South West Farm Press Logo

2019 Beltwide Extension Cotton Specialist of the Year

Dr. Tyson Raper was named the 2019 Beltwide Extension Cotton Specialist of the Year at an annual reception and awards dinner at the Beltwide Cotton Conferences in New Orleans, La.

Shelley E. Huguley, Editor

January 10, 2019

15 Slides
SWFP-HUGULEY-19-BWCC-extension-cotton-specialist-1293.jpg

Dr. Tyson Raper, University of Tennessee, is named the 2019 Beltwide Cotton Specialist of the Year. Extension cotton specialists from across the Cotton Belt gathered at Latrobe's on Royal restaurant for the award reception and dinner at the Beltwide Cotton Conferences, New Orleans, La. 

Raper was "roasted" by his friend and colleague Dr. Darrin Dodds, Mississippi State University cotton specialist, prior to the award presentation. Unbeknownst to Tyson, his father, Dr. Randy Raper, assistant director for the Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station, was also on hand for the when Tyson's name was announced. Randy had an opportunity to congratulate his son and say a few words, Dr. Tyson Raper named 2019 Beltwide Extension Cotton Specialist of the Year.

About the Author

Shelley E. Huguley

Editor, Southwest Farm Press

Shelley Huguley has been involved in agriculture for the last 25 years. She began her career in agricultural communications at the Texas Forest Service West Texas Nursery in Lubbock, where she developed and produced the Windbreak Quarterly, a newspaper about windbreak trees and their benefit to wildlife, production agriculture and livestock operations. While with the Forest Service she also served as an information officer and team leader on fires during the 1998 fire season and later produced the Firebrands newsletter that was distributed quarterly throughout Texas to Volunteer Fire Departments. Her most personal involvement in agriculture also came in 1998, when she married the love of her life and cotton farmer Preston Huguley of Olton, Texas. As a farmwife, she knows first-hand the ups and downs of farming, the endless decisions made each season based on “if” it rains, “if” the drought continues, “if” the market holds. She is the bookkeeper for their family farming operation and cherishes moments on the farm such as taking harvest meals to the field or starting a sprinkler in the summer with the whole family lending a hand. Shelley has also freelanced for agricultural companies such as Olton CO-OP Gin, producing the newsletter Cotton Connections while also designing marketing materials to promote the gin. She has published articles in agricultural publications such as Southwest Farm Press while also volunteering her marketing and writing skills to non-profit organizations such as Refuge Services, an equine-assisted therapy group in Lubbock. She and her husband reside in Olton with their three children Breely, Brennon and HalleeKate.

Subscribe to receive top agriculture news
Be informed daily with these free e-newsletters

You May Also Like