News
News and Communications
About the News and Communications Section
The News and Communications team is here to inform and inspire the public on advancing the mission of improving the lives of Kentuckians through our research, teaching and extension programs.
We produce timely, accurate news stories and features, which are also shared on social media. We work diligently with media in Kentucky and beyond. Our team provides useful information and inspiration to impact our statewide presence and beyond.
Agriculture, food and environmental systems are key components of Kentucky's economic future, and the college is playing a prominent role in those areas. We are here to share those stories.
Style Guide
The college follows the University of Kentucky Style Guide, which conforms largely to the Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual, but it contains exceptions to both the AP Stylebook and The Chicago Manual of Style.
The formal name of the college is the "Edith Martin and Harry W. Gatton, Sr. College of Agriculture, Food and Environment.”
In all university and college publications, materials and references, the college shall be named on first reference as the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. For secondary references, use the abbreviation Martin-Gatton CAFE.
Have a news, success story or PR idea?
Submit your idea! We welcome all content suggestions.
Submit an IdeaWant to stay informed and inspired on our latest news?
Read our recent news, success stories and PR.
Read our NewsHave a media request?
Our experts are available to speak to the news media on a variety of subjects.
Email Grace SowardsNews & Media Subscription
Stay informed as a valued media member in Kentucky and beyond.
Subscribe to our Media ListExperts at the Martin-Gatton CAFE
Our experts are available to speak to the media on a variety of subjects. Please contact Grace Sowards, Ag. Communications and Media Specialist, at grace.sowards@uky.edu for all media requests.
Kenny Burdine
Professor
859-257-7273
kburdine@uky.edu
Expertise: Beef economics, livestock marketing and management
Will Snell
Professor
859-257-7288
wsnell@uky.edu
Expertise: Trade, policy, direct government payments, tobacco and hemp economics
Greg Halich
Associate Extension Professor
859-257-8841
greg.halich@uky.edu
Expertise: Grain crops and forage economics
Tyler Mark
Associate Professor
859-257-7283
tyler.mark@uky.edu
Expertise: Hemp economics
Timothy Woods
Professor
859-257-7270
tim.woods@uky.edu
Expertise: Local foods and food cooperatives
Jordan Shockley
Associate Professor
859-218-4391
jordan.shockley@uky.edu
Expertise: Farm management/poultry economics
Matt Dixon
Senior Meteorologist
859-218-4363
matt.dixon@uky.edu
Expertise: Weather
Les Anderson
Extension Professor
859-257-2856
landerso@uky.edu
Expertise: Beef production
Katie VanValin
Assistant Extension Professor
270-365-7541 x21361
katherine.vanvalin@uky.edu
Expertise: Beef production
Tony Pescatore
Extension Professor
859-257-7529
apescato@uky.edu
Expertise: Poultry production
Jacqueline Jacob
Poultry Extension Project Manager
859-257-7613
jacquie.jacob@uky.edu
Expertise: Poultry production, small and backyard flocks
Debra Aaron
Professor
859-257-7553
daaron@uky.edu
Expertise: Sheep production
Merlin Lindemann
Professor
859-257-7524
merlin.lindemann@uky.edu
Expertise: Swine production
Zach Bartenslager
Extension Associate
859-257-7544
zach.bart@uky.edu
Expertise: Youth livestock programs
Akinbode Adedeji
Associate Professor
859-218-4355
akinbode.adedeji@uky.edu
Expertise: Food engineering
Wayne Sanderson
Professor, Director of Central Appalachian Regional Education Center, Director of Southeast Center for Agricultural Health and Injury Prevention
859-218-2227
wsa223@uky.edu
Expertise: Agricultural safety and health
Tiffany Messer
Assistant Professor
859-218-4353
tiffany.messer@uky.edu
Expertise: Water quality; nutrient cycling, fate and transport; ecosystem restoration
Sam McNeill
Extension Professor
859-562-1326
sam.mcneill@uky.edu
Expertise: Grain bin safety and mechanics, energy audits
Michael Sama
Associate Professor
859-218-4325
michael.sama@uky.edu
Expertise: Drones in agriculture
Rebecca McCulley
Professor
859-257-6388
rebecca.mcculley@uky.edu
Expertise: Climate change in field crop agriculture
Seth DeBolt
Director and Professor, James B. Beam Institute for Kentucky Spirits
859-257-8654
seth.debolt@uky.edu
Expertise: Bourbon, wine, distillation, brewing sciences
Jeffrey Wheeler
Extension Specialist, Horticulture
859- 257-1332
jeff.wheeler@uky.edu
Expertise: Enology, wine
Patsy Wilson
Extension Specialist, Horticulture
859-257-1332
patsy.wilson@uky.edu
Expertise: Viticulture
Alison Davis
Director, Community and Economic Development Initiative of Kentucky (CEDIK)
859-257-7260
alison.davis@uky.edu
Expertise: Rural development, economic development, leadership development, community health
Jayoung Koo
Associate Extension Professor, Landscape Architecture, CEDIK
859-257-3853
jayoung.koo@uky.edu
Expertise: Landscape architecture, community design, urban and regional planning, environmental restoration planning, GIS
Ryan Sandwick
Extension Program Manager, CEDIK, Landscape Architecture
859-218-1710
ryan.sandwick@uky.edu
Expertise: City planning, downtown revitalization, community design
Stephen Dobson
Professor
859-257-4902
sdobson@uky.edu
Expertise: Mosquitoes
Dan Potter
Professor
859-257-7458
dapotter@uky.edu
Expertise: Pollinators, Japanese beetles
Jonathan Larson
Assistant Professor, Horticultural Entomologist
859-562-2614
jonathan.larson@uky.edu
Expertise: Mosquitoes, ticks, emerald ash borer, cicadas, garden insects, household pests, pests of trees, shrubs and turf
Zachary DeVries
Assistant Professor, Urban Entomologist
859-562-2856
zdevries@uky.edu
Expertise: Bed bugs, cockroaches, ants, residential pesticides
Ric Bessin
Extension Professor
859-257-7456
rbessin@uky.edu
Expertise: Field crop and horticultural pests
Subba Reddy Palli
Professor; Department Chair; Co-Director, Center for Arthropod Management Technologies (CAMTECH)
859-257-7450
rpalli@uky.edu
Expertise: RNAi technology for pest management, gene switch technology, hormone regulation and gene expression in insects
Clare Rittschof
Assistant Professor
859-218-3343
clare.rittschof@uky.edu
Expertise: Honeybee aggression, bee behavior and social interactions
Nick Teets
Assistant Professor
859-257-7459
n.teets@uky.edu
Expertise: Insect adaptability to extreme climates (Antarctica)
Christopher Barton
Professor, Forestry & Natural Resources
859-257-2099
barton@uky.edu
Expertise: Mountaintop removal reclamation
Chris Sass
Associate Professor, Landscape Architecture, Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences program
859-257-3485
chris.sass@uky.edu
Expertise: Urban forestry issues and urban stormwater systems
Stephen Higgins
Director of Environmental Compliance, Agricultural Experiment Station
859-257-3000 x120
shiggins@uky.edu
Expertise: Engineering for livestock systems, environmental compliance
Fernanda Camargo
Equine Extension Specialist, Associate Professor
859-257-7525
fernanda.camargo@uky.edu
Expertise: 4-H, equine extension
Amanda Adams
Associate Professor and MARSTM Equine Scholar, Gluck Equine Research Center
859-218-1097
amanda.adams@uky.edu
Expertise: Aged horse research
Camie Heleski
Lecturer, UK Equine Science and Management
859-323-5386
camie.heleski@uky.edu
Expertise: Behavior, “Social License to Operate,” working equids
Jill Stowe
Associate Professor, Agricultural Economics
859-257-7256
jill.stowe@uky.edu
Expertise: Economics, Kentucky Equine Survey
Kimberly Tumlin
Director, Equestrian Athlete Initiative; Assistant Professor, UK College of Public Health
859-218-2017
kimberly.tumlin@uky.edu
Expertise: Equestrian Athlete Initiative
Morgan Hayes
Assistant Extension Professor, Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering
859-218-4350
hayesmorgan@uky.edu
Expertise: Facilities, ventilation, engineering for livestock systems, environmental compliance
Bob Coleman
Associate Professor, Equine Extension Specialist
859-257-9451
rcoleman@uky.edu
Expertise: Nutrition, equine science, forages, facilities
Kathryn Graves
Director, Animal Genetic Testing and Research Laboratory; Associate Professor, Gluck Equine Research Center
859-218-1193
ktgraves@uky.edu
Expertise: Genetic Testing Laboratory
Ernie Bailey
Professor, Gluck Equine Research Center
859-218-1105
ebailey@uky.edu
Expertise: Genetics, genomics and bioinformatics
Mick Peterson
Professor, Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering
859-218-1652
mick.peterson@uky.edu
Expertise: Horseracing track surfaces and sport horse surfaces
Daniel Howe
Director of Graduate Studies, Associate Chair and Professor, Gluck Equine Research Center
859-218-1113
dkhowe2@uky.edu
Expertise: Infectious disease
James MacLeod
John S. and Elizabeth A. Knight Chair and Professor of Veterinary Science
Gluck Equine Research Center
UKAg Programs Director
859-257-2226
jnmacleod@uky.edu
Expertise: Musculoskeletal science, genetics, genomics and bioinformatics
Laurie Lawrence
Professor, Department of Animal and Food Sciences
859-257-7509
llawrenc@uky.edu
Expertise: Nutrition
Jennifer Hunter
Assistant Director, Family and Consumer Sciences
859-257-3887
jhunter@uky.edu
Expertise: Farm stress and mental health
Alex Elswick
Assistant Extension Professor
859-257-3290
alexander.elswick@uky.edu
Expertise: Substance use and prevention, addiction
Nichole Huff
Assistant Extension Professor
859-257-7753
nichole.huff@uky.edu
Expertise: Financial literacy
Amy Kostelic
Associate Extension Professor
859-257-1763
amy.kostelic@uky.edu
Expertise: Healthy aging
David Weisenhorn
Senior Extension Specialist
859-257-3072
weisenhornda@uky.edu
Expertise: Parenting and child adolescence
Chad Lee
Extension Professor, Director of Grain and Forage Center of Excellence
859-257-3203
chad.lee@uky.edu
Expertise: Corn, full-season soybeans and wheat
Tom Keene
Agronomy Specialist
859-257-3144
tom.keene@uky.edu
Expertise: Hemp Extension and research
Carrie Knott
Associate Extension Professor, Director of UK Research and Education Center, Princeton
859-562-1320
carrie.knott@uky.edu
Expertise: UKREC, wheat, double-crop soybeans, corn
Bob Pearce
Extension Professor
859-257-5110
rpearce@uky.edu
Expertise: Hemp, burley tobacco
Ray Smith
Extension Professor
859-257-3358
raysmith1@uky.edu
Expertise: Forages
Jimmy Henning
Extension Professor, Plant and Soil Sciences
859-257-2877
jimmy.henning@uky.edu
Expertise: Forages, horse pasture evaluation program
Carl Bradley
Extension Professor
859-562-1306
carl.bradley@uky.edu
Expertise: Small grain, soybeans, canola diseases and disease management
Kiersten Wise
Extension Professor
859-562-1338
kiersten.wise@uky.edu
Expertise: Corn, sorghum and forage diseases and disease management
Gregg Rentfrow
Associate Extension Professor, Meat Science
859-857-7550
gregg.rentfrow@uky.edu
Expertise: Beef, pork, meat education, 4-H youth food sciences
Alison Gustafson
Professor
859-257-1309
alison.gustafson@uky.edu
Expertise: Food insecurity, nutrition security, rural, health disparities, SNAP, WIC, food as medicine
Keiko Tanaka
Professor, Community and Leadership Development
859-257-7574
ktanaka@uky.edu
Expertise: Role of agricultural science and technology in reconfiguring the relationship between production and consumption in the global context; politics surrounding food safety, healthy food, agricultural sustainability and food localization, Asian societies and cultures
Rosalind Harris
Associate Professor, Community and Leadership Development
859-257-7584
rharris@email.uky.edu
Expertise: Food justice, food security, youth restorative justice
Mary Arthur
Professor, Forestry & Natural Resources
859-257-2852
marthur@uky.edu
Expertise: Invasive species, prescribed burns, forest ecosystems, urban forestry
Christopher Barton
Professor
859-257-2099
barton@uky.edu
Expertise: Mountaintop removal reclamation
John Cox
Associate Professor of Wildlife and Conservation Biology
859-257-9507
jjcox@uky.edu
Expertise: Black bears, elk, wildlife, forest conservation
Ellen V. Crocker
Assistant Professor Forest Health Extension
859-257-3040
e.crocker@uky.edu
Expertise: Tree and forest health, invasive plants, mushrooms
Michael Lacki
Professor
859-257-8571
mlacki@uky.edu
Expertise: Bats
Jacob Muller
Assistant Professor of Hardwood Silviculture and Forest Operations
859-257-5666
jacob.muller@uky.edu
Expertise: Hardwood silviculture, forest operations, best management practices
Chad Niman
Primary Forest Products Specialist
859-257-1360
chad.niman@uky.edu
Expertise: Wood products
Steven J. Price
Associate Professor of Stream and Riparian Ecology
859-257-7610
steven.price@uky.edu
Expertise: Reptiles and amphibians
Matthew T. Springer
Assistant Extension Professor of Wildlife Management
859-257-8633
mattspringer@uky.edu
Expertise: Wildlife management, human wildlife interactions, black vultures
Richard Durham
Extension Professor, Horticulture
859-257-3249
rdurham@uky.edu
Expertise: Consumer horticulture, vegetables, annuals, perennials
Krista Jacobsen
Associate Professor
859- 257-3921
krista.jacobsen@uky.edu
Expertise: Sustainable and organic specialty cropping systems, high tunnel production
Garrett Owen
Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist
859-257-2909
wgowen@uky.edu
Expertise: Controlled environment production, greenhouses, floriculture, specialty and food crops
Carlos Rodriguez Lopez
Assistant Professor
859-257-5020, ext. 80749
carlos.rodriguezlopez@uky.edu
Expertise: Epigenetics, biomarkers for human health, forensics, agriculture, food quality and security
Rachel Rudolph
Assistant Extension Professor
859-257-3374
rachel.rudolph@uky.edu
Expertise: Vegetables, tomatoes, high tunnel systems, abiotic disorders, crop nutrition and soil fertility
Mark Williams
Professor, Chair
859-257-1758
mark.williams@uky.edu
Expertise: Sustainable, organic horticulture production systems
Ned Crankshaw
Professor, Chair
859-257-7295
ned.crankshaw@uky.edu
Expertise: Landscape architecture and design, regional landscape character, site analysis, site master planning, cultural landscape preservation and sustainable design
Sandra Bastin
Extension Professor
859-257-3800
sbastin@uky.edu
Expertise: Food safety, purchasing from farmers markets
Dawn Brewer
Associate Professor
859-257-1661
dawn.brewer@uky.edu
Expertise: Leader of Community Engagement Core for Superfund Research Center
Alison Gustafson
Professor
859-257-1309
alison.gustafson@uky.edu
Expertise: Food insecurity, nutrition security, rural, health disparities, SNAP, WIC, food as medicine
Heather Norman Burgdolf
Assistant Extension Professor
859-257-7480
heather.norman@uky.edu
Expertise: Diabetes, nutrition and chronic disease prevention
Courtney Luecking
Assistant Extension Professor
859-257-9047
courtney.luecking@uky.edu
Expertise: Child nutrition
Janet Mullins
Extension Professor
859-218-2798
janet.mullins@uky.edu
Expertise: International hunger, obesity prevention in rural America
Martin Nielsen
Associate Professor, Gluck Equine Research Center
859-218-1103
martin.nielsen@uky.edu
Emma Adam
Assistant Professor, Gluck Equine Research Center, UK Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory
859-562-2186
emma.adam@uky.edu
Expertise: Wide-ranging topics from infectious disease to veterinary issues
Paul Vincelli
Extension Professor
859-218-0722
pvincell@uky.edu
Expertise: GMOs, turf and forest diseases, international agriculture
Nicole Gauthier
Extension Associate Professor
859-218-0720
ngauthier@uky.edu
Expertise: Fruit, landscape plants, nursery plants, greenhouse crops and hemp diseases
Chris Schardl
Professor
859-218-0730
schardl@uky.edu
Expertise: Tall fescue endophytes
Alison Davis
Director, Community and Economic Development Initiative of Kentucky
859-257-7260
alison.davis@uky.edu
Expertise: Economic development, leadership development, community health
Jason Swanson
Associate Professor
859-257-4965
jasonrswanson@uky.edu
Expertise: Travel’s effect on humans, tourism, tourism trends
Elizabeth Easter
Professor
859-257-7777
eeaster@uky.edu
Expertise: Laundry fundamentals and quality control of apparel and textiles
Vanessa Jackson
Professor
859-257-7633
vpjackson@uky.edu
Expertise: Consumer behavior, students’ soft skill development and women in leadership
Amanda Gumbert
Extension Specialist, Agriculture and Natural Resources
859-257-6094
amanda.gumbert@uky.edu
Expertise: Agriculture water quality regulations, water quality, backyard streams, Mississippi River watershed
Mark Williams
Professor, Chair, Horticulture
859-257-1758
mark.williams@uky.edu
Expertise: Sustainable, organic horticulture production systems
Alan Loynachan
Director, UK Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory
859-257-7489
alan.loynachan@uky.edu
Mark Mains
Assistant Director
mark.mains@uky.edu
Rachel Guidugli
Assistant Extension Director for Kentucky 4-H
859-218-0989
rachel.guidugli@uky.edu
