Pick Family Chair in Sustainable Cropping Systems appointed

Dr. Adrian Correndo joined the Ontario Agricultural College (OAC) as the new Pick Family Chair in Sustainable Cropping Systems in November. Based in the Department of Plant Agriculture, Dr. Correndo brings a wealth of global experience in agronomy and agricultural science to the University of Guelph and OAC, the university said in a release.

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This new chair position is funded by Martin and Denise Pick Family through a $2-million gift to the OAC, along with funding from OAC and an anonymous bequest.

Correndo’s academic career began in 2008 at the University of Buenos Aires where he studied agronomy, and continued working for a decade in soil fertility and crop nutrition at the Southern Cone Office of the former International Plant Nutrition Institute.

In 2018, he moved to the U.S. as a graduate research assistant while pursuing his Ph.D., and later as a postdoctoral-fellow in agronomy at Kansas State University. His doctoral research explored nitrogen in corn and soybean cropping systems.

In the release, Correndo said he sees “transdisciplinary research collaborations as crucial for this position. Sustainable cropping systems requires this integration of multiple areas of research. Agronomy brings us the core understanding, but identifying the best crop and soil management practices also requires exploring environmental, economics, and social dimensions.”

He said he sees “significant” value in both on-farm and long-term research trials. “On-farm trials are beneficial as they allow us to consider the actual variability that farmers deal with. Long-term trials allow us to examine the effect of time, which is critical to understand soil carbon trends and more. My vision is maintaining and leveraging the value and legacy of long-term trials, such as those located at the Elora Research Station, where management practices such as tillage, crop rotation, cover crops, and fertilization management are the focus of study.”