In this Issue

  • A Message from the Dean
  • News from the College of Ag
  • Announcements
  • New Faces in the COA
  • Awards and Achievements
  • Events
  • Publications and Funding Opportunities

News from the College of Ag

More MSU in the news:

  • The Bozeman Daily Chronicle covered AGED student Brittany Mitchell’s work starting a diaper drive and diaper bank for families in need. Check out the story here!
  • Tri-State Livestock News highlighted a new book by Animal and Range Sciences’ Lance McNew, titled “Rangeland Wildlife Ecology and Conservation.” You can read the article here.

New Faces in the COA

Roseann Savino, our new Business Operations Manager for the agriculture dean’s office, will begin this week on May 1! Welcome, Roseann, we are so happy to have you!

Awards and Achievements

It is awards season at MSU, and we have so many faculty and staff who have received well-deserved recognition this year. Faculty and staff awardees include:

MSU All-Staff Awards:

  • Amy Bowser, Animal & Range Sciences -- Excellence in Innovative Service
  • Rachel Frost, Animal & Range Sciences – Excellence in Outreach

MSU Employee of the Year Service Excellence Awards:

  • David Baumbauer, Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology – Bobcat Lifetime Achievement Award
  • Denise De La Garza, Animal & Range Sciences – Courtesy
  • Kellen Marlow, Animal & Range Sciences – Safety

COA/MAES Awards of Excellence:

  • Amy Bowser, Animal and Range Sciences: Meritorious Service Award
  • Hayes Goosey Animal and Range Sciences/Extension: NACTA Teaching Award of Merit for Faculty
  • Amanda Grube, Animal & Range Sciences – NACTA Teaching Award of Merit for Graduate Students
  • Perry Miller, Land Resources and Environmental Sciences – Excellence in Research and Discovery Award
  • Adam Sigler, Land Resources and Environmental Sciences – Excellence in Impactful Outreach Award
  • Michael Walach, Agricultural and Technology Education – Excellence in Transformative Teaching Award

Additional Awards:

  • Dustin Perry, Agricultural and Technology Education – Outstanding Research Award at the National Association of Career and Technical Education Research Conference
  • Blake Wiedenheft, Microbiology and Cell Biology: Regional Agricultural Research Innovation Award and Induction into the Montana BIoScience Alliance Hall of Fame
  • Mel Wysocki: National Academic Advising Association Region 8 Excellence in Advising Award – New Advisor

Student Awards:

  • PSPP’s Matthew Slivka competed at the national Farm Bureau Collegiate Discussion Meet and finished fourth! At the contest, put on by the American Young Farmers and Ranchers, attendees give an opening and closing statement and engage in panel discussion about current issues in agriculture. Matthew was tasked with discussing advocacy and engagement of local, state, and federal policy makers; sustainability in American agriculture; water rights and management; and promoting diversity in the Farm Bureau and American agriculture. Congratulations on your success, Matthew!
  • LRES graduate student Caitlin Mitchell received two prestigious awards recently. She was recognized with the American Geophysical Union Outstanding Student Presentation Award for her presentation “Pathways of nitrate processing across agricultural riparian corridors are characterized through chemical compositions and associated isotopic signatures in shallow groundwater and surface water.” Virginia Tech also recognized Caitlin with the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences Outstanding Recent Undergraduate Alumni Award. The SPES director noted, “This recognition is truly an indication of the rapid and meaningful success you have had in your professional career since graduating from Virginia Tech.” Congratulations on your well-deserved recognition, Caitlin!
  • Stacie Rath, Fiscal Operations Manager for the LRES department, was recently recognized by VPR Alison Harmon as an everyday hero of research and innovation at MSU!  The research ability and output of LRES would be severely compromised if not for Stacie’s exceptional help. She is always available to assist faculty with their fiscal needs so that they can do outstanding research, and she consistently comes up with solutions so we can accomplish MSU’s mission. Congratulations, Stacie!
  • Congratulations to the LRES department’s outstanding seniors! Brennan Gaffney was recognized with the Outstanding Graduating Senior Award, and Bryce Pease received the Exceptional Service Award.
  • Graduate students from the Department of Animal and Range Sciences presented research and proposals at the Montana Nutrition Conference and Livestock Forum earlier this month. In the research division, Janessa Kluth took first place, Macy Collins took second and McKenzie Mork took third, and in the research proposal division Clayton Thompson took home first place. Congratulations to our outstanding students!

Events

  • Registration is open for the 2024 Mountain Meat Summit, set for May 21-23 at the AC Marriott Hotel in Bozeman. View the agenda and register on the event website.
  • The PSPP department hosted a community building Bouquet Designing event, which was a huge success! Thank you to everyone who attended this great springtime event.

Publications and Funding Opportunities

Recent COA/MAES publications

  • A New MSU Extension Magazine has been published by Marsha Goetting titled “Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias: Support for Montana Farmers and Ranchers and Their Families. Volume 1 is designed for Montana agricultural producers facing Alzheimer's, their families, and family caregivers to provide information that can make a positive difference in their lives. Copies can be ordered or downloaded for free on the MSU Extension website.
  • Mitchell, Caitlin, Ewing, Stephanie A., Sigler, W. Adam, Jencso, Kelsey G. & Payn, Robert A. (2024). Water isotopic composition traces source and dynamics of water supply in a semi-arid agricultural landscape. Hydrological Processes.
  • Lawver, B., Smalley, S.W., Perry, D. K., & Pate, M. L. (2024). Impact of sequential professional development of school-based agricultural education teachers: In-service implications for safety training. Journal of Agricultural Education. 
  • Perry, D. K., Smalley, S. W., Pate, M. L., & Lawver, R. G. (2024). Five-year analysis of teacher professional development. American Association for Agricultural Education Annual Conference, Manhattan, Kansas.
  • Kibirige, B., Perry, D. K. & Walach, M. (2024). Continued professional development among secondary agricultural education teachers in Uganda. American Association for Agricultural Education Annual Conference, Manhattan, Kansas.
  • Wang, Z.; Svyantek, A.; Miller, Z.; Watrelot, A.A. Assessment of Sequential Yeast Inoculation for Blackcurrant Wine Fermentation. Fermentation.
  • Nunlist EA, Tyers D, Pils A, Sowell BF. 2023. Grizzly bears and humans at alpine moth sites in Wyoming, USA. Human-Wildlife Interactions
  • Wall K, Kerth C, Miller R, Jane Boles. 2024. Sensory and volatile aromatic compound differences of paired lamb loins with 0 or 14 day dry aging. Small Ruminant Research.
  • Vergara-Hernandez FB, Nielsen BD, Popovich JM Jr, Panek CL, Logan AA, Robison CI, Robison CI, Ehrhardt RA, Johnson TN, Chargo NJ, Welsh Jr. TH, Amanda N. Bradbery, Leatherwood JL, Colbath AC. 2024. Clodronate disodium does not produce measurable effects on bone metabolism in an exercising, juvenile, large animal model. PLoS ONE.

Recent COA/MAES grants

  • Cecil Tharp, Adam Sigler. 2024. Reducing Toxics in the Upper Columbia through a new Pesticide Stewardship Partnership Program (PSPP). Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 2023 – 2028

Upcoming Funding Opportunities

  • WSARE Research and Education Pre-proposal: Researchers from Western institutions may apply. Projects must incorporate research and education, and bring together a team of researchers, students, ag professionals, and producers. This grant program involves scientists, agricultural producers, and others using interdisciplinary approaches to advance sustainable agriculture at local and regional levels. Closing Date: May 23. More information can be found here.
  • WSARE Professional and Producer Grant Program: Agricultural technical advisors and producers implementing projects to address identified needs in sustainable agriculture are welcome to apply for up to $85,000 in funding. Projects must integrate research and education to advance the three components of sustainable agriculture- environmental, economic and social. The project team should include an agricultural professional (researcher, consultant, faculty, etc.) and at least three producers. Closing date: October 22. More information can be found here.
  • WSARE Sabbatical Grant Program: These grants provide an opportunity for faculty around the world to partner with farmers, ranchers, agricultural professionals and researchers of the Western U.S. region for conducting research, education and Extension activities. Projects focused on unexplored topics in underserved communities and understudied geographic locations are of special interest. Closing date: November 21. More information can be found here.