The American Society of Agronomy designates just 0.3% of its members as Fellows – the highest recognition the society offers its members. In November 2025, Department of Agronomy and Horticulture professor Patricio Grassini joined this prestigious group of fellows.
“It's a mix of curiosity, hard work and passion that took me here,” Grassini said. “This is kind of a consequence of all that.”
Kenneth Cassman, emeritus professor in the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, nominated Grassini for the fellowship. Grassini has been a member of the society since 2007, but he never expected his work would garner the national and international recognition that it has.
“I never think about awards or papers or anything,” Grassini said. “I always put a lot of patience in what I'm doing and I'm very lucky because every day I have to wake up to work on something that I like, you know, and that's the best thing that can ever happen to someone.”
His work is a burden of love, and he has excelled in his career because of his patience, diligence and curiosity. He is driven by passion, and Grassini says passion generates high quality work.
Grassini has loved plants since he was very young, and that love has consistently guided his career. He knew he wanted to study a biological science at a university, but he also knew he wanted to study something that would make an impact.
“That took me to agronomy because yes, you are doing research for the sake of pushing the boundary of knowledge, but also, you're pushed to make concrete decisions all the time,” he said. “Especially when you're talking with a farmer, all this basic knowledge needs to translate into a better decision, something that will have an impact on the pocket of the farmer that you work with or have a positive outcome in terms of productivity or environmental performance.”
After nearly 20 years of working as an agronomist, Grassini attests that the best part of working in agronomy is that the work challenges him. Solving agronomic problems often leads to more questions than answers, and working alongside ‘brilliant’ students and faculty members means he is always learning new things.
“Every day there are new questions, and every time you discover something new, there are more questions to answer,” Grassini said. “I guess that process really motivated me to become an agronomist, and that's what motivates me every morning to wake up and come here.”
Grassini’s research, publications, service and awards earned him recognition as an American Society of Agronomy Fellow, but the award does not mark the end of his impact. He is currently working on several projects designed to serve farmers worldwide.
He is the principal investigator of an international project called the Global Yield Gap Atlas, which is seeking to understand the potential for various crops to produce food around the world. The atlas estimates the yield potential, yield gaps and water productivity, nutrient requirements and the gaps between actual and potential yield for major cropping systems. Grassini has been leading this project for more than a decade.
Part of this project is learning how nutrients that have not historically limited crop productivity, like sulfur and potassium, are becoming increasingly limiting to crop productivity on a global scale.
“We're trying to map where those limitations or deficiencies are the largest ones,” Grassini said.
Another major project Grassini is working on is helping Nebraska farmers increase yields and profits through individualized experiments. He is conducting nearly 40 experiments in farmers’ fields this year alone to individually assess farmers’ needs. These projects cover a wide array of issues, including examining new ways to cost-effectively increase yields, assessing input efficiency and addressing emerging threats, like potassium deficiencies.
“And I think that in the context of shrinking profits, as is the case this year, that kind of research is very relevant, so trying to understand what we can do for farmers in order they can maintain or increase current yields, but making more efficient use of inputs and even reducing them if needed – I think that's highly relevant,” Grassini said.
Grassini aspires for his research to have a worldwide impact, addressing global issues related to crop use and sustainability to address environmental challenges and meet the growing demand for food that will accompany a rising population. However, he values local research just as much, and appreciates the opportunity he has as a Nebraska agronomist to have a direct impact on farmers in his community.
“It's good to conduct kind of top-down research, but it’s also very important that you keep a foot on the ground and keep doing research that is directly connected with farmers' realities so that you don't fly too high or get disconnected from reality,” Grassini said.
