Reagan Noland, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension’s newest agronomist, specializes in corn, soybean and small grains like wheat, oats, barley and rye. These commodities have a combined Georgia farm gate value of almost $450 million.

The Texas native is excited about working with other UGA Extension agents to conduct applied research on the UGA Tifton campus.

“It was appealing to come somewhere where Extension is very relevant,” Noland said. “I want to help transfer the latest and most applicable research-based information to agents and growers who need it, and UGA Extension has an outstanding reputation in this area.”

Noland’s 80 percent Extension appointment means that he will spend the majority of his time meeting and talking with county agents about concerns within these specific commodities. The remaining 20 percent of Noland’s time will be spent on research-related projects.

“Up front, I will work to identify primary issues and areas of potential improvement to determine where we need to focus our research projects. Information gained from research will be combined with the older knowledge of these crops for Extension programming,” he said. “Grain crops have an important role in Georgia agriculture, and there is great potential for improvement through both research and Extension.”

Upon arriving at UGA-Tifton on Aug. 1, Noland’s first order of business was to confer with retired UGA Extension agronomist Dewey Lee.

Noland holds a bachelor’s degree in natural resource management from Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas, a master’s degree in agronomy from Texas A&M University and a doctorate in agronomy and agroecology from the University of Minnesota.