Mark Uchanski was born and raised in the far western suburbs of Chicago, Illinois – where the suburbs meet rural America, corn, and soybeans. He fell in love with vegetable farming systems and food systems in his backyard and grandfather’s garden in Chicago. His graduate project involved testing and removing pathogens from horseradish propagation stock to provide pathogen-free planting materials. Shortly after graduation in 2008, Uchanski moved to New Mexico to serve the chile pepper and onion industries as Assistant Professor of Horticulture at New Mexico State University. That work soon expanded to include small farm, diversified, and organic operations. In 2015, Uchanski moved to Fort Collins to serve as the Colorado State University Specialty Crops Program Coordinator. There he continues his work with vegetable and other specialty crop producers, including conducting research on sustainable and organic practices and inputs that are applicable to Colorado. He continues to blend his background, research and teaching interests in horticulture, ecology, and sustainable cropping systems.