Reduced Tillage Project Partner Awarded Alliance for Science Farmer of the Year

January 14, 2021/Agnes Guillo

The Cornell Small Farms Program is excited to share this year’s recipient of the Alliance for Science Farmer of the Year award, Rick and Laura Pedersen!

Rick has been an important part of the Cornell Small Farms Program community for a long time. Almost six years ago, he helped launch the Reduced Tillage in Organic Vegetables project. He has also served as a farmer advisor and teamed up with ten other innovative and successful organic farmers in a three-day workshop intensive to help streamline the transition to a reduced tillage practice for other farmers. During this time, he brought an important perspective from a large-scale operation and focused on systemic changes needed for adopting zone tillage. We are thankful for his enthusiasm to share the importance of building soil health in agricultural operations. 

The Alliance for Science established the Farmer of the Year award in 2015 to recognize small-scale farmers from around the world, and has previously been awarded to farmers in Burkina Faso, Nigeria, and Uganda. 

To learn more about the Pedersens, their small farm operation, and their response to food insecurity during the Covid-19 pandemic please visit the Alliance for Science website. 

Agnes Guillo

Agnes is a Senior in CALS studying Animal Science with minors in Spanish and Entomology. Hailing from Brooklyn, NY, Agnes has been interested in agriculture and small-scale farming from a young age. Since arriving at Cornell, she has spent much of her time working with sheep, including most recently a research project investigating sheep grazing on solar panel arrays. More broadly, Agnes is interested in community-based farming, agriculture education and outreach, and supporting Spanish speaking farmers.
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