Manager Management
Resume:
Developed nitrogen management decision tool for corn production in North America: Corn manager.
Conducted research studies on nitrogen management in Central Sand Region of Minnesota: worked with MN Dept. of Ag (MDA) and University of MN.
Conducted research studies focusing on surface and ground water contaminant transport, source area identification and evaluation/recommendation of alternative best management practices.
Identified sediment and phosphorus source areas that affect Lake Pepin
Developed field and watershed scale hydrologic and water quality best management practices for the Minnesota River Basin: focused on the use and management of agro-chemicals, including fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides and fungicides ( In collaboration with the MDA).
Cropping systems nutrient demand and management modeling: efficient crop nutrient management solutions, crop nutrient uptake, nutrient losses to surface and ground water.
Several years of experience as supervisor: manage professionals in the agricultural production, natural resources management, and water quality protection.
High level skills of field scale to regional scale cropping systems/agronomy models parameterization, calibration, and validation: DSSAT, APSIM, EPIC, APEX, SWAT, DRAINMOD, VFSMOD, HSPF, SWMM, DAYCENT, AGNPS, WINPST etc.
Experienced in field experimental research: crop phenology, crop yield and biomass production, crop nutrient uptake, crop LAI, nutrient and contaminant transport, soil physical and chemical properties, climate data and surface/subsurface hydrology and water quality
International experience in farming systems analysis and simulation modeling for the development of agricultural best management decisions: Ethiopia, Mali, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Madagascar, Brazil, Russia, Australia, USA and Canada.
Demonstrated research experience to identify farm scale production constraints and develop agronomic and technology interventions.
Demonstrated high level understanding and experience working on the functioning of large scale commercial and smallholder mixed (grains and grazing) agricultural systems
Demonstrated high level skills and experience in GIS and remote sensing applications to biophysical models of agricultural production systems
Participated in diverse research, academics, advising graduate students with technical and scientific methods, management of complex and large data sets in diverse geographical regions, including agricultural research and survey, overall environmental data, climate files and outputs from Global Circulation Models (GCMs).
Worked with USAID global research efforts to improve production of crops like sorghum, maize, millet, cassava, common bean, rice, and forages; mitigating soil and land degradation; predict future climate change impacts and environmental management solutions.
Experienced with database management systems
Excellent interpersonal skills with a proven ability to communicate effectively with clients and team members at work place
Published scientific articles and served as reviewer in major scientific journals.
1.2.Objective: to contribute through my experiences and qualifications towards the efforts of MDA in maximizing crop production and minimizing the impacts of agro-chemicals on surface and groundwater quality.
1.3.Education
2004 – 2009: Ph.D. in Soil Science (Major in Cropping Systems Modeling and Minor in Water Resources). University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.
2000 - 2002: M.Sc. in Soil and Water Conservation Engineering. University of Alemaya, Ethiopia.
1983 - 1987: B.Sc. in Agricultural Engineering. University of Alemaya, Ethiopia.
1.4.Work Experience
March 2016 – Current:
Senior Cropping Systems Modeler at Farmers Edge Inc., 25 Rothwell Road, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Develop agricultural management decision tools using process based mechanistic models. Corn manager, a comprehensive global corn nitrogen management tool is a good example of one of the management decision tools I developed.
Analyze and interpret crop cultivar responses to environmental stresses and growers’ agronomic management practices.
Modeling crop growth staging (phenology): corn, soybean, wheat, cotton, canola
Modeling nitrogen and phosphorus management: corn, soybean, wheat, cotton, canola
Irrigation water management
Provide models simulation results to growers in easy to understand web based methods: local weather, variable rate nutrient application recommendation map, crop development map, crop health map, and expected yield map.
Provide leadership to the research and development (R&D) wing of the company in five countries: USA, Canada, Brazil, Australia and Russia.
to understand the quantitative interactions of physical, environmental, crop management practices and genetics
to develop process based bio-physical models that can help to improve crop yield predictions and management recommendations across scales.
Support the data science team of the company and field experimental research work at universities and research organizations that partner or collaborate with the company; including Iowa State University, Texas Tech, USDA-ARS, Agri-Canada, Farmers Independent Research (FIRST), University of San Paulo Brazil, Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA) etc.
Work with the technology team to develop easy to use web platform called Farmcommand; all in one farm management platform.
April 2012 – March 2016:
Research Scientist at University of Minnesota, Department of Soil, Water and Climate. 1991 Upper Buford Circle, St Paul MN 55108. USA.
Develop crop growth and yield estimations models under diverse environment and climate change scenarios. Simulation of nutrient, tillage, drainage, irrigation and other management aspects are evaluated and recommendations are made
Develop field and watershed scale hydrologic and water quality modeling tools
Model simulation studies of crop growth and animal production: to give supporting directions to environmental policy and regulation of the use and management of agro-chemicals: fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides and fungicides.
Conduct and manage research studies focusing on surface and ground water contaminant transport, source area identification and evaluation/recommendation of alternative best management practices.
Collect primary and secondary research data, and analyze using geographic information system (GIS), statistical software and graphics procedures. Included are field studies and laboratory experiments/sampling.
Develop research proposals, write research reports and journal articles, and make presentations.
Help graduate students research work and guide on the use and approaches of modeling, management of complex and large data sets, including climate files and outputs from Global Circulation Models.
Sep 2010 – Apr 2012:
Senior Environmental Modeler/Hydrologist at Stone Environmental, Inc. 35 Stone Cutters Way, Montpellier, VT 05602 USA
Conduct farming systems and water quality simulation modeling in agricultural and urban settings using different models and modeling approaches: SWAT, HSPF, AGNPS, SWMM, VFSMOD etc
Identification of Lake Champlain Basin Phosphorus Critical Source areas.
Refined application of the SWAT model for endangered species effects assessment in San Jose Valley, California.
Surface and groundwater pesticide risk assessment in Orgeon and San Jose Valley, California.
Surface water pH studies in USA and Canada for the re-registration of Malathion.
Mapping ground waters of Nebraska and South Dakota
Evaluating the uncertainty of VFSMOD Modeling of vegetative filter strips trapping efficiency of water, sediment, and pesticides. A project to support EPA's registration process.
Application of GIS-based spatial and scientific analysis techniques in environmental and agricultural sciences
ArcGIS application and tool development for integration with environmental models and spatial statistics, and automation of geoprocessing tasks
Environmental database compilation and analysis
Advanced Geo-statistics, spatial analysis and mapping using GIS techniques.
Computer programming to enable efficient processing of environmental datasets
Conducting and developing diverse projects integrating GIS, modeling, and database applications
Managing projects and ensuring project deliverables are meeting client expectations.
Preparing proposals and user documentation
Jun 2004 – Aug 2009:
Research Assistant at University of Minnesota, Department of Soil, Water and Climate. 1991 Upper Buford Circle, St Paul MN 55108. USA.
Developed modeling approaches to identify critical source areas and evaluate best management practices for sediment, nitrogen, phosphorus and pesticides in the Le Sueur River Watershed and Minnesota River Basin.
Conducted sponsored research studies, including the following:
Incorporate terrain attributes into the Le Sueur River Watershed SWAT modeling of sediment, phosphorus, nitrogen and the pesticides acetochlor, atrazine and metolachlor.
Modeling water quality and environmental impacts of biofuel crops alternatives in SouthCentral Minnesota.
Apportioning Upland and Channel Sources of Sediment in the Le Sueur River Watershed. 4 A study of the herbicide acetochlor source areas and management alternatives in the Beauford watershed.
State of Minnesota groundwater leaching risk assessment for selected pesticides using the WIN-PST model.
Wrote reports and journal articles on finalized research studies. Presented research results on professional meetings.
Sep 2002 – Sep 2003:
Natural Resources Program Manager at AGRI-Service Ethiopia
Lead the development of natural resources conservation strategy formulation and its implementation.
Organizing and conducting project formulation that involve watershed hydrology, aforestation, soil erosion risk and sediment loss assessment.
Establishing soil and water conservation schemes/projects at farm scale, along hill sides, in small watersheds and at a basin scale.
Natural resources project proposal preparation and fund soliciting.
Training technical staff in the management of natural resources: grazing land and pasture, forested areas and agro-forestry, surface water resources, physical and biological soil conservation practices.
Monitoring and evaluation of projects in the five program offices located in the central, south and northern parts of Ethiopia.
Sep 2000 – July 2002:
Graduate research Assistant at University of Alemaya, Ethiopia.
Agricultural Non-Point Source Pollution(AGNPS) model development for analysis of soil erosion and sedimentation of Lake Alemaya watershed
Identifying areas of high soil erosion risk, and evaluate alternative management scenarios to mitigate silting up of Lake Alemaya
May 1995 – Sep 2000:
Senior Soil and Water Conservation Expert at Department of Agricultre in Oromia Region, Ethiopia.
Natural resources development programs and projects execution in the Ethiopian Rift valley lakes and the major river basins of Upper Nile, Wabi Shebele, and Awash.
Watershed projects study and proposal writing, implementation of projects, conducting monitoring and evaluation of sponsored projects.
Organizing non-governmental organizations (World Food Program, UNDP, SOS-Sahel, GTZ, UNICEF etc) to fund natural resources projects at different levels.
Evaluating application of integrated agricultural watershed best management practices (BMPs)
Training watershed technicians on design and construction of BMPs.
Licenses and Certifications:
-APEX modeling certificate
-HSPF modeling certificate
-SWAT modeling certificate
Publications:
-Lai, Liming & Kumar, Sandeep & Folle, Solomon & Owens, Vance. (2017). Predicting soils and environmental impacts associated with switchgrass for bioenergy production: A DAYCENT modeling approach. GCB Bioenergy. 10.1111/gcbb.12490.
-Folle, S., Winchell, M. F., Meals, D., Moore, J., Srinivasan, R., & Howe, E. A. (2015). Using SWAT for sub-field identification of phosphorus critical source areas in a saturation excess runoff region. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 60(5), 844-862.
-Solomon Folle, David J. Mulla. 2014. Climate change in Mali: Adaptive practices impact modeling assessment. USAID. Available at: https://www.climatelinks.org/resources/climate- change-mali-agricultural-adaptive-practices-impact-modeling-assessment.
-Natalia Peranginangin, Michael F Winchell, Solomon Folle. 2012. Evaluation of a simplified SWAT model approach for prediction of insecticide concentrations in a small watershed in northwestern Oregon. Abstracts of Papers of The American Chemical Society. Vol. 244. 1155 16th St, NW, Washington, Dc 20036 USA: Amer Chemical Soc, 2012.
-Michael F Winchell, Solomon Folle, Roger Breton. 2012. Refined Application of the SWAT model for endangered species effects determination. Abstracts of Papers of The American Chemical Society. Vol. 244. 1155 16th St, NW, Washington, Dc 20036 USA: Amer Chemical Soc, 2012.
-Moon, J.Y., S. Folle, J. Apland and D. Mulla. 2012. Environmental Impacts of Cellulosic Feedstock Production: A Case Study of a Cornbelt Watershed. Proc. Agricultural & Applied Economics Association Annual Meeting, Seattle, Washington.
-Solomon Folle, Michael F. Winchell, Tammara L. Estes, Katie Budreski, John Hanzas, Roger L. Breton and Paul Whatling. 2011. Effects of Input Uncertainty on VFSMOD Modeling of Water, Sediment, and Pesticide Trapping by Vegetative Filter Strips. ACS National Meeting, Denver Colorado.
-Michael F Winchell, Solomon Folle. 2011. Identification of critical source areas of phosphorus within the Vermont Sector of the Missisquoi Bay Basin. Stone Environmental, Inc. Vermont.
-Solomon Folle. 2011. Potential, Limitations, and Future Direction of the SWAT Model. Stone Environmental, Inc. Vermont.
-Moon, J-Y., Solomon Folle, J. Apland, and D. Mulla. 2010. Economic and Environmental Impacts of Cellulostic Feedstock Production in Minnesota”. Presentation at the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association 2010 AAEA,CAES, & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting. Denver, Colorado.
-Solomon Folle. 2010. SWAT modeling of sediment, nutrients and pesticides in the Le-Sueur River watershed, south-central Minnesota. University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation.
-Solomon Folle, and D. J. Mulla. 2010. SWAT modeling of the pesticides acetochlor, atrazine and metolachlor in the Le Sueur River watershed. University of Minnesota.
-Solomon Folle, Brent Dalzell, and D. J. Mulla. 2010. Evaluation of best management practices in impaired watersheds using the SWAT model. University of Minnesota and Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA).
-Solomon Folle. and D. J. Mulla. 2009. Modeling Upland and Channel Sources of Sediment in the Le Sueur River Watershed, Minnesota”. Proceedings of the International SWAT Conference. University of Colorado, Boulder, CO. pp 197- 202.
-Folle, S. and D. J. Mulla. 2009. Modeling Surface Water Quality Impacts of Biofuel Crop Alternatives in South Central Minnesota”. Presentation at 2009 ASA-CSSASSSA International Annual Meetings. Pittsburgh, PA.
-Solomon Folle and D. J. Mulla. 2008. Modeling Surface Water Quality Impacts of Biofuel Crop Alternatives in South Central Minnesota”. Poster presented at the Joint Annual Meeting - GSA SSSA ASA CSSA GCAGS GCSSEPM. Houston, Texas..
-Galzki, J.C., D. J. Mulla, S. Folle, and J. Nelson. 2008.
Identifying Critical Portions of the Landscape for Water Quality Protection Using GIS Terrain Analysis”. Poster presented at the Joint Annual Meeting - GSA SSSA ASA CSSA GCAGS GCSSEPM. Houston, Texas.
-S. Folle, and D. J. Mulla. 2007. Comparison of the WIN-PST and SWAT models pesticide losses in surface runoff of the Le Sueur River watershed. University of Minnesota.
-S. Folle, and D. J. Mulla. 2007. Modeling ground water leaching risk assessment of selected pesticides for the State of Minnesota using the WIN-PST model. University of Minnesota.
-Solomon Folle, F. Yohannes, S.M. Rashid. 2006. “Soil Erosion Assessment of Lake Alemaya Catchment, Ethiopia”. Land Degradation & Development. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, UK: 2006. 17: 3, 333-341. 19.
Membership in Professional Societies:
-American Society of Agronomy
-Crop Science Society of America
-Soil Science Society of America
-American Society of Agricultural Engineers
References
1.Prof. David Mulla: University of MN. Email: ********@***.*** & Phone #: 612-***-****
2.Dr. Adam Birr. Corn Grower’s Association. Email: *****@***.*** & Phone #: 952-***-****
3.Dr. Mahmudul Hasan. Farmers Edge. Email: Mahmudul.hasan@ farmersedge.ca & Phone #: 587-***-****
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