Groundbreaking microbiologist and leader of the regenerative agriculture movement Elaine Ingham has passed away on February 16 in her South Carolina home at 73 years old. Elaine was one of the women who led the way for younger generations of women in regenerative agriculture.
Known for her research that developed the concept of the ‘soil food web’, Elaine Ingham championed the critical role of microorganisms in building healthy, sustainable ecosystems. As a researcher, educator, and mentor, her pioneering studies and advocacy empowered farmers, scientists, and environmentalists worldwide to restore and sustain soil health.
With dozens of research papers published in scientific journals in the 1980s and 1990s, Elaine truly was a role model for women in science and agriculture. Her work focused on the importance of soil microbiology for plant health. As an author, her popular publications include the Soil Biology Primer, published by the Natural Resources Conservation Services Soil Quality Institute, with the well-known image of the soil food web used by educators around the world to discuss the role of microorganisms in soil.
Additionally, she promoted the making of compost and compost tea through educational initiatives, including the Soil Food Web school, re-popularizing the regenerative practice. An energetic and eloquent public speaker, Elaine travelled the world to deliver speeches at agricultural and soil ecology gatherings.
Born in 1952, Elaine attended St. Olaf College where she met her husband, the nematologist Russell Ingham, and graduated in 1974. She earned her Master of Science in Microbiology from Texas A&M and her doctorate degree from Colorado State University. She moved to Corvallis, Oregon in 1986, so that she and Russell could join the faculty of Oregon State University, where she remained associated until 2002.
Elaine leaves a huge legacy of advocacy for soil, environmental and public health. She is survived by her husband, children, grandchildren and granddog.
To continue her life’s work, her family requests planting a tree or making a donation to the Soil Food Web Foundation.
The team at the Women in Ag Foundation presents their deepest condolences to all the people who loved Elaine in this difficult time.
Source & picture: Soil Food Web Foundation
