Lauren Chenarides grew up about an hour north of New York City with no direct connection to agriculture. But like many others with culinarily talented grandparents, she discovered a love for food while cooking with her grandmother. “My first entry point into...

Junior Cora Schrock credits her hardworking spirit and fierce love for livestock to the environment she was raised in, one that taught her compassion and hard work, with lessons passed down through generations.  Growing up on a cow-calf operation in Flagler, Schrock...

Born and raised in Northern Colorado, Gracelynn Farago was always aware of the importance of agriculture to the state, but for much of her life, didn’t see herself playing a part in it. Now a junior at Colorado State University, Farago is pursuing a degree in...

Jennifer Martin may have grown up in the tiny central Texas town of Sidney, but she had – to say the least – some giant career aspirations.  A high school trip to Washington, D.C., convinced her that journalism and politics were in her future. She was determined to...

Jarrod Bessire can’t wait to bring his team of more than 20 students to the Colorado State University campus for the annual FFA Career Development Event skills competition every year.  The annual competition not only provides his students with a chance to measure...

Growing up on his family’s dryland wheat farm near Flagler, Todd Gaines was made aware at a very young age of the challenges weeds present to modern farmers.  “We had puncturevine, or goat heads as they’re sometimes known, around our farm,” he said. “Whenever my...

Jonathan Cable is proud to be a native of northeastern Colorado. Despite growing up near the rural town of Brush, he is the first to admit his journey in agriculture doesn’t fit the traditional definition of an agricultural advocate. He lived in the country, but his...

It’s March, and midway through his first full semester back at Colorado State University, Patrick Doyle is everywhere. Whether it is recruiting new students to CSU, advocating for resources on campus, or connecting with alumni and stakeholders at events across the...

Sarah Ehrlich is the first to admit she doesn’t come from a “traditional” agricultural background. Unlike most of her friends and neighbors in Colorado’s San Luis Valley, she didn’t grow up on a farm or ranch. Still, the Colorado State University journalism alumna...

Most horse lovers tell similar stories: They grew up on a ranch or farm and horses were a part of their everyday lives.  Devan Catalano, an assistant professor of equine science and Colorado’s new Equine Extension Specialist, tells a different tale. She grew up in...

When Noa Román-Muñiz, Lily Edwards Callaway and Catie Cramer received the Excellence in Collaborative Research Award this spring from the College of Agricultural Sciences, they were honored for their innovative work and science-based research that was positively...

Norm Dalsted was strapping lad of 8 when he first drove a grain truck on his parents’ farm in North Dakota. “My mother was furious with my dad, but he said I was ready,” Dalsted recalled with a laugh. “Of course, I had to sit on a couple of pillows so I could see over...

Like most young high school students, Katie Greenwood wasn’t spending a lot of time thinking about her future during that summer of 1999. She was about to enter her sophomore year at Platte Valley High School in Kersey, Colo. She was already practicing with her...

Failure isn’t permanent if it’s on the road to success. For Kevin Larson, superintendent and research scientist at CSU’s Plainsman Research Center, an important lesson learned early in life took him on a journey that’s positively impacted generations of farmers. Born...

It’s often said that what you get out of college is only as great as what you put in. For Linc Thomas, senior horticulture major in Colorado State University’s  College of Agricultural Sciences, it’s been a fruitful journey. Originally from North Carolina, the...

For soil and crop sciences major Patricia Vail, cultivating relationships and community – as well as plants – allowed her to grow into a leader and outstanding graduate and find a seat at the table in the College of Agricultural Sciences at Colorado State University....

Dawn Thilmany knows the College of Agricultural Sciences like the back of her hand. After all, she’s been a member of the community since 1997 when she came on board as an assistant professor. As an agricultural economist and professor within the Department of...

Scan a well-stocked famers market or grocery store and it’s hard not to be impressed by the sheer variety of produce. Look, shape, aroma, flavor—produce is proof that Mother Nature excels at diversity. For Antoinette Machado, that diversity is one of the reasons she’s...

Sometimes the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. For Omar Roman (‘21), agriculture is part of his family’s history, and something he decided to pursue as a first-generation student in higher-education.  “I had the opportunity to pursue higher-education, so I...

Find what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life. While this may be an antiquated statement for some, Temple Grandin understands the value of finding what you don’t love. “You think about the number of students that are forced to become a lawyer or a...

When you ask Jim and Kristie Docheff about their commitment to agriculture, a strong sense of continuity underscores their answers, and understandably so. There have been two constants in the life of the Docheff family, CSU and dairy, and their commitment to both is...

Graduate student David McKinney embraced his love of agriculture at a very young age. Growing up, McKinney spent summers on his grandparent’s ranch fixing fences, tending to livestock, and occasionally aiding in the calving process. “For a long time I wanted to be a...

Not long after joining the College of Agricultural Sciences in 2003, Henry Thompson was walking on a campus sidewalk when now-retired professor Mark Brick approached him about collaborating on research around the health benefits of dry-beans, also known as a variety...

Dr. Scott Haley joined Colorado State University in 1999 as the project leader of the Wheat Breeding and Genetics Program.  In the 22 years that Dr. Haley has been breeding wheat at CSU, he has created multiple new varieties of wheat with better disease and insect...

Typically, when college students aren’t pre-occupied with their next paper or exam, how they will eventually impact the world post-graduation can cause a bit of anxiety. But for upcoming senior Isabella Pulido (’21), who’s studying animal sciences, impacting the...

Becca Jablonski is an assistant professor and food systems economist at Colorado State University, and co-lead of CSU’s Food Systems Initiative.    The Food Systems Initiative bridges research, extension and education to identify and inform opportunities to bridge how...