Project Coordinators
David W. Wolfe
Professor, Lead-PI New York Soil Health
Phone: (607) 255-7888 | Email: dww5@cornell.edu
David Wolfe is Professor of Plant and Soil Ecology in the School of Integrative Plant Science (Horticulture Section) at Cornell University. Primary research interests and expertise include: soil and water conservation and management; plant stress physiology; and new tools for climate change adaptation and mitigation for managed and natural ecosystems.
Matt Ryan
Asst. Professor, Co-PI New York Soil Health
Phone: 607-255-4964 | Email: mrr232@cornell.edu
Matthew Ryan is an Assistant Professor of Sustainable Cropping Systems in the Section of Soil and Crop Sciences at Cornell University. He works with farmers, students, and other scientists to evaluate cropping system performance in terms of crop yield, profitability, environmental impact, and resilience.
Harold van Es
Professor, Co-PI New York Soil Health
Phone: 607-255-5629 | Email: hmv1@cornell.edu
Harold van Es is a Professor of Soil and Water Management with extension, research and teaching duties. He works on approaches to precision soil management, with current emphases on a holistic soil health management framework, and a computational tool for precision nitrogen management (Adapt-N) that was recently commercialized.
Cedric Mason
Research Support Specialist
Phone: 607-255-8641 | Email: cwm77@cornell.edu
Cedric Mason grew up in the Northeast U.S. and attended Franklin & Marshall College, where he completed a B.A. in Physics in 2003. Cedric has years of experience working directly on farms, specializing in organic fruits and vegetables, Christmas trees, and pastured beef cattle. An Ithaca, NY resident since 2011, Cedric earned a Ph.D in the department of Biological and Environmental Engineering at Cornell in 2016, where he conducted research on perennial bioenergy crops. Cedric joined the New York State Soil Health Initiative in 2017.
Kitty Gifford
Communications Specialist
Phone: 607-592-3062 | Email: kmg277@cornell.edu
Kitty Gifford is providing communications support for the New York Soil Health Project. She strategizes and executes a wide range of creative work to advance the initiative’s mission to facilitate farmer adoption of soil health practices.
New York Soil Health Collaborators
Cornell faculty and staff, including:
- Cornell Soil Health Assessment Lab
- Cornell Cooperative Extension
Government Agencies
- NYS Ag&Mkts
- USDA – NCRS
- NYS Soil and Water Conservation Districts
- NYS Dept of Environmental Conservation
Growers
Non-profits
- New York Farm Viability Institute (NYFVI)
- American Farmland Trust
- NE Organic Farmers Association — New York (NOFA-NY)
- The Nature Conservancy
- New York Farm Bureau
Ag & Supply Chain Businesses
- Ag Consulting Services (ACS)
- Dairy One
- WNY Crop Consultants
- AgriSeeds
- Kreher’s Poultry Fertilizer and Compost
New York Soil Health is supported through the New York State Environmental Protection Fund administered through the Department of New York Agriculture and Markets.