AMES, Iowa — The Iowa Chapter of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers has presented its Distinguished Service to Iowa Agriculture Award to the dean of Iowa State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Wendy Wintersteen received the award at the February annual meeting of the Iowa Chapter of ASFMRA held in Ames.
The award recognizes persons who have made significant contributions to Iowa agriculture. Wintersteen was recognized for her leadership in the growth of undergraduate education in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, serving the state as an extension specialist and being a “champion for the students, faculty and staff in the college and for the agricultural industry in Iowa.”
The Iowa Chapter of ASFMRA provides $250 to the award recipient to donate to a designated charity or cause. Wintersteen is donating the funds to the college’s Floyd Andre Scholarship for Excellence in Agriculture. Floyd Andre was the fifth dean of agriculture at Iowa State. Wintersteen, who like Andre was trained as an entomologist, is the tenth dean of agriculture.
Wintersteen is the endowed dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, serving since 2006. She also is director of the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station. Prior to becoming dean, she served as the college’s senior associate dean and associate director of the Experiment Station.
Wintersteen also has served as professor of entomology, director of Extension to Agriculture and Natural Resources, coordinator of pesticide management and pesticide applicator training programs and extension associate in entomology and in two area extension offices in Iowa.
Wintersteen represents Iowa State on many boards of agricultural organizations in Iowa and around the country. She currently serves as president of the Charles Valentine Riley Memorial Foundation, which works to contribute to the understanding of agriculture and agricultural research in society today. She serves on the board of trustees for the Farm Foundation. In 2013, she was appointed by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to the board of directors of the U.S.-Israel Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund.
Wintersteen earned a bachelor’s of science degree in agriculture from Kansas State University and her Ph.D. in entomology from Iowa State University. In 2007 she was honored as a Kansas State University Alumni Fellow for professional accomplishments and distinguished service.
This year, the Iowa Chapter of ASFMRA is celebrating its 75th anniversary. Over the past three-quarters of a century, many of the Iowa Chapter’s members have been actively engaged in supporting Iowa State programs in agricultural education, research and extension. When the Iowa Chapter was established in 1941, five charter members were Iowa State faculty and extension staff.
ASFMRA, founded in 1929, is a national professional organization providing education and networking opportunities for individuals who work in the areas of farm and ranch management, rural and real estate property appraising, review appraisal and agricultural consulting services.