Since our last Agronomy alumni newsletter in July 2017, the department had bade farewell to three valuable members as they reached their retirements.
Curtis R. Thompson, Professor and Weed Science Specialist
Curtis Thompson, Professor and Agronomy Extension State Leader, will conclude his tenure in the Department of Agronomy on July 18, 2018. He has 25 years of professional service to Kansas State University, The College of Agriculture, and Kansas State Research and Extension, with 40 years total in the work force.
Curtis grew up on a diversified farm in north central North Dakota. After earning a bachelor’s degree from North Dakota State University in 1978, he was employed as a research technician in weed science at NDSU while working on and attaining a master’s degree in 1983. He served as a research agronomist from 1982 to 1989 at the NDSU North Central Research and Extension Center in Minot, ND. Thompson moved on to graduate school in August 1989 and worked as a technician in weed science at the University of Idaho while working on and attaining a PhD in Plant Science in 1993.
Thompson began his tenure with K-State on July 18, 1993 at the Southwest Research Extension Center, Garden City as Assistant Professor and the Crops and Soils Extension Specialist responsible for Agronomic programing in Southwest Kansas. Curtis thoroughly enjoyed working directly with Ag Agents and Farmers conducting applied research and doing extension work. He moved through the ranks attaining Associate and Full Professor and served in this position for almost 15 years.
In 2008, Curtis moved to the Manhattan campus to assume the duties of Professor and Extension and Research Specialist in Weed Science in the Department of Agronomy. He focused on weed management in grain sorghum and corn as well as focusing on herbicide-resistant weed management, especially kochia and Palmer amaranth. Over the years, Thompson’s efforts have led to the registration of several herbicides in corn, sorghum, and sunflower. Thompson and colleagues developed strategies for controlling glyphosate resistant kochia in western Kansas. Thompson discovered the first HPPD-resistant Palmer amaranth in the U.S. and has worked with Dr. Mithila Jugulam, weed physiologist in Agronomy, to unravel the resistance mysteries.
Thompson has served as the State Extension Leader for Agronomy since July 2012. Thompson has been recognized by his peers, receiving the Fellow award from the American Society of Agronomy and the North Central Weed Science Society.
During the early part of Thompson’s career, Curtis married his wife, Meri and they have three children: Keilah (spouse Anna), Krista (spouse Joshua), and Ryan (spouse Dawn) and nine grandchildren.
Gary L. Cramer, Agronomist-in-Charge, South Central Experiment Field
The Department of Agronomy and the College of Agriculture recognize Gary Cramer for 15 years of professional service to Kansas State University.
Cramer received his bachelor’s degree in agricultural ecology in 1973 from Northwestern State College, Alva, Oklahoma. In 1975, he received his master’s degree in agronomy from Oklahoma State University, Stillwater. He went on to complete a doctorate in weed science in 1980 from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.
Upon receiving his doctorate, Cramer worked for several years in product development for a multinational agrochemical company. He began his professional career at Kansas State University in 2002 as an agricultural and natural resources extension agent in Sedgewick County. In 2013, he accepted the position of Agronomist-in-Charge and assistant professor at the South Central Experiment Field in Hutchison.
As the Agronomist-in-Charge, Cramer oversaw the various research projects conducted at the South Central Experiment Field. This site’s research program is varied and includes work on fertilizer use, weed and insect control, tillage methods, seeding techniques, cover crops and crop rotations, variety improvement, and selection of hybrids and varieties adapted to the area. A large portion of the research program is currently dedicated to wheat and canola breeding development and cropping systems.
Steve Watson, Writer and eUpdate editor
The Department of Agronomy and the College of Agriculture recognize Steve Watson for 24 years of professional service to Kansas State University.
A native of Wichita, Watson received a master’s degree in horticulture in 1976 from K-State. He pursued a doctorate in crop science at North Carolina State University for a few years before changing career paths to become a writer. Steve was awarded a Mass Media fellowship with the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1980, and worked that year as a science writer for The Oregonian in Portland, Oregon.
In 1983, Watson moved to Topeka and assumed the role of managing editor for Kansas Farmer magazine. While at Kansas Farmer he started his own publishing company which published the annual book “Wheat Varieties for Kansas and the Great Plains” and The Wheat Farmer/Row Crop newsletter.
Watson joined the Department of Agronomy in 1993 working part-time as an extension assistant. During his years in the department, he wrote numerous publications, news releases, newsletters, and other communications-related work. His most notable work with agronomy was the Extension Agronomy eUpdate, a weekly electronic newsletter. This valuable resource originated with Jim Shroyer (retired Extension Agronomy State Leader), Dan Devlin (past Environmental Quality extension specialist and current Director of KCARE), Watson, and others in 2005. The eUpdate provides timely information concerning practices that aid producers, crop consultants, and extension professionals in current crop production. From its inception, the Extension Agronomy eUpdate has been sent out at least once a week without fail and continues today. This newsletter goes out to subscribers all over the world but focuses on Kansas agriculture.
Since his retirement, Watson resides in Topeka with his wife and partner for more than 30 years, Bobbie. They have two grandchildren in Lawrence. Watson says he may yet start writing novels!