Alayna Jacobs

Dr. Jacobs began a postdoctoral fellowship in forage agronomy with the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education after graduating from University of Kentucky in 2023, where she received training in ecosystem ecology from Dr. Rebecca McCulley. Dr. Jacobs served as a rangeland management specialist, soil conservationist, and conservation agronomist with USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service in Arizona, Arkansas, and Mississippi for 12 years prior to pursuing her PhD program. She specializes in developing and applying innovative strategies that enhance the sustainability of agroecosystems and production agriculture, with emphasis on working directly with agricultural producers. She currently serves as a Kentucky Conservation District Board Supervisor for Anderson County. Her current focus is investigating agronomic factors that affect secondary plant metabolite concentrations in legume plant species, which are commonly used in temperate grazing pastures and have recently been shown to increase cattle and sheep production efficiency.

Research Interests: Agroecology, Agronomy, Grassland Ecology, Soil Science

Collaborative Interests: department seminars, grant collaborations, guest lectures, public lectures, publications, research collaborations

Email: Alayna.Jacobs@uky.edu