This winter, IR-4 presented our annual SOAR Awards to two incomparable collaborators: Kimberly Nesci and Mark VanGessel. Two additional recipients received 2024 SOAR Awards and were presented in the fall: Rich Bonanno and Julie Coughlin.
The SOAR Award honors external partners who exemplify the areas of Service, Outreach, Altruism and Research, while supporting specialty crop growers and the mission of The IR-4 Project. This year’s winners have made significant contributions, not only to their individual research areas, but to the specialty crop industry as a whole. Learn more about the awardees below, from the perspectives of their nominators.
Kimberly Nesci, Director, Office of Pest Management Policy at the U.S. Department of Agriculture
Kimberly Nesci is an incredible ally to the specialty crop community, driven by a dedication to ensure that federal regulations reflect growers’ needs in the field, and are responsive to their feedback.
IR-4 Executive Director, Jerry Baron, presented Kimberly Nesci with her SOAR award in March of 2025 at the annual joint meeting of IR-4’s Project Management Committee and Commodity Liaison Committee in Washington, D.C. (pictured left).
SERVICE
Nesci has served the needs of specialty crop growers for her entire career, spanning her time at both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). As Director of the USDA Office of Pest Management Policy (OPMP), her partnerships with IR-4 and specialty crop stakeholders have significantly contributed to growers’ ability to access essential pest management tools across hundreds of crops.
OUTREACH
Grower and researcher outreach is fundamental to Nesci’s work. She consistently prioritizes outreach to bring specialty crop producers’ attention to changes in pesticide policy that may impact them, encouraging their input and engagement. Nesci actively advocates for minor crops in all of OPMP’s engagement with EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) to ensure that specialty crop producers’ voices are at the table and that their needs are not left behind. Under Nesci’s leadership, OPMP routinely engages with Extension experts, researchers, crop consultants, commodity organizations, and state agriculture departments. Nesci is an expert communicator and plain language translator of what EPA policy decisions will mean for growers on the ground.
ALTRUISM
Nesci fundamentally recognizes that market forces alone are not adequate to advocate for specialty crops and minor uses. Along with her routine IR-4 engagement, she has put specialty crops at the forefront of OPMP priorities. Nesci is firm in her stance that advocacy and information-gathering efforts aren’t determined by the relative clout of a given commodity group—but instead by the impacts to growers on an operational and personal level.
Nesci’s advocacy has resulted in positive regulatory outcomes for numerous minor uses. It has also increased awareness at the EPA of how growers may be impacted by Endangered Species Act strategy implementation, and how strategies might be amended to better reflect growers’ realities and limitations. For example, Nesci advocated for EPA to include additional mitigation options for runoff to reflect practices more common to specialty crops than for row crops—taking into account growers’ concerns and experiences in the field, and driving meaningful change.
RESEARCH
Under Nesci’s leadership, OPMP acts as an information conduit between researchers, regulators, and growers/stakeholders, running both ways. Fundamental to Nesci’s work is the collection of information from leading research and Extensi
on experts to inform EPA. Under OPMP’s Farm Bill authority, Nesci helps bring the best available science to EPA’s attention. She also engages closely with USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and university researchers to help ensure that pest management research is informed by regulatory needs, and vice versa.
These efforts by Nesci help IR-4’s regulatory partners understand the needs of growers in the field, make IR-4’s importance more visible to policymakers, and help deliver meaningful results for specialty crop producers. Through her service, outreach, altruism and research, Nesci is a stellar ally to the specialty crop community.
Thank you, Kimberly Nesci!
Dr. Mark VanGessel, Professor and Extension Specialist – Weed Science and Crop Management at the University of Delaware
Mark VanGessel is a legendary weed scientist and invaluable IR-4 collaborator who has earned national and international prominence for his excellence in research, and his ability to translate his findings into impactful education and management tactics. The IR-4 community has greatly benefited from VanGessel’s commitment to service, outreach, altruism and research.
VanGessel was presented with the 2024 IR-4 SOAR Award by Roger Batts (IR-4 Principal Biologist – Weed Scientist) at the Northeastern Weed Science Society meeting in January 2025 (pictured left).
SERVICE
VanGessel has served specialty crop growers and IR-4 in a multitude of ways—in the field and beyond. He has organized countless twilight tours, field days, and group events to educate growers, researchers, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) employees. As Delaware’s liaison with EPA, Mark has continually been involved in IR-4’s annual EPA/USDA specialty crop tours. He has also been a mentor to many students and emerging weed scientists.
OUTREACH
VanGessel has developed two websites designed to foster cooperation, communication and education: UD Weed Science and GROW-Integrated Weed Management. He has served as an editor, reviewer and panel member for numerous peer-reviewed journals. His list of Extension publications is extensive. He is also an editor and contributor to the Mid-Atlantic Commercial Vegetable Production Recommendations.
ALTRUISM
VanGessel is described as kind, patient, smart, and always willing to help a colleague or a grower in need. His expertise is vital to the young professionals he mentors, as few weed scientists today are solely focused on specialty crops. He is known for being generous with his guidance—always going above and beyond. Colleagues also note that VanGessel has spent significant time and resources addressing the pest management questions of Delmarva Peninsula specialty crop growers, whether or not he’s been funded to explore those questions.
RESEARCH
VanGessel has conducted nearly 50 IR-4 trials, with 14 of those leading to registrations and about 15 more in the pipeline toward registration (and he has additional trials ongoing). Often, VanGessel has enhanced trials with additional treatments and/or crops, always willing to go the extra mile to meet growers’ needs. Notably, he has contributed data from trials he conducted independently of IR-4, to help obtain more pest control tools for specialty crop growers.
Specifically, VanGessel was the first to identify glyphosate-resistant horseweed in Delaware, and he developed innovative strategies to manage it. He also tackled other difficult weeds like Palmer amaranth, Texas panicum, tall waterhemp, and common ragweed.
IR-4 celebrates VanGessel’s leadership in the weed science field and his vital role in the specialty crop community. His work clearly exemplifies the spirit of the SOAR Award through his service, outreach, altruism and research.
Thank you, Mark VanGessel!
For more team acknowledgments, visit the IR-4 Awards page.