Position Title
(Agronomy, Water Quality)
Farm Advisor
- Central Valley South
Michelle is the Delta Crops Resource Management Advisor serving San Joaquin, Sacramento, Yolo, Solano, and Contra Costa counties. Her educational background includes a B.S. in Crop Science and Management from U.C. Davis, and a M.S. and Ph.D. in Horticulture from Cornell University. At Cornell, her research focused on soil management in apple orchards. Michelle has also done research in Spain, Chile, and New Zealand studying olives, wine grapes, and kiwifruit, respectively. In her role as Delta farm advisor, she conducts a research and extension program that addresses agronomic crop production and water and soil resource management. Specific interests include variety evaluations in grain corn, small grains, and rice; cover cropping and soil health; and soil salinity management in Delta cropping systems.
Specialty: Crop Production, Soil and Water Resources, the Delta
Areas of Expertise
- Ph.D. Horticulture, Cornell University. 2010
- M.S. Horticulture, Cornell University. 2005
- B.S. Crop Science and Management, University of California, Davis. 2001
- Kanter, J., N. Clark, M.E. Lundy, V. Koundinya, M. Leinfelder-Miles, R. Long, S. Light, W. Brim-DeForest, B. Linquist, D. Putnam, R.B. Hutmacher, and C. Pittelkow (2021). "Top management challenges and concerns for agronomic crop production in California: Identifying critical issues for extension through needs assessment." Agronomy Journal
- Becker, T., T. Nelsen, M. Leinfelder-Miles, and M. Lundy (2020). "Differentiating between nitrogen and water deficiency in irrigated maize using a UAV-based multi-spectral camera." Agronomy 10: 1671-1692.
- Durand, J.R.; Bombardelli, F.; Fleenor, W.E.; Henneberry, Y.; Herman, J.; Jeffres, C.; Leinfelder–Miles, M.; Lund, J.R.; Lusardi, R.; Manfree, A.D.; Medellin–Azuara, J.; Milligan, B.; Moyle, P.B. (2020). "Drought and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, 2012-2016: environmental review and lessons lessons." San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Sciences 18(2
- Alfalfa and Forage Systems - Member
- Rice - Member
- Small Grain - Member
- Weed - Member