Spring/Summer
2023

Cultivate

CultivateThe Magazine of the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences

tom vilsack speaking at commencement

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack

"True resilience, whether in a person, a community, or a nation requires a belief and a faith in something better and the confidence and capacity to make it happen." - U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to graduates and guests at USU Commencement

In This Issue

 

Ram Chaudhari: Quest for Learning Brings Global Success

From his start in a village with no electricity, running water, or school, through boarding school, challenging years earning graduate degrees in food science, and then building a multinational company, USU alumnus Ram Chaudhari has given his best efforts and believed that "...unless you try something, you don't know how good you will be."

Horses and Heroes

The late Colonel Robert A. Adams (U.S. Army Retired) rode horses while working his family’s ranch well before he flew airplanes in Vietnam or during his long career with Western and Delta airlines. Veterans and others are now able to participate in therapies with horses at the Robert A. Adams Equine-Human Science Arena.

Veterinary Medicine is USU's Newest College

Work is underway to transition USU's 11-year-old program in veterinary medicine to a four-year, doctor of veterinary medicine degree-granting college, opening more opportunities for future veterinarians.

Jeanette Norton

Jeannette Norton Named Fellow of the Soil Science Society of America

"The soil is alive with fascinating organisms and processes — the soil microbiome. This living skin of the earth is essential for crop growth. Agriculture feeds the world's eight billion people currently, but we need to prepare to feed more people while adapting to a changing climate that disrupts agricultural systems." — Professor Jeanette Norton, Fellow of the Soil Science Society of America
Chad Warnick

Alumnus Chad Warnick is Utah's Teacher of the Year

It's tempting to say that great teaching is just part of Chad Warnick's DNA. After all, being honored as Utah's 2023 Teacher of the Year came 32 years after his father won the same award. But the award is the result of 17 years of investing his skills to educate teens in Millard County.

Jordan Packer Welding

Jordan Packer Wins Welding Bronze Medal

Training for his wins in WorldSkills' competition with 18-hour days in the lab at USU Eastern, welding student Jordan Packer was determined to be prepared. "Unlike Olympic athletes, welders only get one shot to compete on the world stage. All the training...comes down to 20 hours in a welding booth by yourself. I you mess up, there aren't any second chances."

More In This Issue

Block A

Printing the Future in Price

Additive manufacturing (a.k.a. 3D printing) students are getting hands-on laboratory and industry experience via a collaboration between USU Eastern in Price and local company Merit 3D.

Fort Valley State Visit

New Agreement links USU and Fort Valley State University

New opportunities for collaboration and cooperation will come with USU's new agreement with Fort Valley State University, a land-grant and historically black university in Georgia.

NDFS team

Recipes for Success

A team of USU food science students conquered three very different national product development competitions with two wins and a third-place finish last year. Someday, maybe MOBA Boba, Crocos, or Saurus Snacks will be available near you.

Grosverner's Arch

Utah's Land, Water, and Air

USU’s Janet Quinney Lawson Institute for Land, Water, and Air released its second report to Utah’s governor and policymakers in late 2022. The institute is interdisciplinary and seeks to bring USU researchers focused on Utah’s natural resource challenges together with state, county, and city governments.

Past Issue Articles

Creating Opportunities for Other Kids from Wyoming

Joe Crum is a paradox. A kid from a small Wyoming town who earned high school first-team all-conference honors in football, basketball, and track, but who doesn’t consider himself a “natural” athlete. The “little Crum” next to older brother Gary who playe...

Don McMahon: A Career at the Aggie Creamery

When Don McMahon and his wife sat down to make a list of pros and cons about leaving their home in Australia to move back to the United States, Aggie Ice Cream was the first bullet point on the “Pros” list.

New Equine Facility Under Construction

A 300% increase in students enrolled in a program in less than five years is extraordinary. But when that program is in equine and human science, the need for space to accommodate horses and humans is also extraordinary. To support students, faculty, and ...

Origin Story: Aggie Blue Mint

The Aggie Creamery participated in Day on the Quad during the first week of fall semester 2004, scooping free Aggie ice cream for students and, along with Whitney Wilkinson from USU Public Relations and Marketing, we organized a Design an Ice Cream compet...

Soils Judging Team Earns National Win

Something about a virtual national competition’s awards ceremony presented via Zoom feels a bit anti-climactic … until your team wins. Members of Utah State University’s soils judging team gathered in the Agricultural Sciences and Research Building soils ...

Now Serving: 100 Years of Aggie Ice Cream

Happy Birthday, Aggie Ice Cream! January 21, 2022, marks the centennial anniversary of the quintessential Aggie treat, and to honor this milestone, USU will celebrate all year with new and returning flavors and special events.