IFAS clover expert elected president of Crop Science Society of America
Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences professor Ken Quesenberry is embarking on a three-year stint at the helm of the Crop Science Society of America.
Starting in January, he’ll serve one year as president-elect, followed by a year as president and another as past president of the 4,000-member organization.
Quesenberry, whose research focuses on forage crop breeding, particularly with clover, said his focus for the next three years will be to try and help his organization boost undergraduate and graduate enrollment in crop science programs across the country.
“What I see for the future of agriculture…we have to figure out how to make ag and life science as attractive as medicine,” he said. “We need to convince young science oriented students that Crop Science is applied biology and figure out how to attract the best and brightest students to make that leap for that next green revolution.”
The CSSA is affiliated with American Society of Agronomy and the Soil Science Society of America. Together, the three groups are known as the Tri-Societies and share a headquarters and administrative support in Madison, Wis.
As global food issues become more critical, careers in crop sciences should become more attractive to students, he said.
“As foods get short, we become more important,” he said.
As president-elect, Quesenberry will spend the year planning the group’s annual conference, which will be held for the first time in conjunction with the Geological Society of America. And he’ll represent his organization at the International Crop Science Congress in Korea.
Quesenberry, a Kentucky native, is the second CSSA president elected while employed at UF (Dr. D. E. McCloud was president in 1970). He’s been at UF for 32 years and is a professor in the agronomy department.
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