35838 120th Street
Waseca, MN 56093
United States
Ph.D., Agronomy, University of Nebraska-Lincoln (1994)
M.S., Agronomy, University of Missouri-Columbia (1991)
B.S., Integrated Pest Management, University of Minnesota-St. Paul (1988)
A.A.S., Agriculture, University of Minnesota Technical College, Waseca (1986)
Areas of Interest
- Annual and perennial cropping systems
- Long-term research networks
- Cropping system resiliency/stability
- Cover crops
- Winter annual oilseed crops
- Weed management
Biography
Gregg is an Associate Professor in the Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics at the University of Minnesota. He specializes in annual and perennial cropping systems with a focus on maximizing productivity, efficiency, and ecosystem services. Gregg’s work emphasizes applied production strategies that are designed around multi-value outcomes.
Research
A primary goal of the SROC agronomy research and outreach program is to improve the efficiency, profitability, and resiliency of annual and perennial cropping systems. Our program explores applied production strategies that provide multi-value outcomes to improve the economic and environment value of agriculture.
Our current projects investigate:
- Cropping system resiliency and stability over time and locations
- Understanding trade-offs between control of late-emerging weed species and use of cover crops in MN
- Winter annual oilseed cover crop establishment and yield
- Cover crops to enhance soil properties and water quality
- Corn and soybean herbicide evaluations
- Minnesota Corn Performance Testing
Websites of interest:
- Minnesota Long-Term Agricultural Research Network (https://ltarn.cfans.umn.edu)
- Forever Green Initiative – oilseed and other crops (https://www.forevergreen.umn.edu)
- Cover Crop Research (https://mosh.umn.edu/management/minnesota-cover-crop-research)
- UofM Extension Cover Crops (https://extension.umn.edu/soil-and-water/cover-crops)
Select Publications
Peer-Reviewed Publications (recent 4 years)
Black, Katie L., Gregg A. Johnson, Samantha S. Wells, Axel Garcia y Garcia, Jacob M. Jungers, and Jeffrey S. Strock. 2024. Effects of Landscape Position on Perennial Biomass and Food Crop Performance in Buffer Areas. Ecosphere 15(7): e4908. https://doi.org/10. 1002/ecs2.4908
Cubins, J.A., S. Wells, G. Johnson, K.L. Black, J. Perez, A. Gonch, F. Forcella, and R.W. Gesch. 2024. Stover removal has minimal impact on pennycress seeded into standing corn. Crop Sci. 64(3):1901-1909
Tangen, B., A.M. Cates, J.A. Vetsch, G.A. Johnson, J.S. Strock, A.L. Daigh, and C.L. Philips. 2024. Soil health system impacts on dynamic soil hydraulic functions before and after rainfall. Soil Tillage Res. Submitted.
Cubin, J., S. Wells, G. Johnson, and R. Gesch. 2024. Agronomic and economic trade-offs of integrating camelina into a corn-soybean rotation. Agron. J. Submitted
Cubins, J.A., J.O. Eckberg, A. Garcia y Garcia, G.A. Johnson, J. Wiersma, and S. Wells. 2024. Yield and forage characteristics of winter rye cultivars for us within the Upper Midwest. Crop Sci. Submitted.
Liu, S., H. Rusch, G. Johnson, and A. Garcia y Garcia. 2024. Water use of cover crops in rainfed agroecosystems of a northern region. Agron. J. Submitted.
Bybee-Finley, K.A., et al. 2024. Rotational complexity increases cropping system yields under poorer growing conditions. One Earth. Submitted.
Ley, E., G. Johnson, S. Wells, R. Becker, L. Stahl, R. Miller, and D. Sarangi. 2023. Residual herbicides in corn and their effect on fall-planted cover crop species. Agrosystems, Geosciences, and Environment, 6:e20446. https://doi.org/10.1002/agg2.20446
Cubins, J.A., S. Wells, R.W. Gesch, G.A. Johnson, W. Maninder, R. Chopra, M.D. Marks, R. Swenson, K. Frels. 2023. Harvest aids did not advance maturity of non-shatter pennycress. Submitted. Crop Sci. 63(4):2465-2474.
Rabin, K.C., G.A. Johnson, J.S. Strock, N. Jordon, A. Garcia y Garcia. 2023. Influence of tillage and cover crop mixtures interseeded in maize and soybean. Agron. J. 115(3): 1188-1201.
Black, K.L., S. Wells, G.A. Johnson, W.F. Lazarus, and A. Kraus. 2023. Interseeding wide-row corn with forage cover crops: investigating system potential for expanded Economic Opportunities in corn production systems. Agronomy 2023, 13, 307. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13020307
Liptzin, D., et al. 2023. An evaluation of nitrogen indicators for soil health in long-term agricultural experiments. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. 87(4):868-884.
Peng, Y., et al. 2023. Maximizing soil organic carbon stocks under cover cropping: insights from long-term agricultural experiments in North America. Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 356:108599.
Liptzin, D., et al. 2022. An evaluation of soil indicators of soil health in long-term agricultural experiments. Soil Biol. Biochem. 172:108708.
Contribution: data acquisition, writing – review and editing.
Bagnall, D.K. et al. 2022. Selecting soil hydraulic properties as indicators of soil health: measurement response to management and site characteristics. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. 86(5):1206-1226
Rieke, E.L. et al. Linking soil microbial community structure to potential carbon mineralization: a continental scale assessment of reduced tillage. Soil Biol. Biochem. 168:108618.
Rieke, E.L. et al. Evaluation of aggregate stability methods for soil health. 2022. Geoderma. 428:116156
Cubins, J.A., S. Wells, G.A. Johnson, M.K. Walia, T. McKay, R. Swenson, J. M.F. Johnson, and R.W. Gesch. 2022. Camelina impact on soil nutrients, carbon dioxide efflux, and soil carbon within the corn-soybean rotation. About to be submitted
Bagnall, D.K. et al. 2021. Predicting effects of soil organic carbon on plant available water. Soil Sci Soc Am. Submitted
Rabin, KC, G. Johnson, J. Strock, N. Jordon, J. Strock, and A. Garcia y Garcia. 2022. Influence of tillage and cover crop mixtures interseeded in maize and soybean. Agron. J. Submitted
Cubins, J.A., Samantha S. Wells, Maninder K. Walia, Russ W. Gesch, Roger Becker,
Frank Forcella, Robert D. Gardner, Gregg A. Johnson, Donald L. Wyse. 2021. Harvest attributes and seed quality predict physiological maturity of pennycress. Crops and Products. Ind. Crops and Prod. 176:114355
Gamble, J., G. A. Johnson, D. L. Wyse, D. A. Current, D. S. Zamora, and C. C. Sheaffer. 2020. Alley cropping impacts perennial bioenergy crop root biomass distribution, carbon and nutrient stocks. Agron. J. 112:3718-3732.
Rusch, Hannah L.; Jeffrey A. Coulter, Julie M. Grossman; Gregg A. Johnson, Paul M. Porter, and Axel Garcia y Garcia. 2020. Towards sustainable maize production in the U.S. upper Midwest with interseeded cover crop. PLoS ONE 15(4): e0231032. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0231032
Joshi, V.R., K.R. Thorp, J.A. Coulter, G.A. Johnson, P.M. Porter, J.S. Strock, and A. Garcia y Garcia. 2020. Improving site-specific maize yield estimation by integrating satellite multispectral data into a crop model. Agron. J. 9(11):[719]. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy9110719