Redmon named Texas A&M associate department head

Many AgriLife Extension duties will be reassigned

“Larry brings a strong background in new program development to the position,” said Dr. David Baltensperger, soil and crop sciences department head in College Station.

Redmon’s new role will include leadership for soil and crop science faculty across the state, including budget development, evaluation, commodity group relations, industry partnerships, response coordination and visioning for the future, Baltensperger said.

Dr. Travis Miller, AgriLife Extension interim director for state operations, College Station, said the state forage specialist position vacated by Redmon will be refilled.

“We obviously need a leader in forages for the state; someone to coordinate and plan effective programming for forages and stakeholders who depend on forages,” Miller said.

He said Redmon, who will be filling the position Miller held for 13 years, will be great for the job.

“Larry has done a lot for the department and for forages in Texas,” Miller said. “He is very innovative and comes up with new ideas for programs. He’s a team player who puts a lot of different people in the room to solve problems and address issues.”

Redmon said he is sad to be transitioning away from many of his AgriLife Extension and teaching duties but will still be involved in educational programs to some extent.

“It seems the one constant is things are constantly changing, and so it is with my career, but I look forward to my new role and the challenges that come with the new position,” he said.

As the AgriLife Extension state forage specialist, Redmon’s programs focused primarily on establishment, management and utilization of forage resources to enhance profit potential for landowners and to protect valuable soil, water and plant resources.

Redmon currently serves as the AgriLife Extension Bennett Trust specialist and manages a unique endowment to AgriLife Extension left by Eskel and Ruth Bennett. He also conducts Ranch Management University, an intensive four-day event targeting new or inexperienced ranchers and landowners, twice a year at the G. Rollie White Visitor’s Center on the Texas A&M University campus.

He was an integral part of Forage Fax, http://foragefax.tamu.edu, a website that allows subscribers to receive posts such as reminders to obtain a soil test, drought management recommendations, new products and information regarding critical pasture issues. The forages website http://forages.tamu.edu receives in excess of 600,000 requests annually.

Redmon collaborated on five “Lone Star Healthy Streams” manuals available to the public. The Lone Star Healthy Streams program aims to educate Texas livestock producers and land managers on how to best protect Texas waterways from bacterial contributions associated with livestock production and feral hogs and is presented statewide.

Redmon also is a regular contributor to AgriLife’s Stiles Farm Field Day and the O.D. Butler Field Day, as well as many others, and has been a key resource on issues from hurricane and wildfire recovery to rebuilding herds after years of severe drought.

Redmon earned a bachelor’s of science in agronomy from Stephen F. Austin State University and a doctorate in range science from Texas A&M. He spent six years with Oklahoma State University before joining AgriLife Extension in 1999 as a forage specialist at Overton. He moved to College Station in 2004.