Women In Agriculture

By Tatum Gogna

As we celebrate Women’s History Month this March, we reflect on how women’s roles in agriculture have changed. While once women mostly just worked hard planting seed and harvesting crops, their role has evolved to also helping shape innovation and resilience in agriculture today. This feature spotlights just a handful of women faculty members in the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology & Natural Resources and its Experiment Station and Extension units working in plant-focused disciplines. It provides a glimpse into their leadership and expertise cultivating the future of agriculture by driving cutting-edge research, mentoring the next generation of plant scientists, and supporting agricultural communities across Nevada and beyond.

Melinda Yerka

Assistant Professor Department of Agriculture, Veterinary & Rangeland Sciences; Experiment Station Yerka and her research team have unveiled 200 sorghum varieties that could be a gamechanger in the food, brewery, dairy feed and biofuel industry. Preliminary research underscores their exceptional drought tolerance, with some varieties also exhibiting record levels of protein and digestible starch.