MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi State University Extension cotton specialist Darrin Dodds was recently named the 2014 Extension Cotton Specialist of the Year, an award based on leadership and industry service.

Dodds received his doctoral degree at Mississippi State University and has worked at MSU for six years studying cotton variety performance, management, fertility, plant growth regulator use, irrigation management and weed control.

In 2009, Dodds expanded MSU’s Cotton Short Course to include all row crops, and since then the course has seen growth in attendance. More than 400 attendees participated in the 2013 Row Crop Short Course. As coordinator of the annual workshop, Dodds scheduled three days of intensive agriculture education with a focus on irrigation.

Joe Street, MSU Extension Service associate director, said Dodds’s dedication to the industry helps Mississippi remain a leader in agriculture production.

“I believe Mississippi has the best Extension agronomic crops team in the country, and Darrin is an integral part of that team,” Street said. “As the Extension Cotton Specialist, Darrin is totally dedicated to the cotton industry and is a leader in education and applied research. Being selected is a tremendous honor, and Darrin is very deserving of this prestigious award.”

The Extension Cotton Specialist of the Year award has been sponsored by Bayer Cropscience since 2008, and each winner is chosen by a panel of peers.