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Position Summary:
The Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is searching for an Applied Forage Systems Specialist. The position will be located at the Southern Piedmont Agricultural Research and Extension Center ( AREC ). This is a Administrative and Professional (AP), calendar year, non-tenure track faculty position with a 60% extension and 40% research appointment. The successful candidate will have a strong background in forage agronomy within pasture-based livestock systems. Qualified individuals are expected to develop a highly visible, integrated research and extension program that focuses on practices and strategies to improve the economic competitiveness, viability, and stability of forage and forage-based livestock production while enhancing the mechanistic understanding of how ecological, hydroedaphic, and climatic factors interact with grazing management. The successful candidate is expected to develop a highly collaborative integrated research and extension program with other faculty at Virginia Tech and other institutions. Areas of interest may include, but are not limited to: forage establishment, forage fertilization and plant nutrient requirements, grazing management and stored forage production (hay, baleage, silage, etc.), soil-plant interactions, interaction of pest management with forage quality, evaluation of alternative forage crops, remote sensing technologies, interaction with wildlife, economics, watershed management, and biofuel/bioenergy and feedstock crops. The candidate will have access to grazing research facilities located at the Southern Piedmont AREC , campus (Blacksburg), the Shenandoah Valley AREC (Raphine), and the Southwest Virginia AREC located at Glade Springs. The individual is expected to secure extramural funds to support an integrated extension and research program. Strong communication and interpersonal skills are required, and the candidate is expected to establish and maintain close working relationships with industry, commodity groups, state agencies, county extension agents, regional extension specialists, and other organizations and agencies engaged with the Virginia forage-livestock industry. The development of a focused and cohesive research and extension program that addresses the needs of forage producers in Virginia and the region and supports the publication of peer-reviewed extension materials, popular press articles, and refereed scientific articles to support this program is required. Facilitation of on-farm forage production research and organization of grazing schools, pasture walks, and other activities directed at improving forage systems is required. The successful candidate is also expected to engage in graduate education, such as serving on graduate student committees, as appropriate.

Required Qualifications:
A master's degree in agronomy, soil science, plant science, or related discipline with a major emphasis in forage crop production and management is required.
The successful candidate must have a strong background in forage agronomy and production systems in the United States and evidence of scholarly extension and research output.
The candidate must exhibit an ability to develop strong and focused integrated extension and research programs, and to obtain extramural funding to support these programs. It is expected that these activities will result in local, state, regional, and national recognition.
Successful candidate must possess or be able to obtain a commercial ( VDACS category 10) pesticide applicators license, within 12 months of employment.
Must successfully pass all IACUC -related trainings.

Preferred Qualifications:



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