Rory Maguire

Program Focus

Farming activities, especially animal production, have been coming under increasing regulatory pressures for many years, due to concerns over excessive losses of nutrients that can harm water quality. My research and extension activities revolve around improving the efficiency of fertilizer and manure nutrient management, using innovative approaches to protect the environment while enhancing the profitability and sustainability of farming systems. This involves several approaches, from evaluating novel fertilizer efficiency to changing how we land apply manure.

Role of Graduate Students

Graduate students are central to my research program. I do primarily field based, applied research and my graduate students maintain field plots where they collect their research samples. I think it is very important for graduate students to build their resume, so not only do they publish their research results, but I include them in extension activities that revolve around field days at their field sites. All of my graduate students travel to national meetings and present their work, which helps their professional development and lets them network with other scientists.

Professor | 2016 - Present
Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences, Virginia Tech
75% Extension, 25% Research

Associate Professor | 2010 - 2016
Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences, Virginia Tech
75% Extension, 25% Research

Assistant Professor | 2006 - 2010
Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences, Virginia Tech
75% Extension, 25% Research

Assistant Professor | 2003 - 2006
North Carolina State University

Post Doctoral Research Associate | 1998 - 2003
University of Delaware

Extension Program

I am supervisor of the Soil Testing Laboratory at Virginia Tech, and also conduct training for nutrient management planners, who must become certified before they can write nutrient management plans for regulated farms. The rest of my Extension program is closely linked to my research program as explained below, as I use my field sites to demonstrate new technologies to farmers and other stakeholders.

Extension Philosophy

Extension is a balance of teaching what we already know, which is what we do through the Soil Testing Laboratory, and testing new technologies. Before farmers change their practices and adopt new technologies, it is essential that they can see these new technologies working locally. Hearing that a new technology works half way across the county in different climatic zones, soils and cropping systems is not sufficient, so local testing and demonstrations are essential. Therefore I use new technologies to establish research plots on local farms. The research from these plots shows whether or not the new technology works in the local situation, and the plots also serve for practical demonstrations at field days to teach stakeholders about how the technologies work.