STONEVILLE, Miss. -- A former leader of Mississippi State University’s largest agricultural research center will soon return to that role on an interim basis.

Steve Martin will become interim head of the Delta Research and Extension Center July 1. He will also continue in his current role as associate director of the MSU Extension Service. Jeff Johnson, who served since 2013 as head of the Stoneville-based center, has accepted a full-time faculty position on the MSU main campus in Starkville.

Before being named Extension associate director in 2015, Martin served as head of the Delta R&E Center from 2008 until 2012, when he became head of the North Mississippi R&E Center in Verona. Martin has three degrees from MSU, including a bachelor’s in agriculture and extension education, a master’s in business administration and a doctorate in agricultural economics.

One job of the Stoneville center’s leader is to oversee the 19-county Delta region of MSU Extension.

“Extension’s mission is delivering research-proven information and education to better the lives of all Mississippians,” said MSU Extension Director Gary Jackson. “The connections Dr. Martin has built in the Mississippi Delta and familiarity with the Delta center are invaluable in carrying that mission forward.”

Faculty from Extension and the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station are based the 4,700-square-foot facility. Their main focus is on row crop and catfish production.

“Commercial agriculture and aquacultural producers throughout Mississippi depend on research conducted at this facility every year to improve production and efficiency on their farms,” said Experiment Station Director George Hopper. “Dr. Martin’s administrative experience ensures leadership continuity for the research station as it continues to address the needs of our clients in the Delta area and beyond.”

The Delta Branch Experiment Station, based at the center, is one of 16 Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station branch units statewide.