In this Issue

  • A Message from the Dean
  • News from the College of Ag
  • Welcome to our new Faculty!
  • Awards and Achievements
  • Events
  • Publications and Grants

A Message from the Dean

Dear College of Agriculture and MAES,

Welcome to academic year 2024-25!

I hope you had a wonderful summer, whether you were focused on lab or field research, traveling, or spending time with family. I am excited to welcome a new batch of students, along with new faculty and staff, to our college.

While we don’t have fall enrollment numbers yet, we are excited to welcome 11 new tenure-track faculty this academic year. With the two new faculty members who joined us in the spring, we have hired 13 new faculty members in 2024, and I am so excited to welcome these brilliant new academics! They bring a wealth of knowledge, ideas and excitement to elevate our research, teaching and service mission to new heights. We will start our onboarding program in September to help our new team members acclimatize, aid them in networking with their colleagues and support them to succeed.

This year, we continue to prioritize student success as our number one goal. The commitment of our faculty and staff to helping and engaging our students in and out of the classroom is the foundation for achieving this goal, and we are set up for continued success this academic year. As a part of this collaborative effort, please join us at 3 p.m. on August 27 in Leigh Lounge for our college’s welcome back ice cream social.

I wish you all a successful fall semester and academic year,

Sreekala Bajwa

News from the College of Ag

More MSU in the news:

  • Dr. Jess Kansman of the PSPP department was featured in the Entomological Society of America’s July newsletter! Read her Q&A here.
  • The Ravalli Republic highlighted ongoing work at WARC with a USDA crop block grant that his helping provide mini-grants to producers. You can read their coverage here.

Welcome to our new faculty!

So far in 2024, we have hired 13 new tenure track faculty! We will be highlighting these new hires on our social media channels throughout the fall. New faces across the COA include:

  • Ricardo Pinto, Northern Ag Research Center, Precision Agriculture Specialist
  • Emily Sewell, Ag and Technology Education, assistant professor
  • Hannah Speer, Northern Ag Research Center, Assistant Professor of Animal Science
  • Finn Tinsley: Animal and Range Sciences, Towne Livestock Foreman
  • Jack Magee: Animal and Range Sciences, Research Assistant
  • Taylor Kaltenbach: Animal and Range Sciences, Research Associate
  • Glen Collins: Foreman, Red Bluff Research Ranch
  • Joe Jensen: Northwestern Ag Research Center, Cropping Systems Agronomist
  • Anish Sapkota: Land Resources and Environmental Sciences, Assistant Professor of Data Intensive and Precision Agriculture

Awards and Achievements

  • Our very own dean Sreekala Bajwa has been appointed to serve on USDA’s National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education and Economics Advisory Board! This 10-member board provides expert recommendations to help ensure that USDA research is informed by the best available science.
  • Congratulations to MSU Extension Beef Cattle Specialist Megan Van Emon, who was awarded the 2024 Distinguished Service award by the National Association of County Agricultural Agents in recognition of her Extension education programs!
  • Graduate student Makayla Ogg received the 2024 Dr. Janice Bowman Graduate Student Fellowship Award! Makayla earned her master’s degree in ARS in 2022 and is currently working toward her doctorate. The fellowship includes $5,000 to support all aspects of Makayla's research program and scholarship.
  • The American Farm Bureau Federation earned a Power of Associations Silver Award for its Social Media Ambassador Program earlier this year. Through the program, Collegiate Farm Bureau social media ambassadors highlight happenings at an annual leadership conference. MSU senior Haley Droogsma was an ambassador for the National Young Farmer & Rancher Conference in Omaha. Haley has also been working as the digital communications intern for the Montana Farm Bureau Federation.
  • Wishing a very happy retirement to George Haynes of the Department of Agricultural Economics and Economics! Dr. Haynes retired this month after an exceptional career in research, service and education. He also spent more than a decade as MSU Faculty-Athletics Representative, advocating for the wellbeing of MSU student-athletes both on and off the field of play. Thank you, George, for all you have done for MSU!

Recent Events

Thank you to everyone who has attended our summer field days so far! Events in Havre, Moccasin, Sidney, Conrad, Creston and Bozeman have all been huge successes. We have two more field days at the BART Farm in Bozeman on August 29 and at WARC in Corvallis on September 12, so we hope you’ll join us once more before the season is over.

Upcoming Events

  • Faculty in the Department of Ag Econ and Econ are hosting, “Economics in the 2024 Presidential Election.” The course meets weekly on Thursdays through October 31, and is open to the public. Faculty will discuss the economics of the policy positions of the 2024 candidates on major issues from climate change to health care and beyond. More information is available on the event website.
  • The USDA will host a free webinar, “Leveraging Extension and University Engagement: Developing and Implementing Novel Projects Using Transdisciplinary Approaches” on Monday, September 9 at 11 a.m. MST. The event will discuss methods of implementing and supporting multifaceted projects that feature a variety of perspectives in addressing the complex challenges facing food and agricultural systems today. More information is available on the USDA website.
  • Save the date for the inaugural Cattle Academy Conference set for Nov. 19-20 in Miles City. More information is available on the ARS department website.

Publications and Funding Opportunities

Recent Publications

Recent Grants

  • “Improving and Managing Adaptation of Barley to Abiotic Stress with Stay-Green Trait” (PI: Jessica Torrion, Co-PIs: Jamie Sherman, Kent McVay, Paul Nugent, in partnership with Maryse Bourgault)
  • “Novel methods to enhance detection of equine gene doping agents and vectors” (Amanda Bradbery)
  • “Long Term Whitebark Pine Monitoring in Northern Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem” (Daniel Atwater)
  • “Immune status and gastrointestinal development in neonatal foals supplemented with anti-endotoxin IgY” (Amanda Bradbery)
  • “Elucidating Gut Microbiota-dependent Health Impacts of Haskap Berries to Inform Agricultural Production Practices that will Maximize Bioactive Potential“ (Mary Miles, Brian Bothner, Zach Miller, Andrej Svyantek, Seth Walk, Zhuoyu Wang, Carl Yeoman)

Funding Opportunities