This week we are highlighting one of our amazing faculty members, Steve Brown! Steve works at the Mat-Su/Copper River District Extension office which is located at the Matanuska Experiment Farm in Palmer, Alaska.
How would you describe your job? I have the best job in the world! I am a UAF Agricultural Cooperative Extension Service (CES) Agent. The best way to describe CES is as a domestic Peace Corps. My job is to teach and help people grow food. My specialty is agricultural engineering and the application of geospatial technologies like GPS to improve growing techniques.
How long have you worked at the Matanuska Experiment Farm and Extension Center? I have worked for the Matanuska Experiment Farm and Extension Center for nearly 13 years, but my career with CES at Cornell University and Kansas State University spans 28 years.
What is your favorite Alaska grown vegetable and how do you eat it? My favorite Alaskan grown vegetable is the OS Cross giant cabbage that my wife and I grow for the Alaska State Fair. She makes awesome cabbage rolls.
What’s the weirdest job you have ever had? The weirdest job I ever had was as a dead pig picker-upper. In 1979 a tornado blew 5,000 hogs across Wilbarger County, Texas. My job was to go find the dead pigs and load them on a pickup for burial. It wasn’t a bad job the first day or two, but by the end of the week it was terrible. I had to rub coffee under my nose to deal with the odor. Nowhere but up after that job.
If you have questions for Steve please contact him via email at scbrown4@alaska.edu or call 745-3639.
