Growing up in central New York, Katherine’s curiosity for the natural world surfaced early. Whether she was playing in the mud or collecting insects, she was drawn to the ecosystems around her. That early fascination evolved into a lifelong desire to protect natural systems and improve the ways people interact with them. Though she didn’t set out to pursue a career in plant genetics or agronomy, she found her perfect fit in the Sustainable Cropping Systems Lab at the University of Minnesota, an environment where emerging crops, sustainability, winter survival, and ecosystem benefits intersect with her values and interests.
Katherine’s path to Minnesota began during her undergraduate years, when she accepted a summer ecology internship at the Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve, a part of the University of Minnesota system. Multiple seasons at Cedar Creek not only deepened her understanding of ecological research but also connected her with the team that would eventually hire her as a Lab Manager and Field Technician. In this role, she supports research across the state, working with a diverse range of crops grown at multiple research stations and on-farm sites. The Rosemount Research and Outreach Center (RROC) holds special significance for her. It was the first site where she conducted fieldwork and remains home to nearly half of her team’s experiments.
Within the Sustainable Cropping Systems Lab, the focus is clear: advancing Forever Green crops and identifying the most effective ways to grow, implement, and utilize them. For Katherine, the meaningfulness of this work lies in its potential impact. Helping develop crops that benefit both farmers and the environment is, as she describes, a “win-win scenario.” The possibility that her efforts may contribute, even in small ways, to shifts in agricultural landscapes keeps her motivated.
Her work at the Rosemount ROC plays a direct role in addressing today’s agricultural challenges. The lab tests and refines planting, growing, and harvesting methods for crops designed with sustainability in mind. These efforts aim to improve environmental outcomes, such as soil health, water quality, and winter ground cover, while still aligning with the needs and realities of farmers. By supporting crops that offer ecological benefits without sacrificing profitability, the team hopes to advance agricultural systems that are resilient, regenerative, and future-focused.
A typical day for Katherine varies with the season. During the growing period, she may be in the field with collaborators, principal investigators, graduate students, and undergraduates to establish or maintain experiments. Fieldwork can involve collecting plant biomass, grain, soil, groundwater samples, or capturing reflected light and gas flux data to better understand crop performance and environmental interactions. Other days may be spent coordinating logistics, working with data, or ensuring that research operations flow smoothly across multiple sites.
What Katherine hopes the broader community understands about the Rosemount ROC is the sheer amount of research happening there. Katherine states that much more activity occurs behind the scenes than most people realize. She envisions the Rosemount ROC as a place of learning and innovation for generations, a center where scientific advancement and community engagement continue to grow side by side.
Through her dedication to sustainable agriculture and her hands-on role in field-based research, Katherine embodies the mission of the Sustainable Cropping Systems Lab: to build a more resilient and environmentally conscious future for Minnesota farming and beyond.
Written by Isabella Ciarico