Brian Rossnagel

Award for Distinction in Outreach & Engagement - Spring 2004

This award recognizes a member of faculty who has extended the University's expertise to the wider community. Brian Rossnagel is the spring 2004 recipient.

Rossnagel is a Professor in the Department of Plant Sciences, based at the renowned U of S Crop Development Centre (CDC). He began his distinguished career at the University of Manitoba, where he earned a Bachelor's degree and later, his Ph.D. He joined the U of S in 1977.

Professor Rossnagel's work has centered mainly on the improvement of feed and food barley and oat for the Canadian Prairies, where he and his colleagues developed more than 35 varieties. As of the 2003 crop year, fields sown to his cultivars comprised about five million acres - more than half of all feed barley and oat acreage in Saskatchewan and Alberta. A few recent examples are CDC Orrin and CDC Dancer (oat) and CDC Trey and CDC Fibar (barley).

A much-sought-after speaker, Rossnagel has shared his expertise at more than 300 extension events in Canada, Australia, the USA, Japan and several European countries. His knowledge transfer activities have also included a plethora of industry meetings, telephone and radio interviews, field days and tours. He has become the farmer's first choice for information on barley, oats, seed production and associated topics.

Over the years, he has built an extensive network of research collaborators, including colleagues in private industry, the NRC Plant Biotechnology Institute, and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada research centres in Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Ontario. His university collaborations span the country and reach into the U.S., Australia and the EU.

Rossnagel's scholarly work has appeared as more than 85 papers in peer reviewed journals, describing, for example, research on malting and feed barley genetics, feed quality, disease resistance, and suitability for fuel alcohol production.

He has also been active in many professional and agricultural organizations including the Saskatchewan and Canadian Seed Growers Association, the Saskatchewan Institute of Agrologists, the Canadian Society of Agronomy, the Royal Agricultural Societies of the Commonwealth, Canadian Western Agribition, the American Oat Workers Conference, the North American Barley Workers and the International Oat Conference.

Rossnagel has made key contributions as member and chair of numerous committees. His work with the Department of Plant Sciences - CDC Extension and Publicity committee led to an extremely successful magazine publication to mark the 80th anniversary of the department and the 20th department of the CDC. His efforts with a College of Agriculture policy committee helped define the College's standards for public service and the practice of professional skills.

In 2000, he was named to the three-year W.J. White Professorship and was honoured with the Kirylchuk Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Western Canadian Oat Industry from the Prairie Oat Growers Association in 1998. He is an honourary life member of both the Saskatchewan and Canadian Seed Growers Association, a fellow of the Agricultural Institute of Canada, and was recently named Distinguished Agrologist by the Saskatchewan Institute of Agrologists.

Rossnagel's accomplishments in research and development, his untiring volunteer work, and his dedication to sharing knowledge to benefit farmers truly exemplifies the spirit of public service and extension recognized by this award.