Her research program is built around the foundational agronomic challenges of SE Kansas claypan soils, with a particular emphasis on soil pH and lime management, nitrogen loss pathways, phosphorus placement, and sustainable cropping systems design. Dr. Preston’s program spans the full breadth of SE Kansas agriculture, including corn, soybean, winter wheat, grain sorghum, cotton, sunflower, and perennial forages, as well as the conservation and forage systems that support the region’s beef cattle industry.

Before joining K-State, Dr. Preston spent more than a decade in industry, serving as Senior Agronomist with Nutrien and J.R. Simplot, where she led national-scale research programs in crop nutrition and fertilizer technology. She earned her BS in Animal Science and MS in Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences from Virginia Tech and her PhD in Agronomy from Kansas State University, where her dissertation research on long-term phosphorus placement under strip-tillage.