Professor Jennifer MacAdam Named a Fellow of Two Professional Societies

in brief Professor Jennifer MacAdam Named By Madison Leak

Fellow of Two Professional Societies

Jennifer MacAdam, professor of plant physiology and forage production in the Department of Plants, Soils and Climate has in the past few months been named a fellow of both the American Society of Agronomy and the Crop Science Society of America (CSSA). Fellowship in a scientific society is a remarkable professional achievement that recognizes outstanding contributions in a member’s area of specialization, research, teaching, Extension, service or administration.

“Being named a fellow is very significant and it’s a true honor to be recognized by my peers for my contributions to our industry” MacAdam said.

MacAdam earned her bachelor’s degree in agronomy from Missouri State University before pursuing master’s and doctoral degrees at the University of Missouri— Colombia. She continued her research there before accepting a research and teaching position at Utah State University in 1991.

Among the highlights on the sizable list of her accomplishments, MacAdam has served as a board representative of the CSSA. In 2009, she published a best-selling book in life sciences: Structure & Function of Plants, an overview of the anatomy and physiology of plants. She has authored 88 refereed book chapters, journal articles, proceedings papers, and Extension bulletins. She chaired CSSA’s Forage and Grazinglands Division and was an associate editor of both Crop Science and the Agronomy Journal.

Nominating materials said of MacAdam, “It is indeed rare for a plant physiologist to bridge the science between plant function at a basic level and animal function at a practical level, she has done so with her work on non-fibrous carbohydrates.”

MacAdam began her career at USU studying the effects of frost on pasture grasses at Utah Agricultural Experiment Station research farms throughout the state and continues to focus on forages today. Some of her notable research includes studying the effects of cooler, higher climates on alfalfa hay quality. MacAdam found that warm days and cool nights in the Intermountain West allow alfalfa to grow with less fiber and lignin, making it easier to digest and providing higher energy levels. Her work has also demonstrated that tannin-containing legumes in cows’ diets increase organic milk production and has benefits for beef finishing as well. She is also involved in research on maximizing forage production and quality while carefully managing water used for irrigation.

“We’re working on a study with reduced-lignin, Round-up ready alfalfa,” MacAdam said. “Our goal is to determine if we can graze beef on this strain of alfalfa, which would change the game when it comes to pasture-fed beef.” �

By Madison Leak Student Wins International Research Award

Animal science Ph.D. candidate Jacob Keim was awarded first place in the International Embryo Technology Society’s Graduate Student Competition for his presentation on the effect of cytokine supplemented maturation medium on bovine somatic cell nuclear transfer embryo development.

Keim came to Utah State University in 2017 after completing his undergraduate degree at Brigham Young University-Idaho, and was interested in cloning research. He joined the Ph.D. program in animal science/reproduction and development