In this Issue

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

A Message from the Dean

Dear Ag Family,

Congratulations on completing another successful academic year. We had a large cohort of students who graduated earlier this month. My heartiest congratulations to all graduates as they end their current chapter at MSU and embark on new and exciting paths. I am so proud of all of you! My gratitude also goes to all our faculty and staff who helped our students to achieve this milestone.

This year brought many successes and recognitions to our college, thanks to the outstanding performance of our students, staff and faculty members. Thanks to your hard work, we made gains in student retention and kept our enrollment steady. More importantly, the impact you make on our graduates as mentors and teachers is invaluable. Please know that you are shaping the future of our world through the students you help.

We hired another round of 12 outstanding faculty this year, many of whom will start in August. We have dedicated more resources than ever to support graduate students, our research expenditures have continued to grow and that trend is expected to continue in FY24.

Summer is always an exciting time for our college with field days and numerous other events. Our full field day schedule appears in this newsletter, and I encourage you to attend to learn about how our research is vital to sustainable agricultural production in Montana.

Wishing you all an outstanding summer!

Sreekala Bajwa

News from the College of Ag

More MSU in the news:

  • The Professional MS in Land Resources & Environmental Sciences celebrated the milestone of 150 graduates this spring. Since the program began in the fall of 2012, it has had 166 total graduates. This program has a wide geographic reach: graduates this semester live in and presented from California, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Montana (Arlee, Billings, Bozeman, Kalispell), The Bahamas, Dominican Republic, and Germany. Congratulations and thank you to director Dr. Tracy Sterling, program coordinator Dr. Scott Powell, program manager Marni Rolston and department head Dr. Bob Peterson for their commitment to accessible graduate education!

Awards and Achievements

  • MSU medical laboratory science student Gracie Tooke was one of 18 students nationwide to be awarded a scholarship from the American Society of Clinical Laboratory Scientists. Gracie began her clinical rotation in MSU’s med lab science program this spring. Congratulations, Gracie!
  • Graduate research assistant Kaelin Smith is one of two graduate students to be recognized with a competitive scholarship from the Montana Grains Foundation. Congratulations, Kaelin, and thank you to the Montana Grain Growers Association for their student support!
  • Earlier this month, we celebrated our faculty who have achieved promotion or tenure this academic year! This is a major milestone and we are so proud to recognize Ryan Thum, (PSPP), Michelle Flenniken (PSPP), Associate Dean Jennifer Thomson and Ravalli County Extension Agent Kimberly Richardson for their hard work and service to MSU. Congratulations and thank you for your extraordinary service and scholarship!

Recent Events

WARC superintendent Zach Miller and administrative associate Kierstin Schmitt helped the US Forest Service to prune and preserve apple and cherry trees on a historic orchard on Lantz Bar on the Main Salmon River earlier this month. Two dozen USFS staff from 3 National Forests came together to discuss the plans for the historic homestead of Frank Lantz who, among other pioneering activities, panned for gold, planted an orchard, dug irrigation lines, fought fires and was eventually hired by the Forest Service to build trails. Frank lived on Lantz Bar for over 50 years and the trees he planted, as well as those spread by bears and birds, will continue to bear fruit for decades to come.

Upcoming Events

The 2024 Summer Field Days are here! The full schedule is below and more information can be found at agresearch.montana.edu/fielddays.html.

  • June 20, NARC, Havre: 3 p.m.
  • June 26, CARC, Moccasin: 8:30 a.m.
  • June 27, EARC, Sidney: 8 a.m.
  • July 10, WTARC, Conrad: 10 a.m.
  • July 11, NWARC, Creston: 11 a.m.
  • July 17, Post Farm, Bozeman: 8 a.m.
  • August 29, BART and Horticulture Farms, Bozeman: 5 p.m.
  • September 12, WARC, Corvallis: 4:30 p.m.

Publications and Funding Opportunities

Recent COA/MAES publications

  • Zhuoyu Wang, Andrej Svyantek, Zachariah Miller, Bridgid Jarrett, Stacy Green, and Ashley Kapus. “Postharvest Treatment Effects on ‘Somerset Seedless’ Cold-hardy Table Grapes.” International Journal of Fruit Science.
  • MSU Extension has released a new magazine, Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias Support for Montana Farmers and Ranchers. “We developed this magazine because there is little information about Alzheimer’s directed to Montana’s agricultural producers,” said Dr. Marsha Goetting, Professor and MSU Extension Family Economics Specialist and lead author. The magazine is designed for farmers and ranchers facing early to middle stages of Alzheimer's, their families and family caregivers. The magazine is also on-line so readers can click on the link. The magazine is available online via the MSU Extension website or readers can request a hard copy by emailing marsha.goetting@montana.edu.

Upcoming Funding Opportunities

  • WSARE Professional and Producer Grant Program: Agricultural technical advisors and producers implementing projects to address needs in sustainable agriculture may 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 team should include an agricultural professional 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. for research, education and Extension activities. Projects focused on unexplored topics in underserved communities and understudied locations are of special interest. Closing date: November 21. More information can be found here.