Featured Stories

Earlier this month, students in the class traveled to Van Wall Equipment in Madrid, Iowa, to install a performance upgrade kit on the Ag 450 Farm’s 20-year-old planter. Working alongside John Deere technicians, the students added new hydraulics, electrical systems and row units – the part of the planter responsible for placing the seed in the ground – to the planter’s frame.

Darcy Bonds has always had a green thumb, which led her to major in horticulture at Iowa State University. She also has a mind for science and an eye for creativity that have bolstered her expertise in plant biology, computer skills and landscape design.

Last semester, agricultural and biosystems engineering seniors Julia Bowman, Camren Saxton, Thomas Sell and Sam Te Slaa decided to go a different route with their capstone course project, choosing to propose their own project idea rather than pick from one submitted by a company in the industry.

Growing up on a diversified crop and livestock farm in Larwill, Indiana, Dillion Sheiss, junior in animal science, cultivated his passion for livestock judging. With both parents reaching success at the collegiate livestock judging level at Penn State, Sheiss knew he wanted to follow in their footsteps.

Getting out of her comfort zone enabled Payten Watson to gain new perspectives beyond her area of study. Watson, a senior in food science from Urbandale, Iowa, has been selected as the fall 2022 semester College of Agriculture and Life Sciences student marshal. She will lead fellow graduates as they enter Hilton Coliseum during Iowa State University’s undergraduate commencement ceremony Dec. 17, at 1:30 p.m.

Hunter Field, senior in animal science, is receiving the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Student Council Leadership Excellence Award for fall 2022. He came to Iowa State University determined to pursue vet school, but two weeks into the program decided that wasn’t the path for him. He liked the business of agriculture and changed his major to animal science.

Campus visits are an important part of the college selection process. Fatima Najar has been making sure underrepresented students and their families feel welcomed and included when they arrive at Iowa State University.

Food insecurity is a global concern, but it can also strike close to home. The complexity of this issue cannot be solved with a single solution — it must be approached from multiple angles. Students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences teamed up with students from various other departments at Iowa State University to compete in Iowa State’s first-ever Food Insecurity Challenge.

A family friend introduced Jacob Mefford to the world of food science, and he’s been hooked ever since. Mefford, who graduates from Iowa State University later this month with a degree in food science, grew up near Chicago, Illinois. His family’s friend works for FONA International, a flavor company based in Geneva, Illinois. At the friend’s encouragement, Mefford would often take part in FONA’s consumer taste-test panels. That nourished his interest in the science of playing with ingredients to improve the taste of food and beverages.

Sarah Martin didn’t have it in her plan to teach agriculture education, but a chance placement during her student teaching rotation changed her course. 

In addition to completing assignments and taking exams, Luke Dietrich’s college career has consisted of laying bricks and drawing landscaping plans. The senior in horticulture is the owner of Pilot Landscaping Solutions LLC, and he has scaled his business while simultaneously pursuing his degree.