Veteran AgriLife Extension entomologist retires
Writer: Steve Byrns, 325-653-4576, s-byrns@tamu.edu
Contact: Rick Minzenmayer, 325-365-5212, r-minzenmayer@tamu.edu
BALLINGER – Richard “Rick” Minzenmayer, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service integrated pest management entomologist for Runnels and Tom Green counties, will retire April 27, culminating a 30-year career with the agency.
Minzenmayer has held his current position, which also includes parts of Concho and McCulloch counties, since 1987. Prior to his move to Ballinger, he held the same job in Midland, Martin and Howard counties from 1985-1987.
He earned a bachelor’s in entomology from Texas Tech University and a master’s in animal science from Angelo State University.
“I have had a great 30-year career and have enjoyed the work, the challenges and the friendships I have developed over the years,” Minzenmayer wrote to colleagues. “I have been blessed with some of the best coworkers and office staff in the state. I have also had the opportunity to work with some of the most well-respected professionals in crop production in the country through my work with AgriLife Extension. I have had great support from the Southern Rolling Plains Cotton Growers Association board and have had the privilege of working with some of the most progressive growers in the state.”
Looking back, Minzenmayer related several events and projects that stand out. The most recent, and the one he feels is probably his biggest accomplishment, is his applied research work with Dr. Tom Isakeit, AgriLife Extension plant pathologist at College Station, on finding a control for cotton root rot.
According to experts, the fungal disease of cotton and a host of other plants can cause from 70 to 85 percent crop failure in some cotton fields. He and Isakeit identified a fungicide that when applied to the soil, reduces the root rot to levels that cause limited or no economic loss.
“I also had the opportunity to work with the World Bank and Texas A&M AgriLife Research on their rainfed agriculture project being conducted in Africa,” Minzenmayer said. “Certain areas in Runnels County have similar topography to areas needing help in Africa. So I gathered planting, harvesting, yields, budgets and best management practices from growers in our area and compiled it for them to use in Africa.”
Marvin Ensor, AgriLife Extension regional program leader at San Angelo, said such work has the potential to help clothe and feed world populations into the future.
Earlier in his career, Minzenmayer worked on the Southern Rolling Plains boll weevil eradication effort. Boll weevils were at that time the pest most limiting cotton production in the U.S. His role was to train and supervise up to 14 “bug scouts” per season. These scouts, often farm youth, were instrumental in determining when or if a field should be treated with pesticide.
Today, thanks to the success of the Boll Weevil Eradication Program and his tutelage, Ensor said, Minzenmayer has been able to change his emphasis to applied research addressing the needs of growers in the Southern Rolling Plains.
Minzenmayer has garnered a number of recognitions throughout his career with some of the most recent being: 2014 Texas Pest Management Association Outstanding Extension-Agent IPM; 2013 Superior Service Team Award, AgriLife Extension; and 2012 Outstanding Educator in Cotton, Texas Cotton Producer Inc.
Though he is retiring from AgriLife Extension, Minzenmayer is starting a new career as a senior agronomist for Bayer CropScience.
“I will get to stay where I am and work with the same great group of producers here, but also in the St. Lawrence and Rolling Plains areas and on up into southern Oklahoma,” he said. “I am excited and a little nervous, but it will be a new challenge that I am really looking forward to.”
