Andrew Margenot’s love of science, further motivated by international visits including working with subsistence farmers in Africa, led him to his current work in soil research and education. Margenot is an associate professor of soil science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Among other research projects aimed at improving the sustainability of Illinois agriculture, he is part of an in-depth project documenting and updating a century of soil samples collected in Illinois from the late 1800s to present day.
IFT: How did you choose this educational path and career?
MARGENOT: Like a lot of kids who don’t grow up on farms, I wasn’t aware of the opportunities in agriculture. In college, I was on track for medicine — a default for science majors. I realized I didn’t want to be inside all day. I majored in chemistry and figured that since agriculture is important, I could put that to use.
After Googling “soil chemistry” I somehow ended up at UC-Davis. It wasn’t until a couple years in, in 2014, that I got serious about it after my first of many trips to work in the tropics — specifically, East Africa. There they till by hand with a hoe and get 25-40 bushel per acre corn in a good season, and they feed their family off of this. Soils in this part of the world aren’t good, and they can’t afford fertilizer. It’s like agriculture in the U.S. in the 1860s when 25 bushels per acre was normal and fertilizers were scarce at best. Seeing the reality of poor soil fertility impacting food security made quite the impression on me. That’s when it really sparked: I want to dedicate my life to this.
IFT: What is your role at the University of Illinois?
MARGENOT: On paper, I’m a tenured soil science faculty member working in research and Extension. In reality, I work on all things related to soils, the natural resource base of our state. As the quote inscribed on Davenport Hall on campus says, “The Wealth of Illinois is in her soil and her strength lies in its intelligent development.” That is very true — we are geologically blessed to have the best soil in the world right here in Illinois (and that includes southern Illinois too!).
Ultimately, I’m a public servant at a land-grant university in service of the agricultural sector. My job is to listen to farmers and address problems they face. And perhaps not offer solutions, but tradeoffs to tackle problems (there are rarely solutions, mostly trade-offs). I quantify things and put numbers on how tradeoffs would work, but I would never want to tell farmers what to do on their land. The information is there for them to use as they see fit.
I also educate non-farmers and do outreach to make sure the public and policymakers understand the complexity of farming. … For example, we cannot as a society criticize farmers about how they use nitrogen when we still have more to learn about the basic science of nitrogen.
IFT: What is something you would like farmers to know about your work?
MARGENOT: I want to work even more with farmers. We have been fortunate with IFB working with great people like Lauren Lurkins who connect my research team with farmers. We are always looking to work with more farmers. I’d also want farmers to know (and I think many are aware) that research is expensive. The farmer’s dollar in check-off programs for research, such as the Illinois Nutrient Research & Education Council or Illinois Soybean Association, makes a very tangible impact on bringing world-class research to our state’s agriculture.
IFT: What is one of the most memorable projects you have been part of?
MARGENOT: I would say an ongoing Illinois NREC-funded soil archives project. Their support has been critical for this once-in-a-lifetime chance to capitalize on a 120-plus-year old soil archive. Landowners and farmers can sample the same fields to use with that information. More on this project can be found here tinyurl.com/3pa4y885.
IFT: How did the soil archives project get started? Why is it important?
MARGENOT: When an older barn on campus was marked for demo, I was told to go check it out since there were “jars of dirt” stored inside. Well, I dropped in at 10 a.m. on a Sunday to see if there was anything worth saving. I ended up coming out of that barn at 6 p.m. Because in that barn, there were thousands of soil samples perfectly preserved in Mason jars, all over the state. Some went as far back to sampling dates of 1862 — Civil War era. … Because the jars have detailed notes on when and where the sample was taken, we can revisit locations and resample. In doing so, we can compare the past to present soil and understand quite a bit about how soils have changed over time.
IFT: Sometimes the goals of reaching the highest yields might be in contrast to sustainability — how do you unite those two aspects of your work?
MARGENOT: In some instances, there may be a tension between maximizing yield and sustainability. I do not think that these are inherently opposed. There are pathways where we can have our cake and our yield. There are ways to maximize yield and profitability and minimize impacts on the environment. Much of my group’s research with stakeholder groups such as Illinois Farm Bureau and Illinois Soybean Association seeks to understand how we can achieve these have-and-eat-cake situations and avoid the zero-sum game scenarios.
IFT: What do you think is next as a challenge and opportunity for Illinois agriculture?
MARGENOT: I think it’s high time we update the Illinois Agronomy Handbook for P, K and liming recommendations. P and K in particular haven’t received as much attention from researchers as nitrogen has. There needs to be the P and K version of the MRTN (Maximum Return to Nitrogen). With prices for phosphorus and potassium fertilizer having doubled in the last two years, there is now more than ever a need to think more about the economics of P and K inputs.
IFT: What is the best career or life advice have you been given?
MARGENOT: The best advice came from a family friend when I was leaving for grad school: “As you go forward, don’t forget your humanity.” He meant protecting the human spirit in the line of science I was about to embark on. Scientists often lose sight of the bigger context. To me today, this means remembering that sustainable agriculture is about rural communities of Illinois being able to drive economically and socially, not just biophysically on metrics like yields and water quality.
