People

Research

Walter Goldstein: Walter Goldstein grew up and received his education in Washington State but now lives in Wisconsin. He has bred corn under organic conditions since 1989. He was Research Director of Michael Fields Agricultural Institute for 25 years. He has recently begun a research and education organization called the Mandaamin Institute for breeding nutritionally valuable crops and promoting healthy farming practices.

Kevin Montgomery: Kevin Montgomery is a consultant in central Illinois. His expertise spans corn breeding with emphasis on yield limiting factors such as plant diseases and insects.

Richard Pratt: Dr. Pratt is the Director of the Cropping Systems Research Innovation Program at New Mexico State University. He has been conducting research in corn breeding and genetics for over 27 years, previously at Ohio State University. His breeding program is focused primarily on varieties of corn that are adapted to sustainable cropping systems and are well suited for food products.

Paul Scott: Paul Scott is a Research Geneticist with the USDA ARS in Ames Iowa where he has worked for the past 18 years. His work focuses on improving corn for niche markets such as organic corn.

Margaret Smith:  Margaret Smith is a corn breeder in Plant Breeding and Genetics at Cornell University. Her program focuses on breeding for disease and insect resistance, adaptation to stress environments, and breeding varieties for organic management systems.

Lois Grant, Research Associate Professor, New Mexico State University

Amol Nankar, Ph.D. student, New Mexico State University

Randall Montgomery, Part-time technician and graduate student, New Mexico State University

Extension

Bryan Brunner: Bryan Brunner is a Professor a the University of Puerto Rico in Mayaguez. He carries out research and communicates information about organic agriculture in tropical farming systems.

Participating Institutions

• USDA NIFA
• Practical Farmers of Iowa
• Mandaamin Institute
• USDA-ARS
• Montgomery Consulting
• New Mexico State University
• Cornell University
• University of Puerto Rico