The Auburn University College of Agriculture and Campus Dining...
Sign up for free below to receive College of Agriculture news and the latest issues of The Season Magazine.
Latest
Kumar awarded LEAP Summer Momentum Fellowship
Sudhanshu Kumar, a Ph.D. student in the Hydroclimate Research Group within the Department of Crop, Soil & Environmental Sciences, has been selected for the 2025 LEAP Summer Momentum Fellowship — a prestigious and highly competitive opportunity for doctoral...
Predicting investment returns for crop irrigation
New model to help farmers make better investment decisions By Danielle Lunny Alabama farmers considering investing in irrigation equipment will soon have a free, comprehensive online tool to help them decide. A new prediction model will combine weather and economic...
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...
Will Rich selected spring 2025 student marshal
Advises future ag students to get involved The spring 2025 graduation marshal for the Auburn University College of Agriculture is a familiar face around Comer Hall....
Batchelor named Water Resources Center Director
William Batchelor has been tapped as the new director of the Auburn University Water Resources Center, effective immediately. As director, he will lead a team of...
Going Green: Blersch’s lab addresses crucial environmental work
By Amy Weaver Contrary to what the name might suggest, the work currently happening in the Green Infrastructure Lab at Auburn has nothing to do with green-colored roads or buildings. No Emerald City here. “Green infrastructure is an approach to managing water and...
Three students receive presidential awards
Three students in the College of Agriculture recently received distinguished honors from the Auburn University President’s Office. Savannah Busby received the Presidential Graduate Opportunity Fellowship, a highly competitive opportunity awarded to only a few incoming...
Taylor named head of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology
Following a national search, Mykel Taylor was named head of the Auburn University Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, effective April 15. She had served as interim head of the department since fall 2024. “Dr. Taylor’s effective leadership, along...
2025 Alabama Water Resources Conference now accepting abstracts
The Alabama Water Resources Conferences is accepting abstract submissions until May 23. Submissions considered include lightning talks, standard oral presentations and poster presentations. For more information or to submit an abstract, visit the conference website at...
Applied biotechnology student receives prestigious internship
Auburn University College of Agriculture student Leah Johnson received a highly competitive collegiate internship with HudsonAlpha, a premier institute for biotechnology. She is the second student from the applied biotechnology major in the Department of Entomology...
Three students receive 2025 Comer Awards
Hosted by the College of Sciences and Mathematics, in collaboration with the College of Agriculture, this year’s Comer Awards were presented to three graduating Auburn University students….
Researchers’ report informs governor’s strategic plan
Alabama’s $123 billion agriculture industry has identified land loss, profitability and transportation infrastructure among its most pressing challenges in a recent report. The findings of the report will inform Gov. Kay Ivey’s strategic economic growth plan,...
Geoff Williams named director of new Bee Center
Geoff Williams, associate professor, graduate program officer and longtime director of the AU-Bees Lab, is director of the new Auburn University Bee Center, effective Tuesday, April 1. In February, the Board of Trustees approved the establishment of the Auburn...
Innovating solutions to agricultural challenges
A team of both doctoral and undergraduate biosystems engineering students is tackling the age-old problem of precise fertilizer application with cutting-edge drone technology. According to NASA, they’re tackling it well.
Decoding Dicamba
Auburn researchers help farmers adapt to EPA changes This year, major regulatory changes enacted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will affect farmers nationwide, specifically herbicide use for soybean and cotton producers. For 2025, dicamba herbicide...
Developing high-performing genetic lines and hybrids for the catfish industry
Better breeding ability would make catfish farming more efficient and profitable The $437 million U.S. catfish industry is in need of better genetic and breeding technologies to be competitive with foreign imports. Recently, Auburn scientists have made advances in...
Weed Bionomics Lab leads fight against No. 1 crop pest
Imagine a weed that can produce 600,000 seeds per plant and grow as much as 2.5 inches per day. Such a weed exists, and it’s not being grown somewhere in a secure lab — it’s widespread in the fields of Alabama farmers and throughout the United States. This “super”...
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...
The Comer 150 Campaign: Rebuilding a legacy for tomorrow
As the College of Agriculture at Auburn University celebrated 150 years in 2022, it also announced plans to renovate its administrative building, Comer Hall. Last November, the Board of Trustees approved a comprehensive renovation of the building, including project...
Fueling a winner
The Southeastern Conference (SEC), on Feb. 24, named Sushil Adhikari as Auburn’s honoree for the SEC Faculty Achievement Award.
Auburn hosts forum on data science and AI in production agriculture and natural resources
Forum to be held 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday, April 21 Auburn University faculty researchers from the Colleges of Agriculture, Sciences and Mathematics, and Engineering seek to advance innovations in agriculture and natural resources. Together, they are hosting a...
Adhikari to serve as interim associate dean, associate director
Sushil Adhikari will serve as the Auburn University College of Agriculture’s interim associate dean for research and interim associate director of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, effective Feb. 16. He replaces Arthur Appel, who stepped into the role of...
Board of Trustees approves two agriculture projects at February meeting
Children’s garden, new Auburn University Bee Center approved Two transformational projects for the Auburn University College of Agriculture were approved by the Board of Trustees at its meeting on Friday, Feb. 7. First, the board approved phase one of a new children’s...
Experiment Station researchers leading nutrient management study with $1.3 million grant
Each year, the Alabama poultry industry produces two fully loaded Nimitz-class aircraft carriers’ worth of poultry litter, or about 3.6 billion pounds. Poultry litter is rich in nitrogen and phosphorus, and much of the waste product is applied to farmland as a...
Beck earns two awards for academic advising excellence
Mallory Beck, academic advisor for the Auburn University College of Agriculture’s Department of Animal Sciences, recently received two awards recognizing her excellence in her profession. Beck received the Outstanding New Advisor Award from the Provost’s Office’s 2025...
$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 million grant from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). The grant aims to increase...
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 2010-11 beekeeping season, when colony loss rates were first determined. U.S. beekeepers lost an estimated...
Three Auburn ag researchers to present at January regional farming conference
Auburn University’s Kip Balkcom, Eddie McGriff and Simerjeet Virk will be among the researchers presenting at the National Conservation Systems Cotton and Rice, Southern Soybean and Corn, Delta States Irrigation and Southern Precision Ag conferences being held Jan. 27...
Using thermal imaging to measure peanut physiological characteristics
Auburn-developed method could advance efforts to breed a drought-tolerant peanut Auburn University researchers have devised a new means of measuring the physiological characteristics of peanut plants that should prove to be instrumental in speeding the breeding...
Appel named interim dean and director for College of Agriculture, Experiment Station
Arthur Appel will serve as interim dean of the Auburn University College of Agriculture and interim director of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, effective Jan. 1. Appel has served in his current role as associate dean for research and assistant director of...
Rypel named director of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences
Andrew L. Rypel will serve as director of the Auburn University School of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences, effective March 22. He comes from the University of California at Davis, where he currently serves as director of the Center for Watershed Resources...
Wright named ASHS Fellow
Amy Wright, professor of horticulture and associate dean for instruction, was named an American Society for Horticultural Science Fellow at the society’s annual conference Sept. 23-27. ASHS is globally recognized as one of the most respected and influential...
Ru wins ASHS Early Career Competition
Sushan Ru, assistant professor of horticulture, won first place in the Early Career Competition at the American Society for Horticultural Science Annual Conference Sept. 23-27. ASHS is globally recognized as one of the most respected and influential professional...
Measuring the impact of natural light on chicken production
The average broiler chicken lives 6–8 weeks and spends much of that time indoors, but researchers at Auburn University are investigating the use of natural light in broiler houses and its effects on bird performance and welfare. A team of agricultural engineers,...
Bullard, Brantley named Alumni Professors
Two College of Agriculture faculty members were announced among Auburn University’s five 2024 Alumni Professors Sept. 20. Eve Brantley, a professor and associate director of the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, is a renowned expert in water quality and...
Water Resources Conference attracts record crowd, hosts student research awards
The Auburn University Water Resources Center welcomed a record 370 attendees to its annual Alabama Water Resources Conference in Orange Beach Sept. 4-6. The conference has been held since 1987. This year’s conference included eighty undergraduate and graduate students...
College of Agriculture hosts 45th annual Ag Roundup
The 45th annual Ag Roundup, hosted by the Auburn Agricultural Alumni Club and Auburn University College of Agriculture, will take place Sept. 14, 3:30-5:30 p.m., at Ag Heritage Park on the Auburn campus. The event is a Homecoming weekend tradition for alumni and...
Peanut breeding making strides
The Auburn University peanut breeding program has made significant strides in a surprisingly short amount of time, with one of its varietal releases now commanding 40-50% of the peanut acreage in Alabama.
Biosystems Engineering dominates at 2024 ASABE International Meeting
Jeremy Henderson Auburn University's Department of Biosystems Engineering (BSEN) was hard to miss at the 2024 American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) Annual International Meeting recently held in Anaheim, California. And hard to beat. Auburn...
Mahas part of first team to investigate Southern cotton leafroll dwarf virus management
As John Mahas prepared for a move to start postdoctoral research at Cornell University, he was still wrapping up research in the Auburn University lab where he earned his master’s and doctorate. It was here he focused his work on managing the emerging cotton leafroll dwarf virus (CLRDV) and its vector, the cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii. This research led to the publication of two peer-reviewed papers, one of which marked a first in the Southeastern United States.
Water Resources Center engages community in Moore’s Mill Creek Planning
As a project manager with Auburn’s Water Resource Center, Cooley manages watershed restoration projects and educates communities on how to care for rivers, streams and creeks.
Auburn works to bring bold breakthroughs in blueberry research
Blueberries, a superfood rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and essential nutrients, are widely celebrated during July for National Blueberry Month. Recognizing the potential within these small yet mighty fruits, researchers at Auburn University work to promote the positive health benefits of blueberries.
Promoting blueberry production in Alabama
As the U.S. celebrates National Blueberry Month in July, researchers in the Auburn College of Agriculture and the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station are looking for ways to boost blueberry production in the state by introducing more profitable cultivars for both field and protected cultivation.
Understanding the role of the soil microbiome in plant health
Soil scientist Audrey Gamble is working to improve sustainability of cotton production by improving soil microbial structure and function.
Mullenix named animal sciences department head
Kim Mullenix will serve as the next head of the Auburn University Department of Animal Sciences, effective Aug. 19.