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Crop & Soil Sciences: News & Events
News Archive 2005
Cropping System Agronomist position
Dr. John Baldwin left UGA for the University of Florida. We are moving forward to reestablish our effort in peanuts. this position will become a Peanut System Agronomist focused o rotation, tillage and nutrition factors affecting production.
Soil Chemist position
Drs. Kang Xia and Mark Williams have taken positions at Mississippi State. Dr. Xia's program in Soil Chemistry is critical to our research effort and teaching program in Environmental Chemistry. We are fortunate to have received a Georgia Power Professorship in Soil Chemistry and will be moving forward to fill this critical position.
New Dean for the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
Dr. Scott Angle joined us in 2005 and has hit the ground running. He was at the Univerisy of Maryland serving as the Associate Dean of Research. His area of expertise is Environmental Science so he has his tenure in the Department of Crop and Soil Science.
Dr. Glenn Burton, 1910-2005 (posted 11.22.05)
Dr. Glenn Burton, long-time employee of both USDA-ARS Forage and Turf Unit and University of Georgia Cropand Soil Science Dept., passed away on Tuesday, November 22, 2005. His initial responsibility was improving the breeds of grasses used by farmers in the South. It was in 1943, after seven years of experimenting with more than 5,000 varieties, that he developed Coastal bermuda grass which enabled farmers to increase cattle production through grazing year-round and at the same time reduce soil erosion far better than common bermuda grasses.
Eventually, Burton developed more than 20 varieties of forage grasses, and today more than 10 million acres of pasture land from the Carolinas to central Texas have been planted with his grasses, notably the Coastal bermuda variety. A more recent improvement is Tifton 85, which covers more than one million acres in Brazil, where farmers raise many more cattle than in the U.S.
He was one of the world's foremost agricultural scientists whose efforts in plant genetics from 1936 to the 1990s with colleagues at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the University of Georgia at Tifton have helped "feed the hungry, protect and beautify the environment, and provide recreation for millions."
Hiring new Forage Extension Specialist
The department is losing our outstanding forage extension specialist to of all places Clemson--sorry John. We will move immediately to refill this critical position as our forage team is down to Drs. Nick Hill and Carl Hoveland. Carl has been gracious enough to continue providing his services even after his official retirement. We will provide support to our Ag. Agents and growers using our existing Forage Extension team and by adding a temporary member--Dr. John Woodruff. John will be rehired in the near future.
Interviewing for our next Forage Breeder
Dr. Joe Bouton retired from our Department to take a position at the Nobel Foundation. Although Joe will be impossible to replace, refilling this position is critical to providing Georgia growers with productive forages. We have finished an extensive international search for Joe's replacement and are fortunate to have found 3 outstanding candidates. We will be interviewing and hopefully finalizing filling this critical position in early 2006.