Specialties: Soil and Nutrient Management Soil and Waste Management

Professional Experience

• Associate Extension Professor, Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky, April 2016 to present – (UK-REC), Princeton, Kentucky
• Assistant Extension Professor, Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky, October 2010 to April 2016 – located at the University of Kentucky Research and Education Center (UK-REC) in Princeton, Kentucky
• Research Specialist, Kentucky-Tennessee Tobacco Improvement Initiative, Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky, 1999 to 2010
• Graduate Research Assistant, Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, 1996 to 1999

Extension Activities (80% of DOE)

Major Extension Program Areas:  I provide current recommendations for crop production in the areas of manure management, soil fertility, and soil management. Specific extension focus areas are to promote the judicious use of animal manures, provide research-based data regarding crop sulfur needs specific to Kentucky clientele, and work with NRCS to provide science-based information for cover crop use. I deliver this scientifically sound information in a timely manner to clientele using presentations, publications, emails, phone calls, blogs, on-farm research, agent trainings, and farm visits.

Research Activities (20% of DOE)

My research supports my extension programming for best nutrient management, including commercial fertilizer, animal waste, cover crops, industrial by-product use, and other soil management practices. My research has included refining nitrogen availability coefficients for poultry litter, quantifying benefits of manure use above nutrient contribution, and providing a better understanding of weed/poultry litter dynamics. I have coordinated numerous sulfur tissue surveys and response trials to provide a better understanding of the sulfur plant nutrition status in Kentucky.