MURRAY, Ky. — The Hutson School of Agriculture at Murray State partnered with Beck’s Practical Farm Research in 2017 to collaborate in industry-wide research efforts.
“One of our goals within the Hutson School of Agriculture is to utilize our farm laboratories to assist our students and regional agriculture,” said Dr. Tony Brannon, dean of the Hutson School of Agriculture. “This practical farm research takes our partnership with Beck’s to the next level. It allows us to work with this great company on research trials that are educational for our students and that will provide impactful information for regional agriculture.”
Beck’s Hybrids is a family-owned and -operated seed company that serves farmers in 11 states, including Kentucky. In 2017, they began working with Murray State to study a wide variety of topics, including current soybean and corn research. This research was conducted on the University’s farm sites by agriculture students.
The collaboration was organized by Jason Robertson, farm manager for the Hutson School of Agriculture, to help the college fulfill its goal of using available resources to support regional agriculture.
“Murray State students and farm employees get hands-on experience with not only the day-to-day work needed for these projects, but they also learn how to set up research projects and work with industry partners,” Robertson said. “The Hutson School of Agriculture uses the plot research for teaching purposes as well. More often than not you’ll see our staff agronomist, Dr. David Ferguson, somewhere on the farm giving his classes hands-on experience with aspects of crop production and gleaning the first-hand knowledge provided by our research plots.”
In addition to collaborating with the University on various research projects, Beck’s Hybrids is a prime sponsor for Murray State’s regionally- and nationally-competitive crops and soils teams.
“Beck’s Hybrids has been a long-standing partner with Murray State agriculture, having hired graduates and interns as well as providing much-needed sponsorships for our Soil and Crop Judging teams,” Brannon said.
Learn more about Murray State’s research with Beck’s Hybrids by visiting http://bit.ly/2D6SHzI.
— Murray State University
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