ennifer will provide leadership in developing, managing and directing a comprehensive and integrated technical soil services program for Wisconsin. She will also serve as the state liaison with National Cooperative Soil Survey (NCSS) cooperators and be the NRCS resource for leading soil science in Wisconsin to NRCS customers, partners and staff.
Smith is a soil scientist with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Master’s in Geography with an emphasis in soils from Northern Illinois University. She has over 17 years of multi-state experience as a soil scientist, both in the private and public sectors.
Jennifer began her career with the NRCS in 2010 as a MLRA soil scientist in Aurora, Illinois, where one of the unique opportunities she had was mapping natural and urban soils in Chicago and surrounding communities in Cook County, Illinois.
In 2012 and 2013, she completed a mapping detail in Crow Wing County, Minnesota. In 2013, she accepted a Resource Soil Scientist position with Minnesota NRCS providing technical soil services and conducting on-site field investigations for soil health, engineering, conservation and management practices. Since 2015, she has also served as the Upper-Midwest Representative on the National Technical Committee for Hydric Soils.
Jennifer looks forward to sharing her passion for helping others understand soils and how land-use management impacts soil properties as the new Wisconsin State Soil Scientist. Please join us in welcoming her to the Wisconsin conservation team!
