In This Issue

  • A Message from the Dean
  • News from the College of Ag
  • Announcements and Awards
  • Events
  • Publications and Funding Opportunities

A Message from the Dean

Happy Holidays Team Ag!

As we are about to celebrate the New Year, I want to thank you for a great fall semester and wonderful year for our college. The success we’ve seen wouldn’t be possible without your hard work in inspiring our students to learn and succeed, conducting cutting-edge research that benefits our society, extending our education to the public, and contributing to our land-grant mission. I am grateful each day for our wonderful team, and am so proud of all we’ve accomplished together.

And of course, I want to take a moment to also congratulate our students who graduated this semester! It is always a joy to celebrate our graduates and their families at commencement, and our ceremonies on Dec. 15 were a wonderful event. Many thanks to our faculty and staff who work so hard in supporting and guiding our students toward their degrees.

I hope you will take the time to relax and celebrate the holiday season with family and friends. Wishing you all the best in 2024!

Sincerely,

Sreekala Bajwa

News from the College of Ag

More faculty in the news:

  • Precision Farming Dealer featured work by Bruce Maxwell in a recent piece on agricultural technology.
  • The Billings Gazette published a story about the use of drones in research featuring graduate student Jason Hanlon and his adviser, Lance McNew. 
  • The second season of the Working Wild University podcast will explore community and landowner-led wildlife conservation and tribal lands across the west. Hosts are Jared Beaver, assistant professor in Animal & Range Sciences and MSU Extension wildlife specialist, along with Hallie Mahowald of Western Landowners Alliance. Listen at https://workingwild.us/.
  • The late Raymond P. “Ray” Ansotegui, emeritus professor in The Department of Animal and Range Sciences, was posthumously inducted into the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center in Great Falls. He is the first full-time professor to be nominated for the accolade.

Announcements and Awards

  • If you are an administrator on any College of Agriculture social media account (Facebook, Instagram, X, etc.) please review the MSU social media policy. All university accounts must be registered with the MSU social media office.

 

  • Indian Education for All of Us: From Jennifer Lachowiec, College of Agriculture Academic Diversity Partner
    Did you know that the Montana Constitution states “The state recognizes the distinct and unique cultural heritage of American Indians and is committed in its educational goals to the preservation of their cultural integrity"?
    In 1999, the Montana Legislature passed a state law "predicated on the belief that all school personnel should have an understanding and awareness of Indian tribes to help them relate effectively with Indian students and parents, that educational agencies provide means by which school personnel will gain an understanding of and appreciation for the American Indian people.”
    At MSU, this means faculty and staff complete Indian Education for All online training. Starting in 2023, all incoming faculty and staff complete this training during their orientation. If you started at MSU before then, you can complete the training at your convenience at https://msubozeman-mt.vectorlmsedu.com/training/home. The College of Agriculture is targeting 100% completion by all faculty and staff by May 2024. Help us achieve this goal and spread the word!
  • We want to hear from YOU: Please take the time to fill out this short survey and share it with producers and constituents so we can do the best possible job of shaping future investments according to the needs of our stakeholders.
  • The Dan Scott Ranch Management Program welcomes seven new students. The 2026 Ranching Systems cohort consists of (left to right), Major Harms (Georgia), Buster Reis (South Dakota), Paige Carda (Montana), Chase Shunk (Colorado), Sierra Bajek (Colorado), Adrien Ambrosio (Colorado) and Conor Clay (Montana). These students are looking forward to serving internships on partner ranches in the summers of 2024-2025!
  • Kierstin Schmitt, administrative associate at the Western Ag Research Center, has been elected to the Bitterroot Chamber of Commerce board and will serve as the interim chair of the newly reestablished Agriculture (and Local Foods) Committee. This committee will work to increase visibility & engagement with the local agriculture and local foods community through various outreach opportunities. 

 

Awards

  • A special shoutout to the recipients of our Outstanding Undergraduate Awards! These students were recognized at Celebrate Ag weekend in November:
    • Outstanding Undergraduate in Research: Pilar Santos - Environmental Health
    • Outstanding Undergraduate in Engagement: Gloria Baldevia - Economics, Global Health and China Studies
    • Outstanding Undergraduate in Leadership: Joe Lackman - Agricultural Education and Agricultural Business
  • Dr. Lisa Rew of the Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences received the Outstanding Research Award from the Weed Science Society of America. She will be honored at the organization's annual meeting in January.
  • Congratulations to Dr. Brent and Tracie Roeder, recipients of the Distinguished Producer Award from the American Sheep Industry Association! They will be recognized at the 2024 ASI annual convention in January.

Events in the COA

Upcoming Events

  • The Spring 2024 Bair Ranch Foundation Seminar Series will kick off at noon Thursday, January 25, in ABB 134, with Travis Mullinks, Glenn & Mildred Harvey professor of beef cattle at Oregon State University. View the full speaker line-up at https://animalrange.montana.edu/bairranchfoundation.html.

Publications and Funding Opportunities

  • You can find a full list of recent publications from MSU's Library and Office of Sponsored Programs here.
  • Recent COA/MAES publications include:
    • Romanok, K.M., Bradley, P.M., Smalling, K.L., Doyle, J.T., Eggers, M.J., Gray, J.L., Hladik, M.L., Kanagy, L.K., McCleskey, R.B., Meppelink, S.M., Richards, C.L., and Roth, D.A. Target-chemical concentrations and microbiological results in surface water and tapwater, Montana U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9R7MV6I
    • Peoples, Logan M., John E. Dore, Evan M. Bilbrey, Trista J. Vick-Majors, John R. Ranieri, Kate A. Evans, Abigail M. Ross, Shawn P. Devlin, and Matthew J. Church. "Oxic methane production from methylphosphonate in a large oligotrophic lake: limitation by substrate and organic carbon supply." Applied and environmental microbiology: e01097-23.
    • VanWieren, Rebekah, and Nina Barfoot. “Story Mill Community Park.”Landscape Performance Series. Landscape Architecture Foundation, 2023. https://doi.org/10.31353/cs1990
  • For current and upcoming funding opportunities, check out the MSU Office of Research and Economic Development database here.
  • The Montana Fertilizer Advisory Committee invites applications for funding. The links to submit project proposals and reports are on the website. All applications will be submitted through InfoReady and are due January 9. The in-person MFAC meeting will be on campus January 31 January - February 1. Specific time slots will be determined at a later date.