CSU e-comment, Colorado
06-30-06
Soil Science Society of America elects new president
Gary A. Peterson, head of the Soil and Crop Sciences department in Colorado
State University's College of Agricultural Sciences, has been named presidentelect of the Soil Science Society of America, a prominent international
educational society dedicated to the conservation and wise use of natural
resources to produce food, feed, and fiber crops while maintaining and improving
the environment
.
Peterson is a 43-year member of SSSA and has been active on several
committees and boards, including serving on the SSSA board of directors and
serving as chair of the Soil & Water Management & Conservation Division. He
will take office as president-elect at the 2006 Annual Meetings taking place Nov.
12-16 in Indianapolis.
At Colorado State, Peterson helped found the Dryland Agroecosystem Project in
1985, and he has focused some of his research on no-till farming, which helps
farmland retain moisture, allowing for more intense planting as well as increasing
organic matter in the soil.
Peterson was born in Holdrege, Neb., in 1940 to Walter and Evelyn Peterson,
and grew up on a farm north of Funk. He graduated from Holdrege High School
in 1958. He earned his bachelor's in technical agronomy in 1963, master's in soil
fertility in1965 at the University of Nebraska and his doctorate in soil fertility at
Iowa State University in 1967
.
The first 17 years of Peterson's career were spent at the University of Nebraska
teaching courses on introductory soil science, soil management and soil
chemistry methods. His research there examined soil fertility problems of wheat
and sugar beets. His interest in no-till farming, water conservation and soil
organic matter was sparked by interactions with C.A. Fenster of the Panhandle
Research Center in Scottsbluff, Neb.
Peterson moved to Colorado State University in the summer of 1984, where he
team-taught courses on crop and soil management for more than 12 years
before he was named head of the department. His research focused on
developing the Dryland Agroecosystem Project, which was initiated in fall 1985.
The project was charged with the research goals to increase overall precipitation
use efficiency in dryland systems, decrease soil erosion and reverse the longterm organic matter loss pattern that has accompanied conventional cropping
practices in dryland areas. In addition, Peterson has served as major professor
for 20 master's degree students and 18 doctoral degree students.
Peterson married Jackie Flick in 1965. They have two daughters, Kerstin and
Ingrid. Kerstin and her husband Russ Bruxvoort live in Fort Collins with three
children. Ingrid and her husband David Bradley also live in Fort Collins with their
have two children. Peterson also volunteers to teach adult Sunday school, as
well as leading other groups, at Faith Evangelical Free Church in Fort Collins.