Mark Van Horn

M.S. Degree in Plant Breeding and Pest Management

Mark recently retired from UC Davis. He was the director of the 20-acre Student Farm and taught courses in the Department of Plant Sciences. He guided the growth and development of the student farm program dedicated to experiential learning in agriculture, sustainability, the environment, food, nutrition, education and allied areas. His courses in the Department of Plant Sciences include sustainable agriculture, organic farming and food systems. He mentors dozens of students, including interns and graduate student researchers, each year. He has played key roles in the development of UC Davis’ major in sustainable agriculture and food systems. Van Horn has worked with numerous partners to help farmers increase the sustainability of their operations and to educate children and youth about agriculture, food, nutrition and sustainability. His publications focus on various aspects of sustainable and organic farming and sustainable agriculture education. In 2006, Van Horn and two colleagues hosted the first national conference on post-secondary sustainable agriculture education and he was a founding co-chair of the Sustainable Agriculture Education Association. Van Horn has several years of experience farming in California and the Midwest and MS degrees in plant breeding (University of Minnesota) and pest management (UC Davis).