About me

Jessica A. Torrion, Ph.D.
Associate Professor-Field Crop Physiology & Superintendent
Northwestern Ag Research Center, Montana State University
jessica.torrion@montana.edu; 406-755-4303

My research focuses on abiotic factors of crop production, intending to increase farm input productivity of water and nutrients. This includes determining adaptive traits and identifying best management practices of a specific environment for yield and quality.

I have a newly acquired love for cats (I was a dog person prior). During my first year as a faculty here at Montana State Univ, my temporary summer employees found three kittens near the nitrogen research plots. They were barely a week old. Two of my summer employees adopted the two, and Shana adopted one in MSU-Bozeman. A month later, one of the summer employees changed her mind, called, and said, “Please adopt Flin.” His name now, D3 – after the field name we found him. He is the king of the household.

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit”- Aristotle

The below quote is my postdoc mentor’s (Jim Specht) favorite one.

“In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice, but in practice, there is” – Yogi Berra
Updated (March 3, 2016)
Yuri-second kitty. No more.

I listen a lot to Biagi, D’Arienzo, Pugliese, Trolio, Canaro, and other relaxed and upbeat alternative music possible for Argentine Tango. Tango music (and dance), I believe, refresh my focus and provides a personal outlet. Also, it allowed me to be actively part of a growing Tango community in Montana (and in the United States). Recently, I started DJ’ing to our local once- a-month-milonga in Kalispell, http://www.kalispelltango.com/. Care for Tanda during scientific meetings?

The below video is a nicely done alternative Tango.

Here, milonga (a social argentine tango event) is what you would normally see in a social dance. A bit more dressy than just a pair of jeans.

Then covid hit in 2020. Argentine Tango is to a halt worldwide. What do we do? We adapt. This year is very hard for everybody. We will remember this pandemic for the rest of our lives. One of the things I adapted to is to dance by myself. Bachata is a street dance in the Dominican Republic. I learned the traditional way of the dance and how people from the Dominican Republic do it (not the modern type you may have seen on youtube). The below are examples of the traditional Bachata street dance that works well and so enjoyable at social dancing – when we can after this pandemic.