Our Mission
McGillicuddy Corrigan Agronomics was formed to provide unbiased, practical field
agronomic support and education to growers and Ag professionals. We see a need for basic
agronomic education for these individuals and feel we can fill the void, giving them a
stronger basis in which to build their agronomic ventures. MC Agronomics is lead by two
individuals with complementary skill sets, including expertise on soil mechanics, crop
physiology, pest management, and field research.
John McGillicuddy is an independent Agronomist based in Iowa City, Iowa. In
addition, John contracts with Wyffels Hybrids, Peterson Farms Seeds, and other
independent seed companies, providing technical support to their sales staffs. John was
previously under contract to American Agrisurance (AmAg), then the largest crop
insurance company in the US. His duties for AmAg included evaluating agronomic
techniques to reduce risk in cropping systems and serving as a technical advisor for
AmAg's agronomic, GPS and mapping services division. John also serves farmer clients
directly in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee, and is a Certified Crop
Advisor in Iowa.
John was educated in Chemistry at the University of Iowa and has been employed for 35
years in hybrid and fertility research, field agronomy, technical support, and weed
science in the upper Midwest and the Southwest. He has served as a regional development
agronomist for 2 seed companies and was the Director of Agronomic Research for IGF Crop
Insurance. John has contracted with companies and organizations including American
Cyanamid, Bayer Crop Science, NC+ Hybrids, Wyffels Seed, Monsanto, Wilbur Ellis, Boeing
Aerospace, The Independent Professional Seedsman Association, USDA/NRCS and the NASA
Satellite Remote Sensing Center.
John has been the keynote speaker for audiences of up to 1000 at numerous agronomic
conferences including Kansas State University's "Residue Management Conference" and
"Ag-Vision 2000 Conference", Texas A&M's "High Plains Irrigation Conference", The North
Dakota Corn Growers annual convention, Penn State University's "Professional Crop
Management Conference", and the "No-till on the Plains Conference".
Since 1993, John has authored and presented Certified Crop Advisor training programs
for Wilbur-Ellis, American Cyanamid, ICI/Garst Seed Company, IGF Crop Insurance and
numerous other companies. He has also authored and presented board approved CCA CEU
programs in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
Karen Corrigan has degrees in Agronomy from the University of Illinois and the
University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her education emphasized crop protection with her
thesis work conducted in the area of weed science. Karen has published work on the
effects of tank-mixing herbicides with glyphosate at different application timings, a
study funded by the Wisconsin Soybean Board. In addition to her thesis work, Karen was
involved in research on corn, sweet corn, peas, alfalfa, and dry beans. During graduate
school Karen also co-instructed the Special Problems in Weed Science course and served
as a coach for the undergraduate team to the North Central Collegiate Weed Science
contest.
Karen has served as a technical agronomist for American Agrisurance (formerly IGF),
serving Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri. In this position she has aided clients in
developing weed management programs, particularly managing weed escapes. Karen has also
conducted field visits with clients, providing one on one education. She has presented
educational seminars on agronomic topics to growers and Ag professionals, including CCA
training. Karen also developed and implemented the on-farm testing program for AmAg. She
developed protocols, worked with farmers to set-up and conduct trials, collected and
analyzed data, and put the results into a user-friendly format for our clients. She has
tested agronomic practices including seed treatments, insecticides, inoculants, and
nitrogen rates.
McGillicuddy-Corrigan Agronomics provides all levels of agronomic training, agronomic
services, contract research for Ag professionals and farmers. Presentations for grower
meetings, complete GPS/GIS services, soil and plant testing, equipment research and
agronomic consulting for crop and seed production are also available. These services can
be provided on an individual basis or by forming an "access group" of companies or large
producers.
