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DENTON – Ask agronomist Dr. Travis Ford what he does, and the conversation immediately turns to spot spraying of Palmer amaranth, drone flyovers to map water hemp, and variable rate applications of nitrogen.
The newest addition to the 10-member Caroline County Extension team is admittedly an “ag nerd.”
“I love being able to help others,” he said March 6 during a meet-and-greet at the University of Maryland’s local Extension office in Denton.
“I like doing research, so learning new stuff is always fun for me, and then learning new stuff that I can try to help somebody with is extra fun,” Ford said. “Being able to apply the information I've learned is the next logical step.”
While Ford, 34, has earned both a master’s and Ph.D. in Precision Agriculture, he’s personable, and knowledgeable, with a good sense of humor.
Ford is an Extension Education and Certified Crop Advisor, meeting with farmers to help them design plans for a better return on their investment. He joined Extension Jan. 27, succeeding longtime Extension agent Jim Lewis, who retired two years ago after more than 30 years in the position.
He uses drones, sophisticated calculations and an extensive knowledge of agricultural equipment, pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers to apply precision ag’s Four Rs principle.
“It's all about applying the Right product at the Right time, at the Right place, with the Right amount,” Ford said. “So (we’re) trying to allocate resources where they will be most efficiently used and produce the most amount of crops.”
A native of Camden, Delaware, Ford still lives near family with his wife and two small children. While he didn’t grow up on a farm, his dad did, and his wife’s family were potato farmers who migrated from Long Island to Delaware years ago.
Ford’s professional journey began in a different field. He earned an associate’s degree from Delaware Tech and a bachelor’s in Environmental Science at Delaware State University. But after working in environmental remediation at refineries in northern Delaware and southeast Pennsylvania, he decided to hang up his hazmat suit and respirator.
“I figured I should go back to school and not have to dig holes for a living for the rest of my life,” he said. “It very much motivated me to get a better job.”
At a bio-energy workshop during his last undergrad semester, Ford met a professor from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore who asked him if he had ever considered going to school for agriculture. That’s when Ford learned about the university’s precision agriculture program.
Other professors also advised him that agriculture was the direction he should take. “They said there's way more jobs, there's way more opportunities,” he said. “That was my saving grace to get into agriculture.”
Ford found his knowledge of environmental science relates to precision ag problem solving by helping farmers “minimize runoff and … the costs” of overapplying nutrients. He said that over the past 20 years most farmers have realized, “If you ain't using the nitrogen or phosphorus you're losing money on it, so you might as well try to figure out how to keep it in your field.”
During a year of his post-doctoral research, he contributed to a study for the Navy, helping research a bio-polymer to prevent barnacle formation – an expensive problem that creates drag under power and barnacle removal after haul-out.
Ford then went to work as the agronomist for Atlantic Tractor’s 18 locations. “I loved it. I got to work on all kinds of new technology from John Deere,” he said.
Even though he’s only been in the Extension office a couple of months, Ford has met with farmers and invites them to stop in, call or email him. “I always say farmers are the hardest working, honest people.”
