More than a national meeting
The theme of this year’s meeting is “Communication and public engagement for healthy people and a healthy planet.” In keeping with this important theme, Sunday night’s opening keynote speaker will be Richard Harris, a veteran National Public Radio science correspondent. The title for his talk is “Conveying the Truth in a World of Doubt.” It has never been more urgent that our members and staff go the extra mile to communicate good science to the public.
Jo Handelsman presenting “Soil Erosion and Public Engagement” at the SSSA Plenary/Nyle C. Brady Frontiers of Soil Science Lectureship on Monday, 7 November.
Brady Deaton presenting “Institutional Alertness and Research on Land Use and Drinking Water Quality” as the ASA Plenary/E.T. & Vam York Distinguished ASA Lectureship on Tuesday, 8 November.
Jessica B. Harris presenting “Same Boat Different Stops” Culinary and Connections in the African Atlantic World” as the CSSA Plenary/Betty Klepper Endowed Lectureship on Wednesday, 9 November.
These plenary speakers will be joined by many other speakers, including students who will make their first professional presentation and distinguished professors who may be making their 100th professional presentation. Special presenters will help members further explore the theme of communication and public engagement, including Tamar Haspel, who writes the award-winning column for The Washington Post titled “Unearthed.”
What else can you expect at the Annual Meeting? Connection with thousands of attendees interested in the sciences of agriculture and the environment. You can take advantage of the information presented at 1,800 talks and 1,400 poster sessions. Maybe take one of the eight tours and nine workshops or attend one of our many hosted social events. We have workshops on nutrient management planning; civic engagement; federal science policy engagement; our ongoing diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts; and six other areas.
Connect with Exhibitors, Future Collaborators, and Funding Agencies
In the exhibit hall, you can meet with the 70 exhibitors of scientific or agricultural equipment and book publishers and more at our tradeshow; interact with all aspects of your Society membership, including our science policy group in the Society Center; and look for an internship, graduate student position, post-doc opportunity, or a job on a government, university, or private-sector team. And be sure to check out the juried Art Show, centered around the theme of “Communicating Science through Art.” It’s a special, interactive event that should be fun for all attendees. Full programming can be viewed at acsmeetings.org/program.
Connecting with future collaborators is one of the many positive outcomes of attending the ASA, CSSA, and SSSA Annual Meeting. Use keywords to search the program online or in the app for talks and posters related to what you want to do; you may even find a new collaborator at a poster. Many people talk with potential collaborators during their free time at the meeting. Make a plan to get the most out of your meeting interactions. Although it is common to run into people between talks or at posters for quick chats that may spark new projects and collaborations, you can also use the online program or app to see if your colleagues are attending and make plans to connect. Download the app at acsmeetings.org/scisoc-mtg-app.
Many government funding agency representatives will be featured at two sessions at the Annual Meeting. Leaders at USDA, DOE, and NSF will present at the session “Ongoing and Emerging Federal Funding Opportunities for Agronomy, Crops, and Soil Science Researchers.” Additionally, program officers from several federal funding agencies will be in the Society Center for the “Federal Funding Corner” networking reception on Monday afternoon. Since the theme of this year’s meeting is communication, it’s best to keep in mind that some funding agencies such as the NSF and DOE might not use the same labels or vocabulary that we do to describe our work, so think more broadly about what you do and what it might be called in interdisciplinary teams. New terminology or even buzzwords may be trending as well, which you will want to be aware of. For example, the earth’s surface, where many of us work, is now being called the “critical zone,” and donors may use the terms biogeochemistry and hydrobiology (or other combinations of biology, chemistry, physics, etc.) to understand “surficial processes” affecting soil, plant, and animal life.
Limited Virtual Option Available
If you are not able to attend the Annual Meeting in person, there is a limited virtual option available. The limited virtual option is a limited version of our in-person meeting and includes access to recordings of the Opening Keynote and ASF Lectureship Series along with internationally contributed virtual oral and poster presentations. You can register for this and the in-person meeting at acsmeetings.org/register.
As you can see, the Societies supply many ways to connect you to science and each other. Check out agronomy.org, crops.org, soils.org, and acsmeetings.org for more information on membership benefits or to become a member.
Other Events to Consider Attending
In addition to the International Annual Meeting, our three individual organizations have other events during the year that you should consider in the future. We list a few of them below; visit our Society websites for a more complete list.
The Sustainable Agronomy Conference provides Certified Crop Advisers the opportunity to fully understand and implement sustainable agronomy. This meeting is targeted toward decision support and execution. The speakers have a good understanding of the why and how to implement sustainable agronomy. The 2022 meeting was held virtually in July and August. See a recap of this year’s conference in this issue (p. 34) and visit the website for more information: www.agronomy.org/meetings/sustainable-agronomy.
The ASA Southern Branch Meeting, representing 15 U.S. states and territories, will be held 2–6 Feb. 2023 in Oklahoma City, OK in conjunction with the Southern Association of Agricultural Scientists (SAAS) Meeting. More information and upcoming deadlines can be found at www.agronomy.org/membership/branches/southern.
A 2024 SSSA Summer Conference will be held 10–12 June 2024. It will be a specialized soils conference with the theme of “Common Ground: Soils Beyond Borders.” The event will draw in other organizations and be held in a unique meeting format open to all interested participants. The conference will be held at the Caribe Hilton in San Juan, Puerto Rico and will include tours on the island. Learn more at sacmeetings.org.
The Western Society of Crop Science (WSCS) Meeting will be held in June of 2023. The WSCS represents 29 states and territories in Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. See its website for more information at www.crops.org/membership/branches/wscs.
The Northeastern Plant, Pest, and Soils Conference brings people together in entomology, plant pathology, weeds, horticulture, agriculture, agronomy, and soil science to share ideas and results and promote educational programs and sound scientific solutions for the Northeastern region of the U.S. The next conference will be in January of 2023. For more information, visit www.crops.org/membership/branches/northeastern.
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