Nicole Fiorellino, Extension Agronomist
University of Maryland, College Park
“I started as the new Extension Agronomist in the Plant Science and Landscape Architecture department on July 2. I have grown up through the Land Grant University system, completing my B.S. in Anim
al Science at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ. I moved to Maryland in 2008 and received my M.S. in Animal and Avian Science and my Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Technology from University of Maryland. All of my academic advisors, including my undergraduate advisor, had research and extension appointments so I have extensive training in sharing pertinent research results with the agricultural community. I currently reside in Kent County with my husband, who has worked on his family’s dairy farm and owned a custom harvesting business. I am extremely fortunate that working alongside my husband, who has given me the opportunity to experience agriculture from the perspective of a producer. I know this experience has influenced how I interact with the agricultural community and my approach to research.
My research program will focus on performing producer-centered and producer-driven research with the goal of keeping Maryland farms productive. I will explore research questions that will help make Maryland farms more resilient and able to adapt to the ever-changing agricultural climate. However, I also want to explore research questions that farmers find personally relevant and important. I welcome research ideas from Extension agents and producers alike based on experiences they have had on their farms. While I am looking forward to maintaining much of the Agronomy Research program that Dr. Bob Kratochvil has successfully developed, I am also excited to branch into other areas of research that interest me, namely further exploring the adoption of precision agriculture technologies in our area. I firmly believe that collaboration is the key to success, especially as research funding seems to continue to decrease. I am excited to continue collaborations with researchers in the Delmarva Region. I also look forward to meeting with all of the county Agriculture Agents to learn more about the issues that affect farmers in their counties and how we can work together to address these issues. My email address is nfiorell@umd.edu and you can find me either at the Wye Research and Education Center at the Headquarters or on campus in the Research Greenhouse. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me, especially if you are inviting me to visit your county.”
