Agricultural companies are constantly searching for creative and knowledgeable students who are great advocates for agriculture. Kevin Falk from Iowa State University is the grand prize winner of the American Seed Trade Association‘s second annual “Better Seed, Better Life” student video contest, held in conjunction with the National Association of Plant Breeders and the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of American and Soil Science Society of America.
The 2018 contest theme was: “Rumor Has It.” University students — including both graduate and undergraduate — were asked to create videos to help set the record straight on a common misconception or myth associated with the seed industry and/or plant science. Kevin was honored during ASTA’s CSS 2018 & Seed Expo in Chicago.
Kevin is currently a Ph.D. candidate at Iowa State University focusing on soybean breeding. He holds a master’s in plant breeding from the University of Manitoba and worked in canola breeding programs at Monsanto and Bayer for five years prior to returning to pursue his PhD at Iowa State. He is one of five Ph.D. students in the Singh soybean breeding and plant phenomics group.
His Ph.D. work focuses around harnessing technology to develop high throughput phenotyping platforms to advance plant breeding. He enjoys playing hockey, kitesurfing, videography, and exploring new technology. Kevin is set to graduate in the coming months and is interested in science, agriculture, and using media to connect and communicate with the public.
Second and third place winners were Kshitij Khatri, University of Florida, and Nathalia Penna Cruzato, Texas A&M University. Videos were judged by an expert panel of volunteers from ASTA, NAPB and Tri-Societies; winning students received cash prizes.
