INAG News Winter-Spring 2021

INAG News COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES | INSTITUTE OF APPLIED AGRICULTURE | WINTER/SPRING 2021

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CONTENTS Turf Terps Take Top Place

4 IAA Student Entrepreneurs

5 “Mr. Everything” Retires

6 Service Learning Projects

8 Alumni Class Notes

10 5-Bean Pod

11 Cover: Daniel Heyser and Roy Walls.

Glori Hyman Director Rebecka Jones Graphic Designer

Instagram and Twitter: @iaa_umd

From the Director’s Desk

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wish you could see my face right now because I am laughing out loud. I am laughing at myself and my fabulously inept ability to predict the future. I thought the university would shut down for one week after spring break 2020 and we would all return to our classrooms before the end of March. Then, I thought we’d be back to face-to-face teaching by September. I was certain the campus would open by start of the Spring 2021 semester. And here we are—still living in the virtual world. For sure, we will all be back in our offices, labs and classrooms by...well... someday.

Given my miserable future-predicting track record, I’m going to focus on my strength— storytelling about our past. What better way to open this issue of INAG News than with my take on the IAA’s Top 20 of 2020? No divine crystal ball needed.

1.

Roy Walls received The Provost’s Excellence Award for Teaching.

2.

The IAA received two AGNR College Awards: Meredith Epstein received the 2020 On-Campus Professional Track Faculty Excellence Award, and Roy Walls won The Paul R. Poffenberger Excellence in Teaching & Advising Award.

Facebook and YouTube: /iaaumd INAG News is published twice a year by the Institute of Applied Agriculture. You, the reader, are encouraged to share comments, alumni updates, and agriculturerelated news.

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Three teams of Turf Terps were able compete in the annual STMA Challenge.

See article on page 4.

4.

Four years after graduating, Meg Smolinski won the IAA’s first-ever Early Career Alumni Award. A graduate in Ornamental

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Horticulture, Meg put her skills to good use filling the campus food pantry, applying for funding, and helping those in need.

5.

Through her work in INAG131 Introduction to Agricultural Policy and Communication, IAA student Hailey Clark won a $500 top prize from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) for a paper she wrote.

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Six IAA students received TESCO scholarships in 2020.

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Seven IAA students opted to complete service learning projects this summer. See article on page 8.

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Eight IAA Alumni volunteered their time to help IAA students prepare for virtual job interviews.

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Nine different businesses created by students in INAG102 Agricultural Entrepreneurship were showcased at the Fall 2020 UMD Terp Marketplace. See article on page 5.

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INAG 123: People, Planet, and Profit: Digging into Sustainable Agriculture was voted by students as one of the top ten most popular courses in UMD’s Sustainability Studies minor.

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Over $11,000 in IAA scholarships were awarded in 2020.

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IAA students were on the top three placing teams for the Fall 2020 AgEnterprise Challenge. Congratulations to Lynn Brooks (1st), Alyssa Chiascione (2nd), Grayson Welsh (3rd).

Meghna Mathews was unanimously selected as the IAA’s the Outstanding Student in 2020.

1,232.25 pounds of produce was harvested from the Community Learning Garden to support the Campus Pantry. The harvests consisted of mixed herbs, radishes, onions, carrots, tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers, melons, and mixed greens.

Mid-Atlantic Association of Golf Course Superintendents donated $5,000 to the J. Kevin Mathias Scholarship.

Four IAA Oral Communication faculty members received a $5,400 teaching grant to enhance our online teaching. Over 1,500 UMD students took INAG 110, the IAA’s Oral Communication course, in 2020.

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Looking back, we had a darn good year.

Okay, I am going to make one more prediction...IAA students and faculty will continue to excel in 2021. And, I’m still smiling, because that prediction is a sure bet.

16.

Cheers to the future,

Meredith Epstein’s Sustainable Agriculture Tuesdays lecture series received AGNR’s brand-new Cornerstone Award, which recognizes contributions from AGNR faculty, staff, or external partners in an area defined by one of the college’s Strategic Initiatives—in this case, the initiative to Establish a Healthy Food System and Ensure Global Food and Nutritional Security.

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17 students entered the IAA’s 2020 Film Festival contest and four videos emerged as winners. Watch the winning videos at go.umd.edu/IAAfilmfest.

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The IAA was part of team that developed a Farm Mentor Training Toolkit; video recordings are available at go.umd.edu/ farmmentor.

Tope Fajingbesi began serving on UMD Senate’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee and she was the keynote speaker at the Future Harvest CASA conference.

Ken Ingram distributed over 800 plants to UMD students in the Fall 2020 semester.

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The Community Learning Garden received a $15,000 grant to update its irrigation system and add a wash station.

Faculty Accolades

Heather McHale taught a UMD Grand Challenges course, received an Advising Award, and presented “Joint Advising: How to Work Effectively with your advisees’ other advisors”.

Heather McHale and Becky Jones began serving on the AGNR Dean’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Respect Advisory Board.

Heather McHale, Joellen Barnhart, Amy Fisher, and George Kurtzweil received the Teaching Innovation Grant.

Student Notes Congratulations, Spring 2021 Scholarship Receipients!

Philip Pitta Alyssa Chiascione Destiny Daley Ga’Nyah Minor Haley Moore Erika Schmidt

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Turf Terps Top STMA By: Geoffrey Rinehart

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ontinuing a tradition that began over two decades ago, the Institute of Applied Agriculture prepped UMD turf students for the upcoming national turf competitions. Only this year, everything changed—the time, the format, the location.

As has been the case with many state, regional, and national turfgrass conferences this winter, the Sports Turf Managers Association (STMA) conducted its annual conference virtually, but unlike previous years when the student competition was held during the conference, the 2021 STMA Student Challenge took place over in two parts over the fall semester. Part one was an oral presentation and and part two was a 2-hour exam. While this schedule challenged the students to balance their classwork with completing the Student Challenge, it enabled more students to enter the competition. With no travel expenses to incur, UMD had an opportunity to enter three teams.

In the first part, which had to be submitted by November 25, students were given a scenario for which each team had to present an answer in both an 8-minute video and a 3-page composition. In the scenario question, students presented solutions and approaches to preparing a high school football field for play in early March in Minnesota due to COVID delaying the traditional fall football season. The students submitted videos and essays outlining their solutions.

The 2-hour exam took place online in early December and tested student’s knowledge of turfgrass species, diseases, weeds, insects, soils, math calculations, and sports field maintenance. Unlike the usual collaborative team format typical of Student Challenges in the past, this year all students completed the exam individually and the team members’ scores were averaged for the team exam score then added to the scenario score.

The results were announced January 12 on the first day of the STMA (Virtual) Conference. Teams consisted of the following students:

1st place- 4-year division—Ben Word (4-year program), Jacob Hess (4-year program) and Tyler Johnson (IAA)

1st place- 2-year division—Brandon Carbary (IAA) and Ryan Geils (IAA)

2nd place- 2-year division—Mason Hofmeister (IAA), Jarrett Maynor (IAA), and Payton O’Connor (IAA) Many thanks to our IAA alumni and the Maryland turfgrass industry including the MTC, MAAGCS, and MASTMA for their supporting “Turf Terps!”

WM Phoenix Open UMD was well represented at the Waste Management Phoenix Open in February. Scott Hebert is assistant superintendent at the course. Tyler Barnhart works at Caves Valley CC; Tyler Johnson works at Oakmont CC in PA. Ben is graduating from 4-year program in May.

Left to Right: Ben Word,Tyler Barnhart,Tyler Johnson, and Scott Hebert.

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IAA Students Ride Entrepreneurial Wave

By: Glori Hyman

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ast decade’s Great Recession spawned a wave of entrepreneurialism. Think Uber, Slack, Instagram, Airbnb. And now, during the COVID pandemic, innovation has become a necessity.

The Institute of Applied Agriculture, under the tutelage of Tope Fajingbesi, is preparing its students to ride the new wave. Fajingbesi, an entrepreneur herself, joined the IAA faculty in August 2019 as a full-time lecturer and advisor for the Agricultural Business Management track.

By providing hands-on opportunities for students to learn what it takes to become an entrepreneur, Fajingbesi is igniting an entrepreneurial energy at the IAA. This fall, students in her Agricultural Entrepreneurship class conceived of 9 different businesses, participated in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources’ AgEnterprise Challenge, pitched their businesses like Shark Tank contenders, and set up virtual booths at UMD’s Terp Marketplace. Excitement built throughout the semester as students tested and tweaked ideas, pushed and stretched their skills, and wrestled with budgets and team assignments. The results have been rewarding.

“Jenny and I are passionate about this and we plan to take it forward,” said Isabel Sanchez who, along with Jenny Lindstrom, created Garden Finders, a solution for wannabe gardeners who have no land access and are faced

with long community garden waitlists.

“We’re the Airbnb for garden seekers,” Sanchez explains.

Lindstrom agrees, “We hope to get shovels in the ground for 2021. We really want to make it community-based and accessible to everyone who wants to garden. Finding garden hosts is the linchpin to our success.”

While Lindstrom and Sanchez put an agriculture spin on Airbnb, Grayson Welch and his team used the Uber concept for their Mobile Mechanic company. “Our service bridges the gap between farmers and mechanics,” explains Welch. Through the company’s website, farmers can connect with independent, certified, traveling mechanics who would come to their farms to repair and maintain equipment.

Ryan Flax, Aidan Moffitt, Elpida Liakos, and Shawna Budny teamed up to create “Grounded Acres,” a company that turns common waste from coffee grounds into environmentally safe fertilizers.

During the team’s pitch, Flax said, “We believe using coffee grounds rather than bone meal is better for the environment.”

Admittedly, the team still needs to perfect and test its fertilizer formula. With free coffee grounds readily available, these IAA students could create the next environmentally-friendly miracle fertilizer.

The IAA is not alone in its quest to prepare the next generation of innovators; the University of Maryland

fuels the spirit. In 2020, UMD rose to number three among public universities in The Princeton Review’s annual survey of top schools for entrepreneurship.

Four years ago, recognizing the need for entrepreneurs in the Ag sector, the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (AGNR) launched the AgEnterprise Challenge to provide students with an out-of-classroom experience to help grow fearless ideas.

This fall’s AgEnterprise Challenge tasked students with finding alternative uses for out-of-service poultry houses in Maryland. IAA students tackled the task and rose to the top. An IAA student was on each of the top three teams: • Lynn Brooks, Sustainable Agriculture Major, Agro Plastics Recycling Plants, 1st Place • Alyssa Chiascione, Sustainable Agriculture Major, Hydroponics Farm, 2nd Place • Grayson Welsh, Agricultural Business Management Major, Aquaponics Farm, 3rd Place

Fifty years ago, students came to the IAA to become farmers, turfgrass managers, horticulturalists, and landscapers. Now, in addition to the traditional career options, IAA graduates are becoming innovators, leaders, communicators, social entrepreneurs, and...well...who knows what? That will be determined by the new jobs they create.

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By: Rob Ballenger

“Mr. Everything” RETIRES

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ooking back on his thirty years as an IAA instructor, Roy Walls, who retired in October 2020, said that he hoped his students and colleagues would think well of him. He need not worry.

Just ask any of those who have encountered Walls since he began teaching IAA students in 1990. “We were lucky to have him,” says IAA alumnus Dan Hofmeister (’96). “Roy’s a memorable, great teacher, and you could tell that he really enjoyed what he did.”

What did Walls do at the IAA? Alumnus Brian Hogan (’14) thinks a better question might be: What did Walls not do? “We [students] gave him a nickname: Mr. Everything,” Hogan remembers.

Walls did everything from serving as a one-man help desk for the IAA’s information technology needs to teaching courses such as Fundamentals of Agricultural Mechanics, Landscape Construction, Surveying & GPS Applications, Power & Machinery, and Computer Applications. Moreover, Mr. Everything did it all with grace.

attempt to start their reassembled engines. “If it runs on the first pull,” Walls says, “that’s a special event. You remember the look on the student’s face.”

Walls’ students remember his classroom and lab lessons well, and they credit him with much of their post-IAA success. Dan Hofmeister, now the superintendent at Laytonsville Golf Course, says the welding, plumbing and electrical skills he learned from Walls’ Agricultural Mechanics course have proven valuable during his career. Hofmeister says those practical skills freed him from reliance on an equipment manager. Additionally, Hofmeister remembers having once worked outside of Maryland with people who graduated from other schools. “They didn’t have any classes like Roy’s,” Hofmeister remarks. “IAA students were ahead of the game; they were more prepared than their competition.”

“He could’ve done anything he wanted and made a lot more money doing it...but he chose [teaching] because he enjoyed doing it.”

“Roy has an endless - Brian Hogan ‘14 reservoir of patience,” according to IAA Director Glori Hyman. “He would spend hours on end helping students to understand content and complete projects. He has the awesome superpower of staying calm in anxiety-inducing situations. Think power tools and fire.” Indeed, Walls always kept his cool in “the shop” whether he was teaching engine repair or welding skills.

The patience he practiced there in the Animal Sciences Building would produce some of his favorite IAA memories.

Walls said those fondest memories came on “engine run day,” the culmination of his Power & Machinery course. He taught students about the workings of small engines by having them disassemble one, spread out its parts on a table and eventually put it all back together. With fingers crossed, Walls’ students would

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As much as Walls’ students have learned from him over the years, Walls says that he has gained lessons from them as well.

“I learned how to bend over backwards to help people,” Walls says, “and that’s a good thing.” Walls says he learned how to maintain an attitude of never giving up on someone. Hyman concurs: “I’ve worked with Roy for 30 years, and only once did I see him become exasperated with a student.

It didn’t faze the student, but it upset Roy for a week.”

Walls’ legacy of teaching and mentoring IAA students began during fall semester of 1990. When asked what he remembers about his first day on the job, Walls immediately recalls the exact date: September 10. “The IAA people were very kind to me even though the semester had already started,” Walls says. That autumn he was transitioning to the university from a staff position at the Maryland State Department of Education, where he had worked in vocational-technical education since 1982. Prior to that job, Walls served as a vocational agriculture teacher at Linganore High School in Frederick County.

Joining the IAA thirty years ago was a homecoming of sorts for Walls, as he had earned University of Maryland bachelor’s and

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master’s degrees (1975 and 1987, respectively) in Agricultural and Extension Education. His subsequent decades as an IAA instructor are marked with dozens of teaching awards, including some top university honors just prior to retirement. Walls won the Provost’s Excellence Award for Professional Track Faculty (2019-2020) as well as the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources’ Paul A. Poffenberger Award for teaching and advising. Beyond campus, in 2017 the National Association of Agriculture Educators (NAAE) awarded Walls with an Outstanding Service Citation, describing Walls as “a shining example for agricultural educators everywhere.

His impact on students is immeasurable.”

Roy helping incoming students register for courses at New Student Orientation.

That impact spans multiple generations of IAA students. Dan Hofmeister is one of several alumni whose children found their way into Walls’ classroom. “Roy’s last year of teaching was my son’s first semester as a student,” he says. Mason Hofmeister (‘22), who is following in his father’s golf industry career footsteps, says Walls exceeded his high expectations while taking the Surveying and GPS Applications course. “I told [my dad] that Roy’s class was one of the most fun I think I’ve ever taken, including my high school classes,” Mason recalls.

Dan Hofmeister notes that the GPS course was not offered when he was an IAA student, which “just shows Roy’s willingness to continue to learn” and keep up with technology. Walls continuously stayed on top of technological growth during his IAA career – yet another testament to his ‘Mr. Everything’ moniker. This dedication allowed him to help students well beyond their graduation dates. Walls regularly invited his students to reach out to him for help as they advanced in their careers.

Hogan is one of many alumni who accepted this generous invitation. “We met in Jull Hall [this past summer],” Hogan says.

“I had picked up a GPS device and needed a refresher. He still had my ‘data dictionary’ on a thumb drive from six years ago. I was impressed.”

Hogan adds, “Roy is so talented. He could’ve done anything he wanted and made a lot more money doing it. He could’ve invented something or run a corporation, but he chose [teaching] because he enjoyed doing it.” Hogan, like so many of Walls’ students and colleagues, realizes that his 2020 retirement leaves some “big shoes to fill.”

As a retiree, Walls says he will continue living in College Park while filling the shoes of the other roles he enjoys: father, grandfather and cycling enthusiast. Will Mr. Everything miss the many roles he mastered at the IAA? “It was a lifetime of enjoyment,” Walls says wistfully. “I enjoyed coming to work every day.”

Roy was named as 20162017 Outstanding Instructor

by AGNR Student Council.

Roy assisting a student in his Agriculture Mechanics course lab.

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When Life Gives Them a Pandemic, IAA Students Opt for Service By: Heather McHale

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ike many students all over the world, the IAA’s 2020 crop of prospective interns had lots of plans for the summer—and like people all over the world, they had to change many of those plans when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Some were able to go on with their internships or find new internship positions, but other students found that those businesses were closed or unable to support an intern this year.

The IAA drew up a new option for those students: an agriculturerelated summer service project of their choice, in support of the agriculture and natural resources community or in the service of an ag-related non-profit. The students who opted for a service project have been helping feed people in need or shoring up businesses who need an extra pair of hands—in other words, improving their communities while gaining valuable hands-on experience.

Marina Karides spent her summer working at the Community Learning Garden (CLG) on UMD’s campus. The CLG is managed by the IAA’s sustainable agriculture lecturer, Meredith Epstein, but the garden relies on partnerships with other departments and organizations around campus, including the UMD Arboretum and Botanical Garden; Facilities Management; Dining Services; and the Office of Sustainability. The CLG always donates excess produce to

the Campus Pantry, but in 2020, the garden has dedicated its efforts exclusively to growing food for the Pantry, so Karides has been helping to provide fresh produce to food-insecure members of the UMD community, which she says is particularly rewarding. The garden grows tomatoes, squash, peppers, cucumbers, melons, corn, and a wide variety of culinary herbs.

Karides has learned lots of new skills, from plant identification to using a Florida weave to trellis tomato plants. She’s also enjoying seeing the material from her classes in action—she took INAG 105 (Soils and Fertilizers) in spring semester of 2020. She says, “You can see all of the different soil textures throughout the garden, which is cool, too.” In addition to practicing her new skills, Marina has spent many hours weeding to keep the CLG producing at its best.

Meg Smolinski, volunteer coordinator for the UMD Campus Arboretum (one of the partners who supports the CLG), has managed the garden’s volunteer staff all summer; she says that the garden could not have run successfully without Karides’s help. “I honestly don’t know how we would keep the garden going without her,” Smolinski says, gesturing to a cart full of weeds waiting to be sent to the campus composting facility. “It’s not a glitzy, glamorous job to do, to come and work in the heat every day.” Smolinski also notes that the Campus Pantry has seen a dramatic increase in the number of visitors during the COVID-19 pandemic, so the fresh produce provided by the CLG has been essential.

“Working on a farm, rain or shine—peeling garlic, picking onions and flowers, and weeding a squash field—was hard work!

This experience has taught me to really appreciate all the things that farmers do to keep this country fed.“ - Kia Calloway Pictured left is Daley at the vet hospital helping a sick kitten.

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The Campus Pantry also relies on donations from the Terp Farm in Upper Marlboro, MD, where Kia Calloway worked all summer.

Terp Farm—a partnership between UMD’s Department of Dining Services, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and Office of Sustainability—grows vegetables year-round. Terp Farm’s produce is provided to the campus dining halls, UMD catering, the Green Tidings mobile dining food truck, and the Campus Pantry.

Calloway, who has spent her summer volunteering at Terp Farm, says, “Working on a farm, rain or shine—peeling garlic, picking

onions and flowers, and weeding a squash field—was hard work!

This experience has taught me to really appreciate all the things that farmers do to keep this country fed.”

Working at Terp Farm has given Calloway insight into a sustainable operation—Terp Farm uses crop rotation, cover cropping, habitat planting for beneficial insects, and organic fertilizers and pest controls. Calloway says she has also made good friends during her summer working on the farm, talking while peeling garlic to send to the Campus Pantry or making bouquets.

Destiny Daley, who volunteered at Townson Veterinary Hospital, spent her summer helping with the treatment of sick animals.

Daley says, “This has been a great opportunity for me as I gained more hands on knowledge about animals, what treatment they may need for certain problems, and how to diagnose problems that may arise in them.” In addition to assisting the veterinary staff with animal care, Daley observed many procedures and got an insider’s look at the clinic, which has a veterinary operation and boarding facility.

Through a summer of historic disruption and uncertainty, these IAA students committed their time and work to supporting their communities. They have already learned one of the most valuable lessons any person in an agricultural industry can learn: how to adapt, be flexible, and find new opportunities when circumstances change.

Pictured left is Karides picking tomatoes at the Community Learning Garden.

PHOTO CONTEST WINNER KIA CALLOWAY Sustainable Agriculture “I completed my service-learning project this summer at Terp Farm.

We had harvested and donated all this garlic to the UMD Campus Pantry!”

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The GOOD DOCTOR Returns

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uring the pandemic, doctors were being called to action. The IAA was no different, except the doctor we called back to action was none other than our very own Dr. J. Kevin Mathias. The Good Doctor Mathias retired in 2017 after 38 years of teaching, but when the IAA needed him this fall, he answered the call and sprung back into action.

When another long-time instructor, Roy Walls, retired, an opportunity opened for a GPS/Surveying instructor. Mathias had taught the class decades ago, but the course and the technology had changed significantly, requiring Mathias to brush up on his mapping skills, which he did quite readily under Walls’ tutelage.

“I enjoyed being back working with students and Roy was a big help,” says Mathias. He adds that “It was somewhat surreal to be back on campus and have so few students around due to the pandemic.”

Mathias brought more than his teaching skills; he brought inspiration. He put his talents and experience to use reaching out to raise scholarship funds for future IAA students.

We would like to thank the Mid Atlantic Golf Course Superintendents Association who responded first to Mathias’ request with a $5,000 gift to the Dr. J. Kevin Mathias Endowed Scholarship Fund. Mathias says he hopes more IAA alumni and industries will do the same.

In a time of need, the Good Doctor rose to the occasion, giving back in retirement— as a teacher, mentor and luminary. To help support student scholarships please make a donation today to the Dr. J. Kevin Mathias Scholarship Fund. Our donation process is simple and quick. In just a few minutes, your donation will be on its way to support IAA student scholarships through the Dr. J. Kevin Mathias Scholarship Fund. To make a donation by credit card, please visit go.umd.edu/dr-mathias-fund. To donate by check, make your check payable to University of Maryland College Park Foundation Inc. Please write, on the memo line, “Dr. J. Kevin Mathias Scholarship Fund (Account 21-31411) and mail to Office of Gift Acceptance, 4603 Calvert Road, College Park 20740-3421.

Class Notes SEND US YOUR NEWS! We’d like to hear about your personal and professional life.

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Frank Bohne, SUSAG 2020, is now a Farmer at Maple Hill Farm in Vermont.

Monica Martin, SUSAG 2020, is now Contract Specialist at Defense Logistics Agency Energy.

James Thomas, AGBUS 2017, is working full time at Albright Farms where he did his internship. He is also farming on his own time and starting a hay and straw business with his brother.

Wedding bells have been ringing for IAA Alumni— Congratulations to Chris Turner, GOLF 2008, Joe Shaffer, AGBUS 2016, Drew Wolcott, SPORTS 2011, Cory Schuch, AGBUS 2017, Maggie Popp, AGBUS 2017 on their recent marriages!

David Thomas, TURF 2010, is now an Environmental Specialist at Blackwater Environmental Group, LLC, in Baltimore.

Erik Carlson, TURF 2007, has left the golf industry with fond memories. He is now works in cybersecurity and is the Director of Programs at Nteligen, a security software company in Columbia, MD. After 20 years as the Superintendent at Westmoreland Country Club, Bill Stowers, GOLF 1999, accepted a new position as Project Manager, Turfgrass Specialist at Aqua-Aid Solutions, an environmental consulting company.

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IAA Alum Breaks through with 5-BEAN POD By: Shala Larson

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n a warm August day, Corn Warriors went on Facebook Live with IAA alum, Chris Weaver (‘98). The video showcases Weaver’s accomplishment of growing a 5-bean pod, for the first time ever. In the video, Weaver was present with the team members of family and friends who, according to him, helped make this accomplishment possible. Weaver stated the beans he grew were an AgriGold 3722 variety that produced 118 4-bean pods and a total of 649 beans on a stalk that he had just pulled from the middle of his field. Weaver says that in his 12 plus years in the business he had never seen a 5-bean pod.

Weaver credits the IAA with setting up his basic knowledge, as well as helping to shape the direction of where he wanted to go within his career. He felt he learned the “brass tacks” of what he needed to know and what was most important for his career.

When asked to offer advice to current IAA students, Weaver said to keep learning even after you get out of college and to always think outside of the box. He stated, “I am 43 years old and I think more outside of the box now than I did when I was in my 20s.” Additionally, Weaver advises students to “never let anyone tell you what you can or cannot do.”

Weaver’s future goals are nearly as big as his harvest this year. This year, he produced 158 bushels of beans and aims to be the first person to produce 200 bushels of beans with no tillage or irrigation. We’re all rooting for him!

Seeking Nominations for Alumni Awards Know an Outstanding IAA Alum?

The Institute of Applied Agriculture is seeking nominations for our two 2021 awards: Distinguished Alumni and Early Career Alumni.

The IAA Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes alumni who, over their careers, have accomplished significant achievements of enduring value to their professions and society. Nominees should have attained notable achievements or made enduring contributions through their professional, philanthropic, or voluntary endeavors.

The Early Career Award honors IAA graduates who have earned a certificate in within the past 7 years and have made significant progress in their career and/or have shown outstanding service to their industries and/or the IAA. The Institute of Applied Agriculture’s alumni are extraordinary individuals who contribute to their professions, the IAA, and society. Let’s recognize and celebrate your accomplishments.

Nominations are due by March 31, 2021. Self-nominations are welcomed. Submit nominations at go.umd.edu/iaa-alumni-awards.

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