People

Project Director

Dr. Patrick Carr - Superintendent/Associate Professor of Cropping Systems, Montana State University (MSU), Central Agricultural Research Center (CARC). Dr. Carr's research program is applied and field oriented with a goal of diversifying the wheat-based cropping systems which have and continue to dominate dryland farming in central Montana and in much of the Great Plains region.

Co-Project Directors

Dr. Anton Bekkerman - Associate Professor of Agricultural Marketing and Econometrics, MSU Department of Agricultural Economics and Economics. Dr. Bekkerman's research interests include price analysis, agricultural and food marketing, production and agribusiness management, crop insurance, and applied econometrics with a concentration in spatial and temporal modeling. He is also involved in numerous inter and intradisciplinary research projects including cropping system analysis, economics of education, and the economics of public libraries.

Dr. Mac Burgess - Assistant Professor of Horticulture, Montana State University, Department of Plant Sciences & Plant Pathology. As assistant professor of small-scale horticulture and agronomy, Dr. Burgess works with high-value and specialty crops including fruits and vegetables, season extension, and soil quality management.

Dr. Ian Burke - Associate Professor of Weed Science, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Washington State University. His research program is focused on basic aspects of weed biology and ecology with the goal of integrating such information into practical and economical methods of managing weeds in the environment.

Dr. Jed Eberly - Assistant Professor of Agronomy and Soil Microbiology, MSU CARC. His research program is focused on applied and basic research related to the role of soil microorganisms in improving soil quality and crop performance.

Dr. Heather Estrada - Associate Professor/Agriculture Program Director, Flathead Valley Community College.

Alice Formiga - Assistant Professor of Practice/eOrganic Program Director, Oregon State University. eOrganic is the Organic Agriculture Communigy of eXtension.org. eOrganic publishes science-, experience-, and regulation-based information on certified organic farming and research and conducts outreach for organic research projects.

Dr. Kate Fuller -Assistant Professor/Extension Specialist of Agricultural Economics, Montana State University, MSU Department of Agricultural Economics and Economics. Her research interests include Agricultural Policy Analysis, Economics of Agricultural Pests and Diseases, Production Economics and Farm Management

Dr. John Gaskin - Supervisory Biologist/Research Leader, USDA-ARS Northern Great Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory. The focus of Dr. Gaskin's research is the systematics and population structure of invasive plants.

Dr. Greta Gramig - Associate Professor of Weed Ecology, North Dakota State University, Department of Plant Sciences. She teaches courses about weed identification and weed biology and ecology. Dr. Gramig’s current research interests include nonchemical weed management, integrated weed management, weed ecology, and weed management in organic production systems.

Dr. B. Irene Grimberg - Associate Research Professor, MSU Department of Physics. Dr. Bruna Irene Grimberg is an Associate Research Professor at Montana State University, and the Deputy Regional Coordinator of Western SARE (Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education). Dr. Grimberg has expertise in educational research, teacher professional development, and evaluation in rural and Native American communities. Her work focuses on underrepresented groups and women in STEM. Her contribution extends to the areas of online science instruction, culturally responsive teaching methods, need assessments, and farmers’ perceptions of the impacts of climate change.

Dr. Andrew Kniss - Associate Professor of Weed Science, University of Wyoming, Department of Plant Sciences. The main objective of my research is to develop sustainable weed management programs, especially in agronomic crops like sugarbeet, winter wheat, corn, and dry beans.

Dr. Fabian Menalled - Professor of Weed Ecology and Management, MSU Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences (LRES). research focuses on understanding the ecological basis of sustainable agriculture and the integrated management of weeds. This program embraces a multi-disciplinary approach to address both basic and applied problems facing the agricultural communities of Montana.

Dr. Perry Miller - Professor of Sustainable Cropping Systems, MSU LRES. Dr. Miller's research interests include soil water and nitrogen, no-till and organic systems, pulse crop ecology, winter dicot crops, cover crops, crop energy budgets, and BMPs for GHG mitigation in diversified dryland cropping systems.

Dr. Zach Miller - Superintendent/Assistant Professor of Horticulture, MSU Western Agricultural Research Center. interested in understanding the impacts and feedbacks between plant herbivores/pathogens and plant populations and communities and applying these insights to improve the productivity and sustainability of agricultural production systems. My research focuses on the ecology and biology of weeds and diseases and how pests and their impacts can be altered by management practices in a variety of agroecosystems.