Wayne Cooley Receives Distinguished Service Award for Contributions and Leadership
Wayne Cooley, director and Colorado State University Cooperative Extension agronomy agent in the Tri-River area, received an award on Oct. 16 for his exceptional contributions and leadership within Cooperative Extension.
The Alton Scofield Distinguished Service Award recognizes off-campus members of Colorado State Cooperative Extension for dedication and contributions to the organization and to the community he or she serves.
"Wayne continues to provide excellent service and leadership to Cooperative Extension," said Milan Rewerts, Colorado State Cooperative Extension director. "Wayne is deserving of this award for his professionalism and expertise in agronomy and for his strong leadership to the Tri-River area Cooperative Extension program."
Cooley has initiated or been a member of more than 60 on-farm and research demonstration tests and has completed 23 reports and publications for distribution within the Tri-River area. The reports cover a wide variety of topics from weed science, soil fertility and tillage practices to sweet corn, sugar beets and forage production and are used at workshops and seminars and for distribution out of each office in the Tri-River area.
Cooley developed and initiated noxious weed control programs in the Tri-River area to combat the problems noxious weeds cause in the area.
In addition, Cooley has been instrumental in developing irrigated pasture and alfalfa management programs that involve general weed control, fertility, irrigation and species selection for small acreage owners, entry-level agriculturalists and commercial producers. Along with 13 authors including personnel from Cooperative Extension, the Colorado State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Natural Resources Conservation Service, Cooley developed a peer-reviewed Intermountain Grass and Legume Forage Production Manual.
Cooley, in cooperation with John Murray, NRCS in Montrose, began working with four selected growers on some form of reduced tillage. Cooley assisted one farmer in receiving a grant which was allocated to plant corn under reduced tillage.
Cooley has worked with numerous commercial producers, small acreage owners and entry-level agriculturalists from various backgrounds. In addition, he has conducted workshops on Worker Protection Standards for nearly 200 Spanish-speaking migrant workers using video and publications in Spanish along with translators for help answering questions. As a 4-H leader working with youth for six years, Cooley was selected as the Outstanding 4-H Leader for Montrose County in 2001.
Cooley received the Achievement Award in 1998 and the Distinguished Service Award in 2003 from the National Association of County Agricultural Agents. He was honored with Epsilon Sigma Phi State Early Career Award in 1998. Cooley also has received numerous state, regional and national finalist communication awards from NACAA.
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