Crop Production
Meet the Team – Agronomic Crops
1 min read
Timely information to producers can be critical in the prevention of crop loss. The Alabama Cooperative Extension agronomic crops team delivers research-based integrated information to improve producer management decisions while increasing profitability. The team offers expertise for all major row crops in the following areas:
- agronomy
- plant pathology
- entomology
- weed science
- agricultural engineering
- soil fertility
Alabama producers of corn, cotton, soybeans, and peanuts report improved yields and cost savings thanks to the work of these experts and the educational information they provide.
Agronomic Crops Specialists
| Name | Title | Specialty Area(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Team Coordinator | ||
| Steve Li | Associate Professor and Extension Specialist | Weed science, agricultural drones |
| Team Members | ||
| Kris Balkcom | Assistant Extension Professor | Peanut varieties, seeding rates, seed treatments, planting dates, row spacing, tillage, and sub surface drip irrigation. |
| Eve Brantley | Director Water Resource Ctr Adm-Agriculture | Natural resource ecology and management, water resources, and watershed management |
| Steve Brown | Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist | Cotton agronomist |
| Kassie Conner | Extension Plant Pathologist; Director of Plant Diagnostic Lab | Plant pathologist and plant disease diagnostician |
| Eros Francisco | Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist | Grain crops (corn, soybean, and small grains) |
| Scott Graham | Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist | Entomologist for cotton, soybean, and peanut |
| Austin Hagan | Visiting Professor | Management of plant diseases of field crops. |
| Katelyn Kesheimer | Assistant Professor and Extension Professor | Entomologist for corn, small grains, stored grain, forages and pastures, and hemp |
| Ayanava Majumdar | Professor and Extension Specialist | Entomology and the Alabama Beginning Farmer Program |
| Brenda Ortiz | Professor and Extension Specialist | Precision agriculture, irrigation |
| Rishi Prasad | Professor and Extension Specialist | Nutrient management and environmental stewardship, working with corn, soybeans, and cotton |
| Adam Rabinowitz | Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist | Farm and agribusiness management |
| Max Runge | Professor and Extension Specialist | Farm and agribusiness management, including farm management, profit profiles, agricultural data, and enterprise budgets |
| David Russell | Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist | Weed science in corn, soybean, small grains, forages, and non-crop |
| Wendiam Sawadgo | Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist | Farm and agribusiness management |
| Meredith Shrader | Extension Entomologist and Plant Pathologist | Entomology and plant pathology |
| Edward Sikora | Extension Plant Pathologist | Plant pathologist for corn, soybeans, and hemp |
| Kent Stanford | Associate Professor and Extension Specialist | Nutrient management |
| Ron Smith | Visiting Professor | Management and control of cotton and soybean insects |
| Amanda Strayer-Scherer | Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist | Plant pathologist for cotton, peanut, small grains, and forages |
| Sonja Thomas | Extension Specialist | Pesticide applicator training coordinator |
| Tyler Sandlin | Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist | Agronomic crops |