Emma Link
Senior Research Coordinator

emma.link(at)practicalfarmers(dot)org

Emma Link Headshot 01Emma Link joined Practical Farmers of Iowa as the senior research coordinator for the Cooperators’ Program in May 2023. In this role, Emma works with field crop, fruit and vegetable and livestock farmers to co-design on-farm research trials, and to analyze and interpret results.

Emma, who uses both they/their and she pronouns, grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, and then moved to Minnesota to study geology at Carleton College. After receiving their undergraduate degree, Emma worked as a seasonal field ecologist and vegetable CSA farmworker for several years. They then returned to school to pursue a master’s degree in soil science from the University of Minnesota, where their research focused on soil microbiology and soil health in annual and perennial grain production systems.

Emma also began to volunteer with Farm Buds, a Minneapolis-based grassroots group that organizes volunteer trips to local farms that she now helps coordinate. After work, you can usually find Emma outside riding a bike, gardening or reading in a hammock. She lives in Minneapolis in an intentional community and feels lucky to be surrounded by friends every day.