The Texas Plant Protection Association pays tribute to members who have made significant contributions to the organization and to Texas agriculture each year at its annual conference.

Awards include cash prizes in a poster contest and for a pest identification test administered annually by Barron Rector, Texas AgriLife Extension.

Highlight of the annual awards ceremony is presentation of the Norman Borlaug Lifetime Achievement Award, presented this year to Dr. Roy Parker, Texas AgriLife Extension entomologist (retired). Also, Ray smith, TPPA board chairman was recognized for his 25 years of leadership in the organization. Smith was a founding member of TPPA.

Here are this year’s TPPA award winners. 

Norman Borlaug Lifetime Achievement Award—Roy Parker, Texas A & M AgriLife Extension, Entomologist (retired), Corpus Christi; Leadership Award-Ray Smith TPPA board chairman, College Station; Graduate Student- Trevor Jones, Texas A & M; Consultant - Brandon Ripple, San Angelo;  Industry- Gary Schwarzlose, Bayer Crop Science, San Antonio;

Academic/Agency- Gaylon Morgan, Texas A & M AgriLife Extension, College Station; Agriculture Communicator of the Year-Ron Smith, Editor, Southwest Farm Press

TPPA also sponsors a poster contest each year; winners for 2013 include: 1st Place: Evaluation of Cotton Yield, Quality, and Plant Growth Response to Soil-Applied Potassium

Michael Spiegelhauer, Graduate Student, Texas A&M University, College Station; 2nd Place:

The Effects of Mesotrione and Atrazine on Microbial Respiration Christopher Dermody, Texas A&M University, College Station; 3rd Place: Poinsettia Growth Response to Container Substrate Amended with Biochar, Yanjun Guo, Department of Horticultural Sciences, Graduate Student, Texas A & M University, College Station.

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A pest identification contest challenges participants to identify various weed, disease and insect pests common to Texas agriculture. Winners for 2013 include: 1st Place, Dan Bradshaw, crop consultant, El Campo; 2nd Place, Gary Bradshaw, crop consultant, Rosenburg; 3rd Place, Brent Batchelor, County Extension Agent, Bay City.

Also of interest:

TPPA looking back and forward

TPPA cotton session covers key issues

Agriculture faces daunting challenges in coming years