2003 Walter Barnard Hill Awards for Distinguished Achievement in University Public Service & Outreach

Scott N. Brown

During his twenty-one years at the University of Georgia, Scott N. Brown has distinguished himself as a leader in the area of public service and a frontrunner in cutting-edge on-farm programming. He currently serves as the County Extension Coordinator (CEC) and the lead Agricultural and Natural Resources (ANR) Agent for Colquitt County, through which he oversees an eleven-person staff and coordinates the cpunty extension department’s budget, individual program accounts, and extension and agricultural programming.

Brown has conducted seventy-seven applied research trials, six pilot programs, and thirty-four surveys on critical agricultural production issues for cotton, peanuts, and tobacco. In 1994 he became the first county agent in Georgia and one of the first in the nation to test transgenic Bt cotton on the farm. As a result of his studies, there was a vast improvement in production and economic efficiencies, as well as in time management of crop diversity and insecticide use. In addition, Brown performed seven large-scale cotton growers with choosing cottons to plant that produce higher quality and yields.

Brown has also made significant discoveries regarding control of the Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (TSWV), a tobacco disease that became a major concern in Colquitt County in 19995. Brown and his peers have been instrumental in providing Colquitt County and other tobacco producers statewide with educational programming on the spread and development of TSWV, as well as guidance and data on the most economical measures that can be taken to control or suppress the incidence of the disease.

As a result of Brown’s technical expertise and program input, he has received the D.W. Brooks Award for Excellence in Extension Programming, the Georgia King Cotton Award, and the National Association of County Agricultural Agents Award. He has also been the only county agent to receive the Extension Service Award form the Tobacco Growers Association of Georgia.

Brown has also given his time and talent to serving his university, profession, and community. He has made more one-on-one contacts with clientele than any other agents in Georgia, and logs an average of eighteen hours of primer radio airtime each year. In addition, he has communicated his research findings through numerous journal articles and national presentations throughout his years of service to UGA.