Soil science grew from agriculture and vice versa. As a budding soil scientist on a land grant university, it is inescapable to visit a farm field and learn about the importance of soil management for the future of a field and the future of humanity. 

I was hooked from the beginning, the very reason I got into soils was to learn about how to grow plants and help ecosystems thrive from the ground up. I took several courses on plants and soils in agricultural contexts and then shunned them to move to forests. Forests to me were just agricultural fields with woody cathedrals instead of rows of corn.

But alas, through gardening and a growing sense of urgency to help improve how we feed ourselves, I have found my interest in agricultural fields rekindled. I do have one of my mentors at Dartmouth College, Dr. Brian Jackson, for helping refuel the flame as he helped me make the connection back and work with Cedar Circle Farm in Vermont. 

Now I am back to a familiar systems but I feel that I have brought my new perspective of long term biogeochemistry to agriculture with a simple question: Can minerals provide what crops need and why not? Particularly in organic farming systems where cocktails of inorganic constituents cannot be readily added. With an tile spade in my hands and an ICP-MS back in the lab, I think there are several avenues I can take to help answer that question. I look forward to having future student(s) tackle these questions if we can secure further funding!