Dean of Agriculture More Than Just a Farmer

---

Photo Courtesy of Media Service

Kelly Bryant - Dean of Agriculture grew up in an agricultural region.  Bryant said he always loved teaching.

   When someone thinks about agriculture, they think about cows, corn and dirt. One doesn’t think about world-changing technology, politics and economics.

   As chair of the Division of Agriculture and director of the Southeast Research and Extension Center, Kelly Bryant does not just think about these subjects; he lives them.

   “Bio-fuel is the hot topic in (agriculture) right now,” he said. “We touch on some of that in some of our classes. This year it looks like we are going to have a small research project here with our cows on feeding them some of the byproducts of the bio-fuel industry.”

   Bryant said when bio-fuels are made; it produces a high yield of byproducts. Since most bio-fuels are made from organic material like corn, sugar cane and grasses, the unused byproduct might contain nutrients cattle could get value from.

   Since companies use grain to make a lot of the bio fuels, grain prices went up causing many complaints from cattle producers, he added.

   “(The research) will make good use of the byproducts and a good source of feed for the animals,” Bryant said.

   Another solution for the high grain prices could be the use of tree limbs, leaves and grass, which are all readily available. Bryant said the forestry department contacted him to set up research on a possible alternative.

   “They want to look at growing switch grass and cottonwood trees as a source of ethanol,” he said. “But just the process of converting grass to ethanol is not quite there. They can do it, but they can’t do it on a large scale in an efficient manner.”

   Bio-fuels are not the only hot topic discussed in the agricultural community. Migrant labor became a major issue because of the upcoming presidential election, and Bryant said it is an issue that must be addressed.

   “Agriculture is pretty dependent on migrant labor,” he said. “So if the rules are tightened up to where the migrant labor is not available, we would have an issue we would have to address somehow. One way would be for some of the big companies to move to other countries.”

   The Los Angeles Times reported that since Congress failed to pass legislation that would overhaul the immigration policy, the issue might lay dormant until the 2008 presidential election.

   Bryant compared the issue to that of the closings of the Levi’s jeans plants across the nation. He said many of the plants moved to other countries due to high labor cost, which could be the same result in agriculture.

   Because of the region the university is located, Bryant said having a great agriculture department is important for educating future leaders in such subjects.

   “We have a lot of natural resources like land and water,” he said. “Just being close to the Mississippi gives us some transportation opportunities. Arkansas is the No. 1 rice producing state in the U.S. Because of the environment and soil and land, it’s just a good region to grow agricultural products.”

   Bryant said most students who graduate from his department go on to work for the government at some capacity. Many become county agents or work the Natural Resource Conservation Service, but others go into agricultural input sale or the poultry industry. He said more and more go on to graduate school.

   “We don’t have many that go into farming,” he said. “You have to come from a farm. It’s hard to go out and find acres and machinery and start farming.”

   Growing up in Plainview, Texas, Bryant said he was born into the agricultural life.

   “I grew up in a kind of agricultural region and my father was not a farmer, but he was in the (agriculture) business,” Bryant said. “Even back in high school I took a lot of FFA classes and vocational agriculture.

   “Even back then I enjoyed explaining stuff to fellow classmates. Graduate school especially, I had the opportunity on an informal basis to tutor some other students. I guess at that point it occurred to me that it was something I enjoyed.”

   After obtaining his masters at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, Bryant continued his education at Texas A&M University, receiving his doctorate in agriculture economics in 1991. He stayed at the university for two more years in a researcher role before becoming a professor at the University of Arkansas at Monticello.

   “Before I got into administration I enjoyed teaching farm management,” Bryant said. “It uses accounting and economics to look at management problems that a farmer, as a sole proprietor, would face.

   “After being in Monticello a couple of years is when I decided at some point in my career I would like to give administration a try. I just felt like good administrators are important, and if I’m a good administrator I’m willing to take on that role.”

   The UAM rodeo coach Jolyn Wells said Bryant became just that.

   “He’s easy to work with,” Wells said. “He’s the kind of person that if he doesn’t know something he’ll go find out. He’s also the sort of boss that listens to people and not just tells them what to do.”

   During his years of service to the university, Bryant experienced something not many administrators do - watching their spouse graduate from their department.

   “She started on her bachelors degree in animal science way back when we first got married,” he said. “Before she completed it, our first child was born and so she quit school to raise children and it wasn’t until 18 years later that she started back. It worked real nice that we were at a university and a university that had an agriculture department.”

   He said he only taught her in one class. He teaches a one-hour senior seminar where he shows students how to find jobs by working on resumes and interviewing skills. He said she did great in the class and never had a problem separating home life with work.

   “I’m always the boss,“ he joked.

   Outside of work, Bryant said he enjoys running, working on his truck and reading books on leadership. He also said he tries to read the Bible a little bit every day, and he is very active in his church.

   At his house, Bryant said he has one horse that he and his wife like to work with and ride a little bit. They are both members of the Desha/Drew County Cattlemen’s Association, but hold no office.

   “With my job it’s probably best I don’t hold any office,” he said.

Have a comment? Please e-mail us.