Sara Kvidera, right, a North Tama County High School Class of 2009 alumna, was presented on Aug 31 with the 2024 Emerging Iowa Leader Award at the Iowa State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) Alumni BBQ held at the Hansen Agriculture Student Learning Center. She is pictured with CALS Dean Daniel J. Robison. PHOTO COURTESY OF CALS

AMES – Sara Kvidera – a 2009 North Tama County graduate – partly spends her days encouraging dairy producers to consider new ways of incorporating sustainability practices into business decisions, like using rations that reduce the amount of gas their dairy cattle burp.

Kvidera (’17 PhD nutritional sciences), a dairy technical consultant with Elanco Animal Health, is the recipient of the 2024 Emerging Iowa Leader Award. The honor is presented annually to College of Agriculture and Life Sciences alums in leadership positions, working to strengthen agriculture and life sciences and providing outstanding service as CALS graduates.

In her role with Elanco, Kvidera focuses on sustainability efforts, working with dairy producers and dairy food companies to convey the importance of making changes to improve sustainability – including those feed adjustments that limit cow belching.

When cows burp, they release methane into the atmosphere, which is recognized as a strong greenhouse gas.

“While cows are not the cause of climate issues,” Kvidera explained, “they can definitely be part of the solution. Animal agriculture practices are a key way food companies can contribute to reduced emissions while continuing to produce nutritious food. Businesses like ours are working with farmers as we continue to learn how to improve the sustainability of our practices and products.”

“It’s a lot of teaching science to people,” Kvidera added about her job. “I love it when I can explain something to a customer, and it clicks, especially because the science can sometimes be complicated.”

That ability to take technical knowledge and translate it in a way the public can understand came from her time as a graduate student at Iowa State University.

After completing her undergraduate degree in animal science at Kansas State University, Kvidera joined Distinguished Professor of Animal Science Lance Baumgard’s Nutritional Physiology lab at Iowa State. Baumgard helped her and other students understand research and “pushed them out of the nest” to gain experience.

“Find something you want to do, and I’ll get the funding for it,'” Kvidera recalls Baumgard saying. “I thought that was really cool.”

Baumgard was impressed by Kvidera’s work ethic and productivity throughout graduate school. By the time she graduated, Kvidera was a contributing author on more than 30 peer-reviewed publications and had received numerous college- and national-level awards.

“I’m not surprised that Elanco charged her with such an enormous responsibility, as Sara is recognized within the entire animal agriculture community as someone who ‘gets things done’ and is a ‘finisher,'” Baumgard said. “Sara’s accomplishments make all Iowa Staters look better, and we’re incredibly lucky to call her one of our own.”

As an Iowa State student, Kvidera also learned the value of having an extended network. The connections she made with Elanco representatives while conducting research funded by the company led to her being hired full-time. As an alumna, Kvidera has appreciated continuing to connect with fellow Iowa State alums involved in the dairy industry.

She encourages current students to find a research lab where they can discover their passions and not be afraid to ask questions.

“It’s OK not to have all the answers,” she said. “Build relationships with people who can help get those questions answered.”