Rebekka recently completed a Master’s Degree (M.Sc.) in Biogeochemistry from Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon, USA. This knowledge builds directly on her B.S. in Environmental Sciences, which she received in 2006 from Northern Arizona University.

In pursuing her M.Sc., Rebekka focused on sustainable agriculture and food production systems in the US and Canada. She studied the nutrient dynamics of inter-seeding legumes with cereal crops. Her project focused on soil nutrient fluxes using PRS™-probes in dryland, till, and no-till wheat-pea production systems. The interdisciplinary program at Oregon State also enabled Rebekka to study the business structure behind two environmentally friendly agrarian groups that promote sustainable farming practices and third-party certification and traceability.

As R&D Co-ordinator, Rebekka wishes to aid decision makers; not only by helping them to employ PRS™ technology, but also by building connections between the mechanisms driving the soil biology, soil chemistry and the utility of the soil resource in the Ecosystem. She believes that her work at Western Ag Innovations Inc. is an opportunity to expand the use of soil quality improvement techniques and improve land management decisions.

1. Rieder, Rebekka. 2008. Connections between Science and Business to Increase Environmentally-Friendly Food Production. M.Sc. Thesis. Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon. Pg.1-89.

• 2008 Joint Annual Meeting of American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), Soil Science Society of America (SSSA), The Geological Society Of America (GSA), Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies (GCAGS), and Houston Geological Society (HGS)
• 2009 Annual Meeting of Ecological Society of America (ESA)
• 2009 International Annual Meeting of American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), and Soil Science Society of America (SSSA)