Assistant Vice President of Agriculture and Natural Resources

Shane Gadberry, Ph.D.

Assistant Vice President - Agriculture and Natural Resources

Agriculture is a $24+ billion dollar industry in Arkansas. The industry is very diverse, with our state ranking in the top 25 in production of 16 different agricultural commodities, from rice (#1) to hogs (#23). Arkansas is also a beautiful state, blessed with abundant soil, water, forest and other natural resources that complement agriculture and our overall quality of life. We are a rural state, as evidenced by the percent of gross domestic product contributed by agriculture and food (16.3%), higher than any surrounding state.

The Assistant Vice President serves as state program leader for Extension in the Agriculture and Natural Resources arena, working with department heads in the following areas to ensure accurate, timely, and relevant educational and applied research programs are provided statewide:

• Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness (AEAB) - Dr. Lawton Nalley, Department Head
• Animal Science (ANSC) - Dr. Mike Looper, Department Head
• Biological and Agricultural Engineering (BAEG) - Dr. Terry Howell, Department Head
• Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences (CSES) - Dr. Paul DeLaune, Department Head, and Dr. Mike Daniels, Associate Department Head
• Entomology and Plant Pathology (ENTO, PLPA) - Dr. Ken Korth, Department Head, and Dr. Glenn Studebaker, Associate Department Head
• Food Science (FDSC) - Dr. David Caldwell, Interim Department Head
• Forest Resources (AFRC) - Dr. Michael Blazier, Dean - College of Forestry and Director of Arkansas Forest Resouce Center
• Horticulture (HORT) - Dr. Mary Savin, Department Head
• Poultry Science (POSC) - Dr. David Caldwell, Department Head, and Dr. Dustan Clark, Associate Department Head

In addition, the Assistant Vice President works closely with Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station leadership to engage with various stakeholder and commodity groups in relation to agriculture and natural resources programs including:

• Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board
• Arkansas Rice Research and Promotion Board
• Arkansas Corn and Sorghum Promotion Board
• Arkansas Wheat Promotion Board
• Arkansas Cotton State Support Group
• Arkansas Farm Bureau
• Arkansas Agriculture Department
• Arkansas State Plant Board

The Assistant Vice President:

• Works with Extension personnel at the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff, the 1890 Land Grant campus in Arkansas, including the Aquaculture Extension Program.
• Provides agricultural and natural resources programmatic support to the District Directors and Extension County ANR faculty and staff.
  • Delta District
  • Ouachita District
  • Ozark District

ANR Extension Faculty and Staff work out of the Cooperative Extension Service's Little Rock state headquarters and various Division of Agriculture campuses or centers around the state including:

• Northeast Research and Extension Center — Keiser
• Northeast Rice Research and Extension Center — Harrisburg
• Rice Research and Extension Center — Stuttgart
• Southwest Research and Extension Center — Hope
• Lon Mann Cotton Research Station — Marianna
• Jackson County Extension Center — Newport
• Lonoke Extension Center — Lonoke
• Arkansas Forest Resources Center — UA Monticello
• Livestock and Forestry Research Station — Batesville
• Pine Tree Research Station — Colt
• Milo Shult Ag Research and Extension Center — Fayetteville
• Rohwer Research Station — Rohwer
• Vegetable Station Research Station — Alma
• Fruit Research Station — Clarksville