A fierce battle is being waged between cotton and polyester, with polyester edging ahead as the most widely used fiber in the world, for now. In fact, synthetic materials account for more than half of today’s overall market share.
Sign up for free below to receive College of Agriculture news and the latest issues of The Season Magazine.
Latest
Boardwine receives student employee of the year award
Recent graduate Ali Boardwine received a particularly special accolade before graduating on May 11 with a Bachelor of Science in bioprocess engineering and minors in business and public health. The Career Discovery and Success office within the Office of the Provost...
Planting shifts into high gear at Alabama agricultural research units
As spring planting shifts into high gear in farmers’ fields throughout the Southeast, few agricultural operations come close to matching the diversity of crops and locations as the outlying units of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station at Auburn University....
Planting shifts into high gear at Alabama agricultural research units
As spring planting shifts into high gear in farmers’ fields throughout the Southeast, few agricultural operations come close to matching the diversity of crops and...
FoodU expands vertical farming operation
The Auburn University College of Agriculture and Campus Dining recently added four new container farms to its vertical farming operation. The four new farms, outfitted...
Market at Ag Heritage Park returns May 22
Hosted by the Auburn University College of Agriculture, The Market at Ag Heritage Park is an open-air, growers-only farmers market offering fresh, locally grown fruits...
The Market at Ag Heritage Park to return to campus May 23
Auburn University’s only farmers’ market returns to campus on Thursday, May 23…
$750K grant allows faculty to help rural Alabamians
Farmers often lament the land lost to suburban sprawl, but across the South, a land mass roughly the size of New Jersey is stuck in a legal limbo known as heirs’ property.
Corley Williams selected spring 2024 College of Agriculture student marshal
The spring 2024 graduation marshal for the Auburn University College of Agriculture is a Blountsville, Alabama, native with farm management plans on the horizon.
Agricultural grants boost research funding, equipment purchases
One of several grants offered through the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station (AAES) research program for the current fiscal year will allow for the continuation of groundbreaking research originally established at Auburn University that focuses on using beneficial bacteria for promoting plant growth, plant health, nutrient uptake and insect pest prevention.
Longtime professor becomes American Association for the Advancement of Science fellow
Longtime Auburn University Professor Beth Guertal has joined the ranks of Thomas Edison, W.E.B. Dubois and Margaret Mead with her election as a fellow to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
Three ag faculty members complete national LEAD21 program
Three faculty members from the Auburn University College of Agriculture were among 88 nationally to complete the 2023-24 LEAD21 leadership-development program. They were Jeremiah Davis, professor and director of the National Poultry Technology Center; Kim Mullenix,...
Chera Howard places second in Tiger Cage Pitch Competition
College of Agriculture student Chera Howard placed second in a competition that started with 21 student-led business startups competing for $80,000 in seed funding. The 2024 Tiger Cage Business Pitch Competition concluded on March 29 when the six teams who advanced to...
Variety testing program’s stakeholders to benefit from new collaboration
By Henry Jordan Thanks to a grant from the National Peanut Board, a new multistate collaboration will allow the Auburn University Official Variety Testing (OVT) program to provide its stakeholders access to new data. The OVT first contracted with Medius Ag, a...
Auburn research makes Alabama-grown beer possible
Research shows Alabama barley good for beer, rotational crop The first beer ever brewed from Alabama-grown barley made its debut this past fall, and Auburn University researchers are looking at even more possibilities for a crop that’s not so common to farmers in the...
Auburn researchers study experiences of women in farming
Research made possible by $650,000 USDA-NIFA grant The number of farms in the U.S. operated by women has grown 27% in recent years. Yet, despite their growing number and influence, little is known about the needs of women in farming, the challenges they face and their...
$3.9 million grant to fund research for enhanced honey bee health
The USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture recently awarded a $3.9 million, five-year grant to a team of researchers to enhance honey bee health for pollination of specialty crops. Auburn University associate professors Geoff Williams, from the Department of...
Research examines feasibility of hydroponic strawberry production
Fresh Alabama strawberries in November, December, January and February? It’s not as far-fetched as it may sound. In fact, research taking place at the Auburn University Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station (AAES) is showing great promise in growing strawberries in...
Rodrigues wins early career award for young professionals
An Auburn University assistant professor and Alabama Extension specialist earned an early career award for her research and extension work to address the needs of the local and regional fresh produce industry. Camila Rodrigues — a researcher for the Alabama...
Entomologists find evidence of current mating behavior in extinct termites
Mizumoto recreates fossilization process to test tandem run hypothesis An assistant professor in the Auburn University Department of Entomology & Plant Pathology recently found evidence that termites living millions of years ago mated the same way termites do...
Biosystems engineering alumna highlighted in PepsiCo STEM campaign
By Jeremy Henderson jdh0123@auburn.edu, 3343190721 When it came to selecting a success story celebrating the growing role of women in their company's leadership — and in STEM fields in general — Frito-Lay chose wisely. The snack giant recently highlighted 2013...
Temple Grandin visits the Auburn College of Agriculture
Grandin brought message of inclusion to Women in Agriculture program The Auburn University College of Agriculture hosted Temple Grandin, world-renowned academic, animal behaviorist and autism advocate, on Monday, Feb. 26, as part of the college’s Women in Agriculture...
Liu listed in top 2% of world’s entomologists
An endowed professor in the Auburn University College of Agriculture is listed as among the world’s top 2% of entomologists in a database announced recently by Stanford University. “This recognition is a testimony to the impact our research has had on the broader...
Dennis Brothers honored with SAEA Outstanding Extension Project Award
Dennis Brothers received the Southern Agricultural Economics Association’s Outstanding Extension Project Award at its annual meeting in early February. Brothers is an associate extension professor in the university’s Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural...
Patterson honored with SAEA Lifetime Achievement Award
Paul Patterson received the Southern Agricultural Economics Association Lifetime Achievement Award at its annual meeting in early February. Patterson is dean of the Auburn University College of Agriculture and director of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station....
Kannan named head of Auburn poultry science department
Auburn University has named Govind Kannan as its head for the Department of Poultry Science and director of the Charles C. Miller Poultry Research and Education Center, effective June 1. Kannan currently serves as Fort Valley State University’s vice president for...
Celebrating Black History Month: Auburn Alumni Who Are Making Strides in Ag
starting as an Assistant Professor of Entomology this Fall at Ohio State University.In coordination with Auburn University’s Office of Inclusion and Diversity (OID), Auburn Agriculture is taking the month of February to recognize the past, present and future...
Training better scientists: College offers ample undergraduate research opportunities
Research opportunities for undergraduate students in the College of Agriculture are ample, and students are encouraged to take advantage of them prior to graduate school. Madison Dees needed a job. Rather than pursuing the usual part-time retail or service jobs for...
On the Horizon: What’s Next for New Alumni
From graduate school to risk management analysis, recent graduates from the college of agriculture have impressive plans for the future. Check out what these 11 recent graduates who were Ag Ambassadors for the college are up to next.Andie Altemeier (feature image...
Agricultural communications seniors address tough topics
Three years ago, students majoring in agricultural communications built The Comer Connection, a biannual publication made by and for College of Agriculture students at Auburn University. This spring, students in the Agricultural Communications Capstone course created...
Scott McElroy named a Crop Science Society of America Fellow
Professor Scott McElroy in the Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences in the College of Agriculture at Auburn University was recently named a 2021 Crop Science Society of America Fellow. 2021 award recipients were announced at the scientific society’s...
“AU Chuck” Peanut Cultivar & the Alabama Private Well Program
By Adam McGhee, A New Peanut Cultivar released from Dr. Chen’s Lab in February 2021 The College of Agriculture’s Cultivar and Germplasm Release Committee met via Zoom on Feb. 11 at the request of Dr. Charles Chen, professor and peanut breeder/geneticist, for approval...
Auburn-branded SoilKit gives public access to research-based results
The College of Agriculture at Auburn University recently partnered with AgriTech Corp. on an Auburn-branded SoilKit to deliver digital, easy-to-understand soil test results to homeowners, landscapers and municipalities. This SoilKit marks the first time a public,...
Auburn agriculture honors outstanding students and 2021 summer graduates.
Two accomplished students from Auburn University’s College of Agriculture have been selected as recipients of the college’s Dean's Award and Student Marshal. The final selection was made by the scholarship committee. The following are the award winners by department,...
Beekeepers continue to report high colony loss rates, no clear improvement
From University of Maryland Beekeepers across the United States lost 45.5% of their managed honey bee colonies from April 2020 to April 2021, according to preliminary results of the 15th annual nationwide survey conducted by the nonprofit Bee Informed Partnership...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Held named chair of Entomology and Plant Pathology
David Held has been named chair of Auburn University’s Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, effective October 1. Held has been a faculty member in the department since 2008. “I believe Dr. Held’s extensive experience in research, teaching and extension have...
Auburn alumni group to honor five agricultural leaders
Auburn Agriculture Hall of Honor alumni group event.
Auburn freshman Kenneth Reese makes state history in 4-H
Auburn University freshman Kenneth Reese made history as the first Black president of Alabama 4-H. He hopes to one day teach or become an extension agent.
Mykel Taylor hired as Alfa Endowed Eminent Scholar
The College of Agriculture at Auburn University is pleased to announce the hiring of Mykel Taylor as the Alfa Endowed Eminent Scholar.