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Agricultural grants address problems on Alabama farms
Is growing a cover crop on Alabama farms a solution or a problem for growers in the state who are trying to prevent soil and water erosion losses? A grant funded through the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station research program for the current fiscal year will...
New Alabama Extension specialist for cotton to start in July
Effective July 1, 2025, Josh Lee will join Auburn University and the Alabama Cooperative Extension System as an extension specialist for cotton. His responsibilities will include in-service training for extension agents, conveying information about new developments...
$4 million grant takes efficient crop management practices to the farm
Auburn University researchers and Alabama Extension specialists are taking their expertise from labs and small experimental plots to Alabama farmers’ fields with a $4...
Better than he found it: Patterson steps down as agriculture dean, experiment station director
As 2024 draws to a close, Paul Patterson is stepping away from his roles as dean of the College of Agriculture and director of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, effective Jan. 1. He led both to record numbers in the areas of teaching, research and outreach since he assume the positions in March 2016…
National survey indicates highest bee colony losses in 14 years
The annual U.S. Beekeeping Survey, designed and administered by Auburn University and Apiary Inspectors of America, indicates the highest colony losses since the...
The Rotation – Department of Crop, Soil, & Environmental Sciences Newsletter
Department Head’s Reportby John P. Beasley, Jr., Ph.D.(B.S., Agronomy & Soils, 1979) Welcome to the inaugural issue of The Rotation, the newsletter of the Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences at Auburn University! It is my honor and privilege to...
Barlow named interim associate dean for extension
Becky Barlow, extension specialist and professor of forestry and wildlife sciences, has been named the Auburn University College of Agriculture’s interim associate dean for extension and interim assistant director for agriculture, forestry and natural resource...
Researcher part of international weed genomics effort
An Auburn University professor and researcher is one of the founding members of an international group of scientists and industry professionals that has launched an ambitious new project aimed at improved understanding of the most intractable species of weeds in the...
Study looking at feasibility of more beef processing plants in Alabama
One of the many consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic has been limited supplies and higher prices of U.S. beef products. It’s an outcome that could have been predicted, especially considering supply-chain issues impacting the beef industry. Beef production in the U.S....
E.T. York Distinguished Lecturer Series to feature Ambassador Kip Tom
The Auburn University College of Agriculture’s E.T. York Distinguished Lecturer Series will present U.S. Ambassador Kip Tom as the Spring 2021 York Lecturer Tuesday, April 27, in Auburn. The lecture, set for 12 p.m. in the Auburn University Hotel...
College of Agriculture students win big in specialty competitions
Students in three College of Agriculture departments performed well in regional, national and international competitions this spring. A team from the Department of Horticulture placed first in its size group (10-24 students) in the 45th National Collegiate Landscape...
Ryan Thomson receives Rural Sociological Society Early Career Award
Ryan Thomson, assistant professor in the College of Agriculture’s Department of Agricultural Economics & Rural Sociology, received The Rural Sociological Society Early Career Award for 2021. Proposals for the award involve small-scale projects that will enhance...
Agricultural economics researchers seek to aid new farmers in changing business climate
The challenges facing today’s small- and medium-sized farm operators are numerous, but perhaps the most daunting challenges are those faced by beginning farmers in a business climate that is currently in the midst of a generational turnover. A three-year study by...
Professor looks at cheaper, more efficient solution to COVID-19
While the rapid development and distribution of vaccines for preventing COVID-19 is a phenomenal advancement in the continuing battle against the virus, there are drawbacks, says an Auburn University professor. “Vaccine production is costly and time-consuming,” said...
Alumni chart new course for mushroom cultivation in the South
If you’ve eaten a gourmet mushroom in Alabama, there’s a good chance it was cultivated at Fungi Farm in Dadeville. Founded by Allen Carroll, who studied agronomy in the College of Agriculture at Auburn University, Fungi Farm in Dadeville has quickly become a pioneer...
Alabama Cooperative Extension System announces new director
Mike Phillips has been named director of the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, the primary outreach organization for Alabama A&M and Auburn universities, both of which are land-grant institutions with the mission of providing real-life solutions and helping...
Kylie Weis: genetically engineering the future
By Bethanie Hartzog Kylie Weis has no doubt in her mind about why she chose applied biotechnology as her major at Auburn University. She believes other students should take the time to look at the major as well. "Applied biotechnology is using the tools of nature to...
Popular professional development seminar gets makeover for pandemic
On a warm morning, despite COVID-19 limitations, horticulturalist Abra Lee prepared to greet the College of Agriculture’s Student Services team at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. As the featured speaker for the college’s professional development seminar series Our...
Johnathan Hampton: pursuing greater things
By Paul F. Brown In landscape architecture, purpose works itself out in multiple ways. A designer carefully chooses plants and trees for their size, color, texture and suitability to their environment, then arranges them in the soil in relation to buildings and other...
Row crop specialists share expertise virtually
Scientists in Auburn University’s College of Agriculture and Alabama Cooperative Extension System are world renown for their expertise in Southern row crop production, and they continue to share that expertise even during a pandemic. These researchers and specialists,...
Economists discuss uncertain crop markets
After seeing record-high crop prices six years ago, U.S. farmers have been on a roller coaster ever since, with extreme weather events, trade issues and a worldwide pandemic all causing unpredictability. The COVID-19 pandemic, specifically, has caused significant...
Using poultry wastewater to irrigate crops
As freshwater supplies become increasingly limited and the world’s population continues to grow, Auburn University College of Agriculture researchers are working on ways to find and utilize alternative water resources for irrigating crops. “One proven source that can...
Auburn’s PAR grants cover the gamut of state’s agriculture
From exploring the viability of new crops such as hemp and grapes to protecting traditional crops such as peanuts and cotton, the College of Agriculture’s Production Agriculture Research, or PAR grants program, is working to provide immediate solutions...
Carolyn Robinson named a Distinguished Educator
Associate Professor Carolyn Robinson was recently named the 2020 recipient of the J. Creighton Miller, Jr. Distinguished Educator Award for the Southern Region from the American Society for Horticultural Science. The award recognizes an educator with a distinguished...
De La Fuente, European scientists study crisis-causing pathogens
By Jacqueline Kochak An Auburn University researcher has joined with European scientists in an attempt to decipher the disease process caused by one of the world’s most harmful plant pathogens, Xylella fastidiosa. The bacterium’s impact has been nothing short of...
Departmental entomology team places first in national competition
The Departmental Entomology Team comprising students in the College of Agriculture placed first in the 2020 Entomology Games held on Nov. 16 by the Entomology Society of America. The Auburn entomology team includes team captain Seun Olaitan Oladipupo, Madison...
10 Auburn College of Agriculture graduates win 2017 Alumni Awards
Ten successful professionals who hold academic degrees from Auburn University’s College of Agriculture have been selected as the college’s most outstanding alumni for 2017. The 10 include the recipient of the 2017 Alumni Service Award and nine Alumni Award winners who were chosen by and represent the academic units and programs from which they earned their degrees.
Matthew Brady
Matthew Brady is a senior studying Agricultural Business and Economics. Being a third generation cattle and catfish farmer in Marion, Alabama, Brady knows the ins and outs of running a business. While at Auburn, he has been involved in the Agribusiness Club and is...
Kelsey Cassebaum
A native of Lillian, Alabama, Kelsey Cassebaum is no stranger to the life of agriculture. Cassebaum knows the meaning of hard work after growing up on a farm boasting of 1500 acres of row crops, 250 head of cattle in a cow-calf operation and a 1000+ pecan tree...
Rosa Cantrell – Agricultural Communications Almuni
HIGHLIGHTS Education: Agricultural Communications Graduation: 2010 Current Position: Real Estate Assistant, Berkshire Hathaway HomeService Preferred Real Estate Current Location: Auburn, AL WHAT ARE YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES? Rosa is earning her real estate license, shows...
Meet Ben Staton, Ph.D. Student in the Quantitative Fisheries Lab
Ben Staton is a graduate assistant pursuing a degree in fisheries management. Ben’s research is focused on Chinook salmon stocks in western Alaska. He is using long-term data sets to create and test models that address questions and make predictions relating to the...
Mike Rowe
Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology Alumni CURRENT POSITION President and CEO of Precision Kia of Wesley Chapel President and CEO of Gulf Coast Turf and Tractor, LLC CURRENT LOCATION Tampa, Florida ABOUT MIKE Mike chose to study agricultural business and...
Senior spends summer studying mega-sharks
Meet an animal sciences student who sees her future on the ocean.
Meet Stefanie Christensen Francisco
Stefanie Christensen Francisco is the communications director for Conservation Alabama, a non-profit organization that lobbies the state legislature on behalf of our state’s natural resources. Previously, she worked in national news production at CNN, Politico, and...
Lord Kwakye Ameyaw
Lord Kwakye Ameyaw completed a Master of Science Degree in Rural Sociology from Auburn University in 2013. He recently completed a PhD in Environmental and Forest Sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle. Lord works as an Agroforester with the Nebraska...
Riva Denny
Riva completed her MS in rural sociology at Auburn in 2012 where she wrote her master’s thesis on the differences between red meat inspection regulations at the state and federal levels and the implications that these differences have for small slaughterhouses and the...
MICHELE VITALE
Michele completed his MS in Rural Sociology at Auburn in 2007; his thesis analyzed the socio-economic, cultural and geographic barriers that Hispanic residents face to access primary care services in rural Georgia. He completed his PhD in Geography at Wilfrid Laurier...
Who is Emily Blejwas
Emily Blejwas directs the Gulf States Health Policy Center in Bayou La Batre, AL. She previously worked in research and community development for the Community Foundation of South Alabama and the Economic & Community Development Institute at Auburn University. She...
JANICE FREW DYER
Janice Frew Dyer completed her MS in Rural Sociology in 2007 and her PhD in Forestry in 2012, both at Auburn University. Janice spent several years teaching Sociology at Calhoun Community College in North Alabama, and Sustainable Food Systems at Lipscomb University in...
VANESSA CASANOVA
Dr. Casanova earned a BA in International Studies from the University of Alabama, MS in Rural Sociology and PhD in Forestry from Auburn University with postgraduate training in the fields of labor studies and public health. She joined the faculty of the University of...
James Hutchins
James Hutchins is a 1997 graduate of the Master of Science program in Rural Sociology. He focused on integrated conservation and development and he researched the establishment of a community forest concession in the Maya Biosphere Reserve for his thesis. He has...