Wisconsin Ag Connection - Yanny Honored as UW-RF's 2016 Distinguished Agriculturalist

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Yanny Honored as UW-RF's 2016 Distinguished Agriculturalist
Wisconsin Ag Connection - 04/29/2016

A well-known Wisconsin horticulturalist has been honored by the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. Michael Yanny, owner of JN Plant Selections and Senior Horticulturalist at Johnson's Nursery in Menomonee Falls, was named the 2016 Wisconsin Distinguished Agriculturalist by the school's College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences.

The Firebird Crabapple, Redwing Highbush Cranberry Viburnum and Pink-a-licious Spirea are some of the many plants Yanny has selected, named and introduced over the course of his career. He credits the late Herbert Trautman of Trautman Nurseries for teaching him the propagation and plant selection skills he has used throughout the years. Based primarily on Trautman's recommendation, Yanny was hired by the nursery in 1980 to start a propagation department. He spent 30 years as the head plant propagator at Johnson's before transitioning to senior horticulturalist and starting his own company.

"Horticulture is a wonderful profession," said Yanny. "You get both exercise and mental stimulation. It's a balanced lifestyle in the natural life system."

Yanny is a frequent speaker traveling around the nation to give presentations at industry association conferences, and he incorporates his own poetry and photography into the presentations to better convey his messages.

The Wisconsin Distinguished Agriculturalist Award was established in 1970 to recognize individuals who have provided leadership, service and other contributions to the broader agricultural community.

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