Rachel L. Veenstra, Ph.D.

Current Appointment
Assistant Professor of Crop Science, Kansas State University Department of Agronomy
70% Teaching, 30% Research

Professional Preparation
B.S. Environmental Plant Science - Crop Science, Minors: Agronomy, Horticulture
Missouri State University, 2018

Ph.D. Agronomy, Crop Production, Dr. Ignacio Ciampitti
Dissertation: Drivers, development, and impact of tillering plasticity mechanisms for corn yield stability in Kansas environments
Kansas State University, 2022

Teaching Experience
Crops Judging and NACTA Team Coach

Wheat State Agronomy Club Advisor

AGRON 220 Crop Science, Kansas State University Department of Agronomy
Instructor of record

AGRON 350 Plant and Seed Identification, Kansas State University Department of Agronomy
Instructor of record

AGRON 220 Crop Science (TA) - FA 2019, FA 2021, SP 2022
Lab instructor of record
Dr. Kevin Donnelly

AGRON 360 Crop Growth and Development (TA) - FA 2020
Dr. Kraig Roozeboom

Research Experience
“Understanding the physiological tillering process in maize” 2019-2022
Dr. Ignacio Ciampitti, Kansas State University (Manhattan, KS)

“UAV imaging validation for grain sorghum yield predictions” 2018
Drs. Laura Mayor and David Hessel, Corteva Agriscience (Manhattan, KS)

“Horticultural production and farm management of fruit and vegetable crops” 2018
Dr. Andrew Thomas, University of Missouri Southwest Research Center (Mount Vernon, MO)

“Cattle forage nutrition considering the grass tetany ratio” 2018
Dr. Melissa Remley and Taylor Young, M.S., Missouri State University (Springfield, MO)

“Hydroponic production for resident dining halls on a university campus” 2017
Chartwells Dining Services, Missouri State University (Springfield, MO)

Extension Experience
2022 Kansas Soybean Management Schools – Facilitation

2020, 2022 Kansas Corn Management Schools – Facilitation and Presentations

2021, 2022 Kansas Corn Commission Seed to STEM – Speaker (Kansas MS and HS teachers)

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports – first author (see below)

Extension Bulletins – conceptualization, authoring, updating (see below)

Research promotion and online resource development (http://linktr.ee/rveenstra)
- Twitter (2021 Statistics) – Tweets: 907 | Impressions: 1,577,942 | Profile Visits: 168,715
- YouTube (2021 Statistics) – Videos: 18 (14 field/research, 2 promotional, 2 statistics/coding)
- Website (as of Jun. 2022) – Visitors: 3,805 | Reach: global | Blog: 49 reads/post

Publications
Veenstra, R. L., Messina, C. D., Berning, D., Haag, L. A., Carter, P., Hefley, T. J., Prasad, P. V. V., & Ciampitti, I. A. (2023). Corn yield components can be stabilized via tillering in sub-optimal plant densities. Frontiers in Plant Science, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2022.1047268.

Veenstra, R. L., Messina, C. D., Berning, D., Haag, L. A., Carter, P., Hefley, T. J., Prasad, P. V. V., & Ciampitti, I. A. (2023). Tiller biomass in low plant-density corn enhances transient C sink without direct harvest index detriment. Field Crops Research, 292, 108804. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2022.108804.

Veenstra, R. L., Messina, C. D., Berning, D., Haag, L. A., Carter, P., Hefley, T. J., Prasad, P. V. V., & Ciampitti, I. A. (2021). Effect of tillers on corn yield: Exploring trait plasticity potential in unpredictable environments. Crop Science, 61(5), 3660–3674. https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.20576.

Veenstra, R., Messina, C. D., Berning, D., Wallace, S., Legleiter, M., Haag, L., Prasad, P. V. V., & Ciampitti, I. A. (2022). “Corn Tiller Yield Contributions are Dependent on Environment: A 17 Site-Year Kansas Study.” Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports: Vol. 8: Iss. 4. https://doi.org/10.4148/2378-5977.8297

Veenstra, R., Messina, C. D., Berning, D., Wallace, S., Legleiter, M., Haag, L., Prasad, P. V. V., & Ciampitti, I. A. (2021). "Corn Tiller Yield Contributions and Ear Development in Low Plant Densities." Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports: Vol. 7: Iss. 5. https://doi.org/10.4148/2378-5977.8074

Veenstra, R., Messina, C., Haag, L., Prasad, P. V. V., and Ciampitti, I. A. (2020). "Tiller Contributions to Low-Density Corn Biomass and Yield." Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports: Vol. 6: Iss. 5. https://doi.org/10.4148/2378-5977.7919

KSRE MF3463 “Kansas Corn Yield Contest, High-Yield Management 2021” (First author) https://bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu/pubs/MF3463.pdf

KSRE MF3571 “Tillering Impacts on Corn Yields” (First author)
https://bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu/pubs/MF3571.pdf

KSRE MF3208 2021 Kansas Corn Management Guide (Co-author - “Tillering” section, since
updated)

Awards and Honors
CSSA-C3 Outstanding Paper 2022 (https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.20576)

National Corn Grower’s Association Research Ambassador (2022-23 term)

K-State Agriculture Dean and KSRE Director’s Award for Graduate Student Research

K-State Richard Elmore Brown Award for Graduate Student Teaching

1 st Place – CSSA Graduate Student Competition, International Annual Meeting

1 st Place – CSSA C-3 Ph.D. Student 5-Minute Rapid Presentation Competition

1 st Place – CSSA C-3 Ph.D. Student Poster Competition

K-State Irvin D. and Dora Mae Atkins Family Scholarship

NACTA Graduate Student Teaching Award

K-State Gamma Sigma Delta Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award

Kansas Corn Next Generation Scholarship

ASA-CSSA-SSSA Graduate Student Leadership Conference Nominee

K-State Schrader/Massier Graduate Excellence Fund in Agronomy Scholarship

Summa Cum Laude, Missouri State University (2018)