Natalie Lounsbury

Natalie is a USDA-NIFA postdoctoral fellow at the University of New Hampshire studying cropping systems ecology. She got her start in agriculture nearly two decades ago as a farm apprentice and has been working “in the field” ever since as a farm manager, farm inspector, and researcher. In just that time, increasing weather variability has made the status quo of farming even less sustainable and the need for more resilient cropping systems paramount. By working with farmers and studying cover cropping and reduced tillage, she strives to provide the data and information that farmers need to implement management practices that protect waterways, conserve soil, and reduce the risks inherent to farming in a changing climate. She is hopeful that we can find better ways to farm and distribute food that will fill everyone’s tables with nutritious and delicious sustenance while not degrading our environment. She has a lot of faith in legumes. She loves digging holes with an auger to check out the soil, and believes "dirt" is a dirty word (it's soil!). She received a B.A. from Cornell University and an M.S. in soil science from the University of Maryland.