Two North Dakota State University Extension specialists and several agents were honored during the National Association of County Agricultural Agents’ conference in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Award recipients were:

• Lindy Berg, agriculture and natural resources agent in Towner County - state winner for a promotional piece for the “Women on the Farm” workshop and a state winner in the Search for Excellence in Young, Beginning or Small Farmers/Ranchers category for a workshop titled “Turning a Profit: Transitioning Your Hobby Into a Business” (Katelyn Hain, agriculture and natural resources agent in Nelson County, was the co-developer of the Turning a Profit workshop.)
• Brad Brummond, agriculture and natural resources agent in Walsh County - regional winner, Hall of Fame
• Greg Endres, cropping systems specialist at NDSU’s Carrington Research Extension Center (CREC) - state winner for a publication titled “Corn Response to Phosphorus Starter Fertilizer in North Dakota”
• Hain - accepted to give a presentation on soil health and water quality
• Alicia Harstad, agriculture and natural resources agent in Stutsman County - national Achievement Award; also accepted to give a presentation about a bus tour she and other NDSU Extension specialists and agents took to Nebraska to see and learn about Palmer amaranth, an extremely invasive weed, and the teaching materials they developed as a result
• Mohamed Kahn, sugar beet specialist - National Creative Excellence Award for developing a new method of controlling cercospora leaf spot in sugar beets
• Penny Nester, agriculture and natural resources agent in Kidder County - state and regional winner and national finalist for a poster on the impacts of bale grazing on soil health and herbage production in south-central North Dakota (Kevin Sedivec, rangeland management specialist; Mary Berg, livestock environmental management specialist at the CREC; Chris Augustin, soil health specialist at NDSU’s North Central Research Extension Center; Sheldon Gerhardt, agriculture and natural resources agent in Logan County; Marissa Leier, agriculture and natural resources agent in Morton County; and Fara Brummer, former livestock systems specialist at NDSU’s Central Grasslands Research Extension Center, were co-developers of the poster)
• Rick Schmidt, agriculture and natural resources agent in Oliver County - state winner for a video presentation on nitrate testing
• LoAyne Voigt, agriculture and natural resources agent in Renville County - national Distinguished Service Award
• Todd Weinmann, agriculture and natural resources agent/horticulture in Cass County - state winner in the Search for Excellence in Consumer or Commercial Horticulture category for a response to community forums Extension held to gather information on citizens’ concerns and needs

NDSU Agriculture Communication - Aug. 15, 2018