EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State University’s Turf Team was recognized with the Michigan Golf Course Owners Assoc. (MGCOA) Award of Merit for its outstanding work and contribution to the game of golf.

The Turf Team, comprised of several faculty members, wrote the book on golf course management. The group has covered every aspect of golf course management from basic agronomic practices and financial management to the most detailed best management practices to improve daily play, making the game more fun for everyone.

“Their collective contribution to the game of golf is vast, having defined virtually everything we do and how we do it,” said Bob Koutnik, of the MGCOA.

Michigan State University has trained more golf turf professionals and educators than any other institution. James Kells, chair of the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, accepted the award, during the MGCOA’s Award Banquet last month.

Members of the team include the following from the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences: Trey Rogers and Jim Crum, professors; Kevin Frank, associate professor; David Gilstrap, senior specialist; Thom Nikolai and Yusong Mu, specialists; and retired professor Paul Rieke. Additional members of the team include: Joe Vargas, professor in the Department of Plant Pathology, and David Smitley, professor in the Department of Entomology.

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Current issues in land-grant research and recognition of award-winning researchers in the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture highlighted the 2011 Celebration of Land-Grant Research.

Hosted by the college’s research office, the celebration was in Seay Auditorium in the Agricultural Science Center. The keynote speaker was Gale Buchanan, former under secretary for research, education and economics in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Buchanan, a Florida native, dedicated 40 years to an academic career as a professor, experiment station director and dean of the University of Georgia College of Agriculture. In 2005, President George W. Bush nominated Buchanan to serve as under secretary and later, as chief scientist in the USDA. 

The land-grant celebration will continue with the presentation of the 2011 recipients of the Bobby Pass Excellence in Grantsmanship Award, High Impact Research/Extension Award and the Prestigious Research Paper Award. This year’s award recipients include:

Bobby Pass Excellence in Grantsmanship Award - Joe Chappell for his outstanding record on competitive federal funding for phytochemical research. Chappell served as principal investigator on competitive federal grants totaling more than $8 million over the past five years. He is a faculty member in the UK Department of Plant and Soil Sciences.

Research/Extension Impact Award- Kenneth Haynes, S. Reddy Palli and Michael Potter for their work on insecticide resistance, chemical ecology and management of bed bugs. UK has received significant national media attention due to its outstanding work in the timely issue of managing bed bugs. All three are faculty members in the Department of Entomology.

Prestigious Research Paper Award- James Harwood for his paper: “Tracking the Role of Alternative Prey in Soybean Aphid Predation by Orius Insidiosus: A Molecular Approach,” published in Molecular Ecology. Harwood is a faculty member in the Department of Entomology.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A Purdue University agricultural economist who has helped farmers and agribusinesses modernize their management strategies is the 2011 recipient of the Frederick L. Hovde Award of Excellence in Education Service to the Rural People of Indiana.

Michael D. Boehlje, distinguished professor of agricultural economics, received the award Dec. 9 at the Indiana Farm Bureau convention in Indianapolis. The award honors Purdue staff with a record of outstanding achievement and service to rural communities. The award is sponsored by Indiana Farm Bureau and carries with it a monetary prize. It is named for Purdue’s seventh president, who served from 1946-71.

Through Purdue Extension programs, Boehlje presents complex concepts in economics, finance and strategy with a clarity that is easily understood so that participants can begin implementing the tools in their businesses immediately.

He also coordinated a major U.S. Department of Agriculture study on tax policy and its impact on the structure of agriculture. His work was used extensively in the discussion and debate that led to legislative reforms, which substantially reduced tax sheltering in agriculture and other industries. 

Boehlje has taught agricultural management and finance for most of his 40-year career. He authored a textbook on farm finance that is widely used in universities and community colleges in Indiana and around the nation. He teaches in the Center for Food and Agricultural Business executive development programs, Purdue’s MS-MBA program in food and agribusiness management and in schools and workshops for farmers, lenders and agribusiness leaders.

Boehlje was instrumental in developing the Purdue Agricultural Innovation and Commercialization Center and the Center for Commercial Agriculture. He has written more than 500 publications, including classroom textbooks and Extension publications. He also is a fellow of the American Agricultural Economics Assoc. and the International Food and Agribusiness Management Assoc.