The  VICE PRESIDENT of Agriculture and DEAN of the College of Agriculture position opened up at Montana State University. Initial screening of applications will begin immediately and continue until an appointment is made. For full consideration, materials should be provided by FEBRUARY 18, 2014.

Overview

Montana State University invites nominations and applications for the position of Vice President of Agriculture (VPA) and Dean of the College of Agriculture.

The College of Agriculture comprises six academic departments: Agricultural Economics and Economics, Animal and Range Sciences, Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Land...

Despite the increasing potential for rain this week, California remains poised to experience exceptional drought conditions in 2014. Under prolonged periods of dry weather, weed control is likely to suffer. This is especially troubling for growers as both crops and weeds will be competing to capture limited soil moisture, which could result in significant yield losses.

Although fewer weed seeds may germinate under dry conditions, weeds that do emerge and become established may be more difficult to manage with herbicides. Drought-stressed weeds are likely to have thicker cuticles (which is the waxy coating on the surface of the leaf), which can inhibit the absorption of post-emergence products. Additionally, plant architecture...

Agriculture is under pressure from regulations, as well as environmental and economic issues. In 2013 there were also widespread labor shortages in the Salinas Valley. These issues put pressure on growers to adapt and resolve each of these problems. Fortunately, new technological developments can provide solutions to some of the issues that growers face. In 2013, four companies developed automated thinners for use in lettuce production (photos 1-4). These machines came at a fortuitous time for growers and provided one solution for dealing with labor shortages.

The thinners use a camera to capture images of the lettuce stand and a computer to process the images and make decisions on what plants to remove and which to keep (photo...

While conducting a field experiment testing herbicides for control of sahara mustard in Borrego Springs in 2011, out of a corner of my eye I saw a ring of rusty brown around an ant hole. 

Being curious I looked closer. It was an organized mound that was maybe 1 inch high and 3 inches across of redstem filaree (Erodium cicutarium) fruit. It was exclusively filaree, nothing else. 

So I explored a little more on my knees and saw these small black ants a foot or so away on a well-beaten trail. Most of the ants had a filaree fruit in its mouth. I don't know the species of ant, but a quick Google search suggests that it is a species of...