Anna Cates

Assistant Extension Professor
[email protected]
612-625-3135
S225 Soils Building

1529 Gortner Ave
St Paul, MN 55108
United States

Anna's Google Scholar Profile
MN Soil Health on Twitter
Education
  • MS, University of Wisconsin - Madison
  • PhD, University of Wisconsin - Madison
External Affiliations

Minnesota Office for Soil Health 
Water Resources Center 

Areas of Interest

Soil Health, Soil Carbon, Soil Organic Matter Pools, Soil Aggregation, Cropping Systems

Biography

Anna Cates is Minnesota’s first State Soil Health Specialist in the MN Office for Soil Health (MOSH). MOSH is dedicated to improving soil health in Minnesota by working with farmers and conservation professionals. Anna’s research focuses on soil organic matter cycling and storage in a variety of cropping systems. She received a PhD in Agronomy and an MS in Soil Science and Agroecology from University of Wisconsin-Madison. 

Select Publications

  • West, Jaimie R., Anna M. Cates, Matthew D. Ruark, Leonardo Deiss, Thea Whitman, and Yichao Rui. "Winter rye does not increase microbial necromass contributions to soil organic carbon in continuous corn silage in North Central US." Soil Biology and Biochemistry 148 (2020): 107899.
  • Cates, Anna M., Michael J. Braus, Thea L. Whitman, and Randall D. Jackson. "Separate drivers for microbial carbon mineralization and physical protection of carbon." Soil Biology and Biochemistry 133 (2019): 72-82.
  • Cates, Anna M., and Randall D. Jackson. "Cover crop effects on net ecosystem carbon balance in grain and silage maize." Agronomy Journal 111, no. 1 (2019): 30-38.
  • Cates, Anna M., Matthew D. Ruark, A. Stuart Grandy, and Randall D. Jackson. "Small soil C cycle responses to three years of cover crops in maize cropping systems." Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 286 (2019): 106649.
  • Cates, Anna M., Gregg R. Sanford, Laura Ward Good, and Randall D. Jackson. "What do we know about cover crop efficacy in the North Central United States?." Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 73, no. 6 (2018): 153A-157A.
  • Cates, Anna M., and Matthew D. Ruark. "Soil aggregate and particulate C and N under corn rotations: responses to management and correlations with yield." Plant and Soil 415, no. 1-2 (2017): 521-533.
  • Cates, Anna M., Matthew D. Ruark, Janet L. Hedtcke, and Joshua L. Posner. "Long-term tillage, rotation and perennialization effects on particulate and aggregate soil organic matter." Soil and Tillage Research 155 (2016): 371-380.