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The K-State Student Agronomist

Calendar Alumni HighlightSoil quality, plant diversity, ecosystem

evaluation and social change are all aspects of Alex Miller’s job. He is a range management specialist for the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). “There’s a lot to learn in range management. It’s a multi-faceted field,” he says, “and it’s nice to have a job where I’m not doing the same thing year-round.”

Miller works in Westmoreland and Manhattan. He gradu-ated from K-State in fall 2003 and has been working for the NRCS ever since.

“My job is to improve range conditions by working with producers. We promote range conservation by helping them find funding to better their land,” Miller says. Through a cost-share program, producers can get help with clearing out invasive trees, revegetating land and installing cross fencing and watering facilities. He also helps people convert to no-till and reseed grass.

The best part of Miller’s job is working

with producers who are enthusiastic about what they are doing, he says. “I like to see the difference we can make over time.”

He has realized that knowing how to deal with different types of people is very important, so some exposure to that in college would have helped him. As for classes, Miller says he wishes he could take technical writing again, since he writes conservation plans. He also says he thinks a soil fertility and a GIS class would be valuable.

While still in college, Miller spent two of his summers in NRCS STEP (Student Temporary Employment Program) in New Mexico. “It was neat to be in a new type of environment. I was exposed to different kinds of range problems,” he says. After graduation, the NRCS hired him for a full-time position in New Mexico. Miller eventually found a position closer to home.

He advises students to take opportunities that get them out of their comfort zone. “As you get older, you get more tied-down and set in your ways. Travel some – there are a lot of good ideas in other areas of the world that can add value to your career.”

One practice that can increase carbon sequestration is continuous no-till. When soil is tilled, air is mixed into the soil and organic matter is oxidized by soil microbes, releasing a portion of the stored soil carbon. By avoiding all tillage, no-till production avoids oxidizing organic matter. As a result, more of the plant organic carbon remains in the soil every year.

When planting corn, avoid placing starter fertilizer in direct contact with the seed if possible. If you are placing starter fertilizer with the seed, be sure to use less than 10 lbs per acre of nitrogen and potash combined. On the other hand, starter fertilizer applied in a band to the side of the seed or dribbled on the soil surface at planting time likely will help early corn growth, especially when planting early and/or in no-till.

If you’re in agronomy, you’re family April 2009

April 18 Open House

April 19 Ag Awards Assembly, 2 p.m., Forum Hall, Student Union

April 27 Landon Lecture - Gen. David Patraeus, McCain Auditorium

May 8 Last day of spring 2009 term

May 11-15 Finals

Agronomy e-Update Briefs

The Wheat State Agronomy Club meets every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month in Throckmorton 2002 - new members are welcome!

Department of Agronomy Kansas State University 1022 Throckmorton Hall Manhattan, KS 66506 (785) 532-7258 www.agronomy.k-state.edu

Alex Miller

Syngenta, Inc. is a global agricultural company with three main divisions: biotechnology development, crop protection and seeds. Syngenta operates in 90 countries with more than 20,000 employ-ees. “We’re a company of growing technology and innovation, so we look for those qualities in our employees,” says Jim Emanuel, Syngenta recruiting and training coordinator from Nebraska. Emanuel recruits for the seeds division, and says that about 50 per-cent of the jobs in his area are in sales, with others in seed produc-tion management and plant breeding/genetics. “We want people who have the ability to affect change and who have demonstrated leadership,” he says.

Emanuel’s advice: Don’t use a generic template for your resume. You will not stand out as easily when yours looks like everyone else’s, he says. Also, Emanuel says to always bring a notebook, pen and plenty of resumes to the interview, and to ask for the job after the interview is over. “When selling a product, you ask for a customer’s business,” he says. “It’s only natural to ask for the job.”

To view Syngenta’s current job and internship openings, go to www.syngenta.com.

Employer of the Month - Syngenta, Inc.

Message from Dr. Mickey Ransom, Assistant Head for Teaching

A long-term research project is underway at the Bressner Pastures in Woodson County to determine how viable patch-burn grazing is for raising livestock. Patch-burn grazing is a fairly new concept in rangeland management, but has been occurring naturally for hundreds of years. In the past, Native Americans purposely started prairie fires, and lightning also did this naturally. Bison and other native herbivores were attracted to the new growth. Consequently, these animals moved from grazing area to grazing area, searching out the most attractive areas of new growth.

“Some ranchers are mimicking that grazing pattern by dividing a large pasture into three or more sections,” Range Management Specialist Dr. Walt Fick says. Every year, one of those sections is prescribed burned, concentrating the grazing pressure in specific areas of the pasture. “The cattle are free-roaming over the entire pasture, but tend to gravitate toward the one-third area of the pasture that has been burned, because that is where the most nutritious new growth has occurred,” he says.

When burning, producers may create burn boundaries (fire guards), but using natural fire breaks would be more efficient because of labor expenses.

“The main purpose of patch-burn grazing is ecology-driven; it has a high potential to increase biodiversity and wildlife habitat. Through our research, we would like to determine how it affects livestock performance, if it will compromise the health of the prairie, and if it can control

the highly invasive plant, Sericea lespedeza,” says Dr. Fick.Cade Rensink, Coffey County Extension agent and a

graduate student in Agronomy, has been conducting this research. “After three years, there has been no difference in livestock performance between patch-burn pastures and pastures completely burned, says Dr. Fick. Plant composition shifts toward warm-season annual grasses in years one and two, but the perennial grasses recover by year three. Sericea lespedeza plants are shorter and grazed more frequently the year of burning.

Patch-Burn Grazing Research

Editor and designer: Katie Starzec, ag communications and journalism student, kstarzec@ksu.edu

As Fall and Summer enrollment are currently underway, now is a great time to meet with your adviser to fill out your curriculum planner. This form will help organize your remaining college class selections over your remaining semesters.

Agronomy students are needed to help with the Willie and the Beanstalk Contest during Open House. Junior High and High School students from across the state will be visiting the department, and the more interaction they have with our students, the better! If you would like to help the morning of Open House, please see Dana Minihan in the Teaching Office, 1022 Throckmorton, (785) 532-7258.

Patch-burning in Woodson County.