The Team
THE TEAM
Phillip Alberti, M.S.
Research Program Manager
Department of Horticulture
As Research Program Manager for the Ellison lab, my focus is to coordinate lab, greenhouse, and field research activities. In addition to coordinating hemp variety evaluations and production research trials, my role prioritizes grower-cooperator participation and digital outreach strategies including the Midwestern Hemp Database and Cultivar Check programs.
Dr. Amaya Atucha
Associate Professor
Department of Horticulture
My research program focuses on fruit crop physiology and production of temperate fruit crops, including cranberries, cold climate grapes, apples, berry crops, and other specialty crops. The goal of my extension program is to generate and provide research-based information that improves crop production and profitability of the Wisconsin fruit industry.
Jerry Clark, M.S., CCA
Agricultural Educator
Chippewa County
My research and extension programming in new crops focuses on malting barley, hemp, and hops. I primarily investigate production practices such as variety performance and fertility and fungicide applications. Educational outreach is provided through workshops, field days, and publications.
chippewa.extension.wisc.edu/fact-sheets/
jerome.clark@wisc.edu
Dr. Jed Colquhoun
Professor
Department of Horticulture
My research and outreach are focused on commercial specialty crop production. I also serve as the Wisconsin IPM Program Director. Our program’s work is centered at the crossroads of productive agricultural systems and resilient natural resources, including diversification of our cropping systems in ways that are economically solvent and protect vital resources like water.
Dr. Julie Dawson
Associate Professor
Department of Horticulture
My research program is focused on diversified farm and food enterprises serving regional markets. Our Seed-to-Kitchen project uses participatory trials and plant breeding to identify varieties of many different specialty crops that are adapted to the Upper Midwest and have excellent flavor. I also collaborate on breeding programs with American hazelnuts and food-grade small grains.
seedtokitchen.horticulture.wisc.edu
dawson.horticulture.wisc.edu
dawson@hort.wisc.edu
Dr. Shelby Ellison
Assistant Professor
Department of Horticulture
My primary research interest is preserving, characterizing, and utilizing genetic diversity in alternative crops to meet the needs of Wisconsin farmers. I am also interested in how human interactions with plants, through domestication and breeding, have altered the plant genome and how we can use these selection signatures to trace domestication and improvement throughout history.
alternativecrops.horticulture.wisc.edu/
slrepinski@wisc.edu
Jason Fischbach, M.S.
Outreach Specialist
As an Outreach Specialist with UW-Extension, I work to develop dual purpose agricultural production systems that provide income for farmers while also protecting soil and water quality. My primary focus is on hazelnuts, where I co-lead the Upper Midwest Hazelnut Development Initiative, which seeks to provide improved hazelnut germplasm for growers while helping them build production, processing, and market development capacity.
Ann Kowenstrot, M.S.
Agricultural Educator
Racine and Kenosha Counties
As the new Diversified Vegetable and Emerging Crops Educator for Racine and Kenosha Counties, I look forward to connecting with producers and growers in the state. I am currently involved with honeyberries and rhubarb in Wisconsin. I work to support and community-driven research and outreach.
https://racine.extension.wisc.edu/
https://kenosha.extension.wisc.edu/agriculture/
kowenstrot@wisc.edu
Steffen Mirsky
Outreach Program Coordinator
As Emerging Crops Outreach Program Coordinator with UW-Extension, I work on the commercialization of emerging crops throughout the state by providing educational programming and support for stakeholders in the supply chains, from researchers and farmers to processors, distributors, and retailers.
Dr. Valentin Picasso
Assistant Professor
Department of Agronomy
I am working to develop sustainable forage and perennial grain systems that will build resilience to climate change. One main focus is developing dual-purpose perennial cropping systems, such as Kernza® intermediate wheatgrass intercropped with legumes, which can be grazed for forage and produce grain for food (beer and baked goods). I also teach undergraduate and graduate courses in international agriculture, agroecology, and forages.
foragesandperennialgrains.agronomy.wisc.edu/
picassorisso@wisc.edu