Around The Industry: April/May 2013

Plant Pathologist Windels Retires From NWROC at Crookston, Minn.
    Well-known sugarbeet plant pathologist Dr. Carol Windels retired at the end of 2012 from the University of Minnesota’s Northwest Research and Outreach Center (NWROC), Crookston.

Carol Windels

    Windels earned a B.S. degree in biology from St. Cloud State College in 1970, followed by M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in plant pathology from the University of Minnesota, St. Paul.  In 1984 she was appointed assistant professor at the Crookston Northwest Experiment Station (now NWROC).  She was promoted to associate professor in 1989 and professor in 1998.  She likewise held an adjunct appointment in the North Dakota State University Department of Plant Pathology.
    Windels became widely known and highly respected for her research in soilborne diseases of sugarbeet, including Aphanomyces, Phythium and Rhizoctonia.  “Her major contributions to the understanding of these diseases and their management have led to her status as a world-renowned expert of sugarbeet diseases,” noted a recent article in Phytopathology News, the newsletter of the American Phytopathological Society (APS), the national professional society of plant pathologists.  “A strong commitment to and close rapport with growers developed through her 28 years of research and extension work.  Her efforts resulted in more than 200 publications, 16 book chapters, and two co-edited books.”
    Windels, who served as the president of APS in 1998-99, received a number of honors and awards during her career.  Among them were the Distinguished Service Award from the Sugarbeet Research and Education Board of Minnesota and North Dakota, the Meritorious Service Award bestowed by the American Society of Sugar Beet Technologists, and Fellow of both APS and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

---

Jeff Stachler

Stachler Joins Willowood USA as Northern Plains Account Manager
    Dr. Jeff Stachler has joined Willowood USA as the company’s new regional account manager in its newly created Northern Plains geography.
    Originally from west central Ohio, Stachler earned his B.S. degree in agronomy from Ohio State University.  After completing an M.S. degree at Michigan State University, he returned to Ohio State and earned his Ph.D. there in crop and weed science.
    Stachler was extension sugarbeet weed specialist and assistant professor at North Dakota State University and the University of Minnesota from 2008 until joining Willowood.  He is the author or co-author of numerous publications in the areas of weed identification and resistance management.  “Jeff is considered by many as an expert in the area of weed resistance management” states Andy King, Willowood USA’s national sales manager.  “Adding a person of Jeff’s caliber to our account management team will not only strengthen our entire sales organization, but will also provide growers in the Northern Plains geography a ‘go-to guy’ for dealing with the ever-present and growing weed resistance issue.”
    Stachler’s territory includes Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.  He is based at Kindred, N.D.
    Willowood USA is an Oregon-based manufacturer of post-patent crop protection herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, plant growth regulators and spray additive products for the agriculture and vegetation management industries.


Sugarbeet Scholarship Program Again Sponsored by Syngenta
    Syngenta is accepting applications for its annual Syngenta Sugarbeet Scholarship program through June 14.  Students must submit an essay for judging, and the student with the highest score in each of the five eligible regions will receive $1,500 for his or her college tuition.
    The scholarship program, now in its fourth year, is intended to help equip the next generation with the knowledge and skills needed to contribute to the advancement of the sugarbeet industry.  Student entrants must meet the following criteria:  (1) Be a current high school senior or college freshman, sophomore or junior.  (2) Be majoring in (or intending to major in) an agriculture-related field.  (3) Be attending college during the 2013/14 academic year.  (4) Attend school or reside in one of the following sugarbeet-growing regions:
Region 1 — Idaho/Washington; Region 2 — North Dakota; Region 3 — Minnesota; Region 4 — Wyoming/Colorado/Nebraska/Montana; Region 5 — Michigan.  (5) Be involved in 4-H, FFA and/or the sugarbeet industry.
    Applicants can complete the application form found at www.SyngentaSugarbeetScholarship.com.  As part of the application, they will be asked to describe their involvement in 4-H, FFA and/or the sugarbeet industry, and submit an essay in 700 words or less that answers the following question:
    What do you see as the biggest challenge to sugarbeet production or the industry in general, and why?  Also, what do you recommend the industry consider to address this problem?
    Applications are due by June 14, 2013, and can be submitted online or sent to:  Emily Reynolds, Gibbs & Soell, 125 S. Wacker Drive, Ste 2600, Chicago, IL 60606.  She also can be contacted at: phone: (312) 648-6700; fax: (312) 422-0660; email: ereynolds@gibbs-soell.com
    This year’s scholarship winners will be announced in August.  Previous sugarbeet scholarship winners are not eligible for future additional scholarship awards. 
    For further details on the program, visit www.SyngentaSugarbeetScholarship.com.   

---