Wisconsin Agribusiness Classic

2025 Speakers

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Harkirat Kaur

Agronomy

Bio
Hava B

Hava Blair

SnapPlus

Hava is a soil scientist and researcher. She collaborates with the SnapPlus team to develop and implement the soil fertility, erosion, and nutrient loss models in SnapPlus. She earned her PhD in Land and Atmospheric Science from the Univ. of Minnesota."

Bio
Horacio Lopez-Nicora

Horacio Lopez-Nicora

Disease Management

Dr. Horacio Lopez-Nicora, an Assistant Professor at The Ohio State University, is dedicated to improving soybean health through his expertise in plant pathology and nematology. His research is centered on the early detection of pathogens, understanding their biology and ecology, and studying plant-pathogen interactions, all of which provide practical disease management solutions for farmers. Dr. Lopez-Nicora earned his B.Sc. in Agronomy from Universidad Nacional de Asunción, an M.S. in Crop Sciences from the University of Illinois, and both an M.A.S. and Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from Ohio State. Before joining Ohio State in 2021, he held various academic positions in South America, and he continues to serve as an adjunct professor in Colombia and Paraguay. Additional information can be found on Dr. Lopez-Nicora’s site at Ohio State University and The SCN Coalition.

Bio
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Jason Rowe

Economics/Industry Topics

Bio
Jedd Colquhoun

Jed Colquhoun

Agronomy

Jed Colquhoun is a Professor and Extension Specialist working in commercial fruit and vegetable production and IPM Program Director at the Univ. of Wisconsin (UW)-Madison. Jed's work is centered at the crossroads of productive agricultural systems and resilient natural resources.  His research program has been funded by over 150 competitive grants and he has authored over 60 peer-reviewed publications. Jed has held several administrative roles for UW-Madison and UW-Extension, most recently as Interim Program Leader for Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension and Associate Dean for the UW-Madison College of Agricultural & Life Sciences. Jed also serves as an advisor for several agriculture- and food-related organizations and on numerous boards for grower associations, foundations and related public agencies, sitting on over 90 leadership committees in his career. He has held the Friday Chair for Vegetable Production Research and Gottschalk Chair for Cranberry Production. Prior to returning to UW-Madison in 2005, he was a faculty member at Oregon State Univ. for 5 years.

Bio
Jeff Hadachek

Jeff Hadachek

Soil & Water Management

Jeff Hadachek is an assistant professor and extension specialist in the department of Agricultural and Applied Economics at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Jeff’s research and extension program addresses the economics of soil health and water quality in Wisconsin agriculture and the U.S. more broadly. Prior to joining UW in August of 2023, he received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis and is an undergraduate alumn of Kansas State University. He grew up in North Central Kansas on his family’s row crop farm and cow-calf operation.

Bio
Jerome Clark

Jerry Clark

Economics/Industry Topics

Jerry Clark is a Regional Crops and Soils Educator for the University of Wisconsin – Madison Division of Extension in Chippewa, Dunn, and Eau Claire Counties. He provides educational programming and applied research in agronomy and soils focusing on alternative and emerging crops, forages, and nutrient management.  He is a Professor with the Department of Extension and earned an M. S. and B. S. in Agriculture Education from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.

Bio
Jess McCluer

Jess McCluer

Grain Quality Management

Jess McCluer, Senior Vice President, Safety and Regulatory with the National Grain and Feed Association is responsible for directing and managing the NGFA’s wide-ranging operations programs for grain elevators, feed mills and grain processing plants. 

This includes NGFA’s activities regarding employee safety and industrial health, environmental issues, grain-handling facility design and equipment, grain inspection and weighing issues, grain and feed quality, crop technology, trade and agroterrorism/facility security related issues.  

Jess also serves as co-Chair of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Food and Agriculture Sector Coordinating Council and is co-chair of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s (NIOSH) National Occupational Research Agenda Sector Council for Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing. The Journal of Agromedicine selected Jess as its 2021 “Leader in the Field.” The annual award is for those who have made significant contributions in agricultural safety and health practice, policy, and research.

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John Hageman

Technology

Bio
John Jones

John Jones

Nutrient Management

Dr. John Jones is an Assistant Professor of Agronomy and Soil Fertility Extension Specialist at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. His emphasis is on fertilizer and soil management, soil and plant analysis, precision agriculture technologies, and minimizing nitrogen and phosphorus management impacts on water quality. He is an alumnus of Kansas State Univ. (BSc) and Iowa State University (MSc & PhD).

Bio
Jordan Kampa

Jordan Kampa

Pesticide Application

Jordan Kampa is the Southeast Regional Outreach Specialist for the Nutrient and Pest Management (NPM) Program within the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Division of Extension. In her role, she provides education on various nutrient and pest management topics, which includes providing Pesticide Applicator Training education with the Pesticide Applicator Training (PAT) Program. Jordan received her B.S. in Soil and Land Management from the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point and her M.S. in Horticulture from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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Justin McMechan

Insects

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Kristen Ireland

Kristen Ireland

Communications & Management

Kristen Ireland co-founded People Spark Consulting with business partner, Erin Mies, in 2018. People Spark is a business and human resources consulting company that works with small to mid-size businesses in the ag industry to achieve their goals through their HR strategies. Kristen has more than 20 years of experience consulting and coaching executives, leaders and managers in human resources and leadership development. She is certified as a Change Practitioner through PROSCI. In addition to her work experience, she earned both a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration and an MBA from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN. Kristen lives in Minnesota.

Bio
Kyle Cranmer

Kyle Cranmer

Technology

Kyle Cranmer is the David R. Anderson Director of the UW–Madison Data Science Institute and a Professor of Physics with courtesy appointments in Statistics and Computer Science. He is also Editor in Chief of the journal Machine Learning Science and Technology. He was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Science and Engineering in 2007, the National Science Foundation's Career Award in 2009, and became a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2021. Under Cranmer’s leadership, the Data Science Institute has collaborated extensively with researchers in the agricultural and life sciences, developing models and tools that give growers, consultants, and Extension specialists insights into the profitability and health of their farms.

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Laura Falndermeyer

Laura Flandermeyer

Pesticide Application

Laura Flandermeyer is a Pest Management Outreach Specialist for the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Division of Extension. In this role, she supports the Pesticide Applicator Training and Nutrient and Pest Management Programs in the Agriculture Institute, focusing on pest management in corn, soybean, wheat and alfalfa crops. Laura received her B.S. in Biological Engineering from Purdue University and her M.S. in Entomology from Washington State University.

 

Bio
Lindsey Hartfiel

Lindsey Hartfiel

Soil & Water Management

Lindsey Hartfiel is the Research Program Manager for the Discovery Farms Program. In this role, she leads the water quality monitoring projects, identifies new research questions and monitoring areas for the program, and builds research partnerships. Lindsey received her B.S. in Agricultural Engineering from the University of Wisconsin – River Falls and her Ph.D. in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering from Iowa State University.

Bio
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Luiz Ferrareto

Weather & Forages

Bio
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Mallika Nocco

Soil & Water Management

Mallika Nocco is an Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering at the University of Wisconsin—Madison. Her areas of expertise are in agrohydrology, irrigation, soil-plant-water conservation, crop water use physiology, soil physical health, and thermal/multispectral aerial imagery for crop water stress evaluation across the United States. Mallika is a 2014 EPA STAR Fellow and 2017 David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellow who is passionate about policy-relevant science and communication. She works with growers, policymakers, and water districts to develop irrigation management strategies that balance farm livelihoods, soil health, and water conservation. She is the co-host of the Water Talk Podcast (https://www.watertalkpodcast.com) and director of the Conservation Irrigation Lab (https://www.irrigationlab.com). Contact: Mallika Nocco, nocco@wisc.edu, @mallika_nocco on Twitter.

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Mark Renz

Weather & Forages

Bio
Martha Kohmann

Marta Kohmann

Weather & Forages

Marta Kohmann started her work as the Forage Systems Agroecology Extension Specialist/Assistant Professor in 2023 at UW-Madison. She has worked extensively with forage production in various systems, focusing heavily on how to make them more productive – and healthy. Marta is passionate about extension, and is excited to continue to build science-based knowledge to support producers in their management decisions.

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