Dennis Hancock
Tenure/Promotion Evaluation
Dennis Hancock
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Appointment: December 1, 2006
75% Extension, 25% Research
Statewide Extension/Applied research responsibilities for
forage-based livestock systems (beef, dairy, horse, small
ruminants)
4 million acres of forages
Gross value of industry ~ $1.2 Billion
Major Achievements - Extension
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Areas of Emphasis
Pasture-based dairy industry
 Sustainability with grazing management
 Commercial hay production
 Mitigating drought effects on forage-based
enterprises
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Major Achievements - Extension
Category
Bulletins
Circulars
Senior
7
5
Junior
9
1
Total
16
6
National Bull.
Websites
Newsletters
0
3
67
2
0
0
2
3
67
Pop. Press - National
Pop. Press – Regional
eNewsletters
Image sets - Agents
10
50
26
74
0
6
0
0
10
56
26
74
Podcasts
TV/Radio
Total
30
8
280
12
0
30
42
8
310
Dairy
Grazing Management
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Evaluations for Grazing Schools
Scores (1=poor, 5=excellent)
Event
Program
Organiz.
Hancock
Others
2007
4.6
4.8
4.4
4.3
2008
4.6
4.7
4.0
4.0
2009
4.5
4.6
4.4
4.3
2010
4.3
4.8
4.2
4.1
2011
4.6
4.7
4.4
4.2
Grazing School
Commercial Hay Production
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Evaluations for Hay Convention
Scores (1=poor, 5=excellent)
Event
Program
Organiz.
Hancock
Others
2008
4.3
4.6
4.4
4.3
2009
4.2
4.8
4.2
4.3
2010
4.4
4.7
4.2
4.2
2011
4.5
4.9
4.6
4.5
Grazing School
Drought Mitigation
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Two Severe Droughts – 2007 and 2011
Organized Team (CRSS, ADS, Applied Econ)
Organized 8 regional meetings around the state
Focus: Avoid livestock selloff and preserve pasture resource
Means:
Nitrate poisoning
Prussic acid
“Sacrifice” areas
Alternative pasture/feed resources
Results: 430 producers – 78% said they would change
production practices because of training program
Forages Website
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Centerpiece for Extension Activities
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All forage production recommendations (60 species)
Current news
“Hot topics”
Industry news
Podcasts
Webinars
“Sister sites” – MiG, Switchgrass, PowerPoint
presentations for County Agent delivery
Major Achievements - Research
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Areas of Emphasis
Enhanced Efficiency N Fertilizers
 Summer Annual Systems for Supplementation
 Bermudagrass management
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Research Publications
 7 since coming to Georgia (peer reviewed)
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Senior author on 4
Graduate Education
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Nathan Eason* – Crop and Soil Sciences
Jeremy Connell* – Crop and Soil Sciences (Major Prof)
Josh Egenolf** – Ecology
Jarrod Barlow* – Animal and Dairy Sciences
Jeff Bellflower* – Engineering
Mark Freeman* – Crop and Soil Sciences
Lisa Baxter* - Crop and Soil Sciences (Major Prof)
Katie Payne* - Crop and Soil Sciences (Major Prof)
* MS
** PhD
Grants
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Competitive – $192,000 (PI), $754,000 (CI)
Agreements - $67,000 (PI), $300,000 (CI)
Industry - $127,000
Extemporaneous Comments
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Monte Roquette – Texas A&M
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Impressed by 2 things: 1) new wave forage agronomist in that his communication
abilities combine traditional with electronic media. “I have admired his forages
webpage and the fact that he not only puts traditional bulletin-type links on the
page, but the podcasts and webinars are useful to a broader clientele than that of
just Georgia. Dennis’ on-site grazing school is the best I have ever seen. I thought
y’all were in trouble when Dennis’ predecessor left, but Dennis has raised the bar to
an entirely new level.” 2) “Dennis is tireless and persistent. He is very productive
compared to his peers, regardless of the stage of their career and animal/plant
discipline.” (Nick’s assessment, We can compare Dennis to anybody in
forage/pasture/animal sciences and he will be as good as them? Monte: Yes!!)
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“Dennis engages both the traditional and conventional clientele.” Monte was aware
of Dennis’ work with pasture-based dairies, and thought “Dennis was mature
beyond his years when he embraced and provided relevant extension efforts to
support their system. That will be a much stronger political force down the road
than the beef cattle industry.”
Extemporaneous Comments
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Rob Kallenbach – University of MO
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Interacted with Dennis at AFGC, ASA, and MO Grazing Conference Meetings.
Presentations are very logical, right amount and type of information so producers
understand the message.
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VERY credible. Doesn’t make things better or worse than the reality of the
situation. Producers trust and respect Dennis. They obviously have a comfort level
with him when in their presence.
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Diplomatic. Saw Dennis working with a contentious producer who was obviously
making big mistakes. Dennis provided some relevant information to correct the
problem and it turned into a situation where the farmer expressed gratitude.
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Grant application (NIFA) joint with MO/GA. Grant did not get funded but was
impressed with the thought process put forth, getting his portion turned in on time.
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Considered Dennis multi-talented and well-rounded.
Hancock – updates since March
Graduate Education
Lisa Baxter* - Crop and Soil Sciences (Major Prof)
Katie Payne* - Crop and Soil Sciences (Major Prof)
Popular Press – 16
Slide Presentations (for Agents) – 10
Podcasts/Videos – 3
Television Programs – 4
Presentations at Statewide Programs – 13
Grants/Contracts - $73,000
Hancock – Letters of Recommendation
Monte Rouquette, Regents Professor, Texas A&M, ASA/
CSSA Fellow
Mark Sulc, Dept. Chair, Ohio State Univ., ASA/CSSA
Fellow
Don Ball, Professor Emeritus, Auburn Univ., ASA/CSSA
Fellow
John Jennings, Professor, Univ. Arkansas
Rob Kallenbach, Professor, Univ. Missouri, ASA Fellow
Craig Roberts, Professor, Univ. Missouri, ASA Fellow
Monte Rouquette, Regents Professor, Texas A&M
“His overall total of 258 various forms of publications are
proof positive of the untiring efforts to plan, coordinate,
implement, and publish research and extension information.”
“A timely component of Dr. Hancock’s contributions is that
of comparing enhanced efficiency of N fertilizers for bermudagrass
production.”
“His cooperative projects … to renovate endophyte-infected
tall fescue pastures and weed control during legume establishment
are high quality and often cited publications by other forage and
animal scientists.”
“Dr. Hancock’s diligence, efforts, persistence, hard-work and
dedication have earned him and the University of Georgia an
outstanding professional reputation.”
“…He is in high demand at both in-state and out-of-state
forage and pasture management seminars.”
Conclusion: Support promotion and tenure w/o reservation.
Mark Sulc, Dept. Chair, Ohio State Univ.
“Dr. Hancock’s published research addresses very practical
and applied issues regarding forage management”
“That research answers a practical question regarding the
efficiency of various enhanced-efficiency N fertilizer formulations
and sheds light on the cost v. benefit … of the products.” (plant,
animal, and environment)
“I was extremely impressed with Dr. Hancock’s extension
program and extension publication record, both in terms of quantity
and quality. The Georgia Forages website he developed is just
outstanding, among the very best forage information sites in the
country…. as evidenced by the winning the 2011 ASA Educational
Materials Contest. The breadth and depth of coverage of each topic
is excellent and right on the mark.”
“Dr. Hancock’s reputation is excellent and growing rapidly
relative to others in his field and same stage of development.”
Mark Sulc (Cont.)
“Also significant is the degree to which is is publishing and
being quoted in national farm press publications such as Progressive
Forage Grower, Hay and Forage Grower, AFGC Forage Leader, eHay
Weekly, and Progressive Farmer .”
“The out-of-state invitations to speak also demonstrate a
strong reputation among his peers and the industry.”
“In my opinion Dr. Hancock has and continues to produce
and excellent and prolific body of high quality educational
resources.”
Conclusion: He is doing an outstanding job as an Extension
Specialist, and the educational resources are having a positive
impact of the forage industry.
Don Ball, Professor Emeritus, Auburn Univ.
“On several occasions he has amazed me by displaying
knowledge and insights that one would not expect from
someone of his length of experience.”
“In the area of writing practical publications and
disseminating information he has truly done an outstanding job.
Evidence of this is that he has been recognized on three
occasions by the ASA for excellence in preparation of Extension
Education Materials. Additional evidence is readily available on
his web site (www.georgiaforages.com)”
“He has identified educational needs and provided the
leadership to do something about them. For example, he
organized the Georgia Grazing School and even held a special
Grazing School for Dairy Producers in 2010. Even more
impressive is the Southeast Hay Convention he initiated, which is
an in-depth school for hay producers…. It has attracted
producers from throughout the SE. ..’only such event in US’”
Don Ball (Cont.)
“Dennis is an excellent speaker and has been invited to
be on programs at meetings and conferences in many states,
including several in Alabama.”
“He is highly visible and has an excellent reputation as a
scholar among his peers in universities across the nation.”
“Frankly, I have never seen a young Extension Specialist
develop an effective extension program as quickly as he.”
Conclusion: “There is no doubt he is deserving of tenure
and promotion to Associate Professor”
John Jennings, Professor, Univ. Arkansas
“I have been very impressed with the program and
reputation that Dr. Hancock has developed while at the
University of Georgia. He has already established himself as an
authority on forages and is gaining respect quickly among his
peers as evidenced by his awards.”
“His work is addressing applied issues in forage
agriculture. Other forage specialists around the country are
making good use of his results. I have been in discussions at
national meetings and comments were made about ‘Did you
seed Dennis Hancock’s work on that’.”
“Recently there was an incident in Texas of prussic acid
poisoning of cattle while grazing Tifton 85 bermudagrass. Dennis
took a leadership role in providing facts of the case, correcting
mis-information from media outlets, and providing a discussion
forum for other forage specialists to keep updated on the issue.”
John Jennings, (Cont.)
“His service record is remarkable for a young faculty
member. He has organized symposia for CSSA and AFGC, and has
been co-organizer for SPFCIC, and was chair for that group.”
Conclusion: “I have evaluated faculty applying for the
rank of professor wth lesser records than that accomplished by
Dr. Hancock. The University of Georgia is indeed fortunate to
have Dennis as a faculty member and he is very deserving of
promotion to the rank of Associate Professor with tenure.”
Rob Kallenbach, Professor, Univ. Missouri
“ All of his publications … provide comprehensive,
accurate , and pertinent information. I would rate Extension
bulletins BN1392 Forage systems for stocker cattle and B1371
Cutting costs, not corners: Managing cattle in tough times as …
the best forage-livestock oriented publications in the nation. The
national publication awards that Dr. Hancock received from the
American Society of Agronomy show the respect that his peers
have for his work.”
“From a national perspective, Dr. Hancock has been
innovative using these types of media (web-based videos and
podcasts) for extension education. I found these works to be well
done, especially the video Harvesting drought stressed corn for
silage.”
“Dr. Hancock clearly sees the value in agent education. Of
particular note are the Pasture-based Dairy Summit and Regional
Beef Cattle Drought Management agent training events.”
Rob Kallenbach (Cont.)
“ As far as service, Dr. Hancock has been a solid leader. Of
particular note is his service on editorial boards of Forage and
Grazinglands and Crop Science. These are two of the leading
scholarly publications in our field. Dr. Hancock’s involvement with
the Forage and Grassland Foundation (President), the
International Crop Advisors Board of Directors, the International
Plant Nutrition Institute, and the National Forage Testing Assoc.
should not go unnoticed.
“What, are you kidding?” (Phone response to the question as to
whether Dennis deserves tenure)
Craig Roberts, Professor, Univ. Missouri
Referring to one of Dennis’ publications:“This paper was
cited last week at a multi-state task for meeting, a meeting that I
(Roberts) called. It offers a quick replanting option for southern
states and may be vetted for Missouri.”
“Equally impressive has been Dr. Hancock’s reactive
education. His program (on drought mitigation) practically
modeled each farm with inputs being the forage supply and the
demands begin the livestock. His program offered both
marketing and management options that helped producers avoid
a business disaster and allowed them to continue farming.”
“Dr. Hancock has produced a solid body of work, one that
has been more than educational. Because it has caused so much
change, it is not an overstatement to consider (his) work as
revolutionary within the context of Georgia’s grassland
agriculture. Nearly everyone taught by Dr. Hancock has changed
farming practices to incorporate his advice.”
Craig Roberts (Cont.)
“The quantity (and quality) of the publicatons would be
considered more than adequate for an Assistant Professor
applying for promotion to Associate at the University of Missouri.”
Conclusion: “In summary, Dr. Hancock has shown to be a
productive and scholarly faculty member. His research is
conducted correctly, has been christened by his peers, and will
likely end up in real-life applications. His extension work is
excellent and his reputation is equally excellent. I hear good
things about him throughout the US. I expect him to sail through
the promotion process.”
Phone interview: “I had to stop writing, his accomplishments
wore me out”