based Service Engineering Certification
Agriculture Certification
Welding Certification

mark.walsh [at] wisc [dot] edu

Gideon Fynaardt

M.S. Student, Agroecology
Research Assistant, Department of Soil & Environmental Sciences

B.A. Biology and Ecological Science, Northwestern College

gfynaardt [at] wisc [dot] edu

I’m a Dairy Innovation Hub-funded graduate student pursuing a Master’s degree in Agroecology under Gregg Sanford’s advising. I was raised in northwest Iowa on a once-abandoned acreage, where my love for wilderness and fascination with agriculture flourished together. I earned my B.A. in Biology—Ecological Science from Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa, where I became convicted of the ways agriculture is both a cause and victim of ecological crises and strove to promote positive change for farmers and land. My research is focused on ecological intensification—the integration of ecologically-founded changes to agricultural systems to improve productivity and sustainability—of dairy-forage and cash-grain systems, and how these changes affect soil health, especially the sequestration of soil organic carbon, which is vital to soil ecosystems. I could not be more excited to pursue such meaningful work.

Katelin Hermanson

M.S. Student, Soil Science
Research Assistant, Department of Soil & Environmental Sciences

B.S. Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of Minnesota

kchermanson [at] wisc [dot] edu

I’m a Master’s student pursuing a degree in Soil Science. I earned my B.S. in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, where I discovered my fascination with nutrient management and sustainable farming. As a research assistant with the USDA Dairy Forage Research Center, I studied the impacts of land management practices on soil health, forage nutrient quality, and crop yield. This experience deepened my enthusiasm for collaborating with producer-led watershed groups and co-producing scientific knowledge with farmers. My research is focused on quantifying the annual net ecosystem carbon balance and greenhouse gas footprint of different ecological intensification interventions in cash-grain systems to provide climate mitigation insights and assist farmers in land management decisions.

Jessica King

M.S. Student, Agroecology and Soil Science
Co-advised with Erin Silva

B.A. English (minors in Environmental Analysis and Computer Science), Washington University in St. Louis

jking37 [at] wisc [dot] edu

I’m a Master’s student pursuing a joint degree in Agroecology and Soil Science in the Sanford and Silva labs. My experience working on organic farms and concern for climate change and soil degradation drove me to learn more about how our agricultural ecosystems interact with the global ecosystem, with my goal being to help create sustainable change in the way we farm. For my research, I grow several varieties of corn at different planting densities in a strip-tilled organic living mulch system. Strip tilling into a red clover living mulch limits soil disturbance and improves soil health, so my goal is to identify what planting densities and corn morphologies help the crop to succeed in a living mulch system as compared to a typical organic system.

Michael Liou

Ph.D. Student, Statistics and Data Science
Project Assistant, Department of Soil & Environmental Sciences

B.S. Computer Science and Neuroscience, Duke University

myliou [at] wisc [dot] edu

Personal website

I am a PhD student in the Department of Statistics and Data Science with several years of consulting experience in experimental design and analysis for agricultural field experiments. My own research specializes in network statistics, and spatial modeling of interactions, working mostly in R. I am working with the Sanford lab in the role of a data architect to formalize processes around WICST data and help with other general statistical analysis needs.

Jessica Mehre

PhD Student, Environment and Resources
Research Assistant, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies

M.Sc. Plant Sciences, University of Guelph
B.S. Dairy Science and Agronomy, University of Wisconsin Madison

jjmehre [at] wisc [dot] edu

I am a PhD student, a farm kid, a Wisconsinite at heart, and an avid endurance athlete. After lengthy excursions to North Dakota, Idaho, Canada, and the Netherlands for work and study, I returned to my alma mater to pursue a PhD in the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies. Currently, my research with Dr. Randy Jackson and Dr. Gregg Sanford explores how we can create truly sustainable agricultural systems filled with healthy soils, clean water, and vibrant rural communities. As a transdisciplinary scholar, I am pursuing mechanistic soil science research at the Wisconsin Integrated Cropping Systems Trial. I use stable carbon isotopes to trace the fate of carbon from manure and cover crops into soil under different levels of agroecological intensification. In addition, I blend community-engaged research and a theory of relational place-making in east-central Wisconsin to explore the barriers to and opportunities for transforming the agricultural landscape into one that works for farmers, communities, and the environment. My dissertation research dovetails with that of Grassland 2.0 (https://grasslandag.org/) and seeks to support emerging Learning Hubs across the Midwest.

Annie Chalnick

Undergraduate Student, Biological Systems Engineering, x’27
Undergraduate Research Assistant, Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences

William Hunter

Undergraduate Student, Environmental Science, x’26
Undergraduate Research Assistant, Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences

Nolan Majerowski

Undergraduate Student, Environmental Science, x’26
Undergraduate Research Assistant, Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences

Louie Thares

Undergraduate Student, Microbiology, x’26
Undergraduate Research Assistant, Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences

Lucy Wilcek

Undergraduate Student, Soil Science, x’28
Undergraduate Research Assistant, Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences