McFarland to retire after long career with Texas A&M

Writer: Kay Ledbetter, 806-677-5608, skledbetter@ag.tamu.edu

COLLEGE STATION – Dr. Mark McFarland has worn many hats during his 35-year career with the Texas A&M University System, but on Aug. 31, he will be removing them all.

Gone will be the hat he wore as the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service soil fertility specialist in College Station. Gone also will be the hats belonging to the title of Extension water quality coordinator and that of associate department head in the Texas A&M University soil and crop sciences department.

“Mark has been an outstanding AgriLife Extension specialist and associate department head who made a difference for Texas through his efforts on soil fertility, repairing ‘impaired streams,’ water quality and coordinating our Extension program,” said Dr. David Baltensperger, soil and crop sciences department head.

“In the time he served as associate head for AgriLife Extension, he filled specialist positions in soil and water management and AgriLife Extension crops at Corpus Christi, Vernon and Lubbock. These scientists will be a legacy to his leadership for the department,” Baltensperger said.

McFarland, a native of Mason, earned his bachelor’s degree from Angelo State University, and his master’s degree and doctorate from Texas A&M.

He began his career in 1978 as a research technician at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in San Angelo. He later served as a research associate in San Angelo from 1988-1990 and then as an AgriLife Extension associate in 1990-1992 in College Station. In 1995, he accepted the soil fertility specialist position as well as that of the AgriLife Extension water quality coordinator in the department of soil and crop sciences.

McFarland’s primary areas of focus included soil fertility management, watershed and water resource management, domestic and irrigation water quality, and disturbed and contaminated land reclamation. A significant part of his research and educational programming focused on the efficient use of nitrogen and phosphorus in crop production systems.

Dr. Travis Miller, AgriLife Extension interim director for state operations, College Station, said McFarland has been instrumental in promoting and enhancing the capacity of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Soil, Water and Forage Testing Laboratory.

He coordinated an intensive field correlation program, through which essential data necessary for analysis of laboratory methods were obtained. This work has enabled important advancements in testing procedures that have improved both fertilizer-use efficiency and production economics benefiting agricultural producers across the state.

“He played a key role as a regional and national leader in AgriLife Extension water quality education, and his passion for soil fertility applied research and education was unmatched,” Miller said.

“For years, we had issues with the correlation of the Texas A&M phosphorus soil test with crop response on certain soils. Working with Tony Provin, Mark spearheaded an effort to collect the data needed to use a new soil extractant, which made a great difference in the confidence we and our stakeholders have in soil tests.

“Mark worked with dozens of county AgriLife Extension agents to coordinate soil fertility trials as well as soil test campaigns, resulting in millions of dollars in increased profits and decreased fertilizer losses,” Miller said. “He has been an exceptional AgriLife Extension specialist and a passionate advocate of AgriLife Extension education, delivering hundreds of programs to rural and urban settings.”

As the state water quality coordinator, McFarland worked closely with key state and federal water resource agencies and organizations in program development and planning. From 2000-2012, he coordinated the Southern Region Water Quality Program, a 13-state land-grant university collaborative dedicated to research and outreach resource development, with an annual budget of $1.25 million.

In addition, he served as a regional coordinator for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service National Water Program.

In 2009, McFarland received the National Award for Excellence in Extension for the southern region from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities for his work as the coordinator of the Southern Region Water Quality Program.

That same year, he was honored with the Texas A&M System’s Regents Fellow Service Award. He also received AgriLife Extension Superior Service Awards in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2012, and shared in the 2008 Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award presented to the Rio Grande Basin Initiative.

Additional awards and recognitions include: 1992, the Texas A&M Vice Chancellor’s Award in Excellence for Water Quality; 1995, the Seco Creek Project received the Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award; and 1996, the Lake Fork Hydrologic Unit Project received the EPA Region VI Administrator’s Environmental Excellence Award.

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