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March 23, 2006 NDSU Agricultural Engineer Retiring Vern Hofman says the time has come for someone younger to take over his job. So the 60-year-old Hofman will retire from a 30 1/2-year career as a North Dakota State University Extension Service agricultural engineer on March 31. “All in all, this has been a challenging job, but a rewarding one, too,” he says. He has spent the last three decades finding ways to apply new technology to the agricultural industry and educating people about those advances, particularly in chemical spraying, precision and no-till farming, and alternative fuels. NDSU Extension Service Director Duane Hauck describes Hofman as a true Extension professional. “Vern believes in his work,” Hauck says. “No matter what the topic – sprayers, biofuels, tillage, site-specific farming, etc. – he always projects excitement about what he is doing and truly believes his information will make a positive difference for the end user.” Although Hofman is leaving his Extension position, he’s not giving up the work. Federal grants will allow him to stay on at NDSU and continue his research on two projects: the development of alternative, renewable fuel sources for diesel engines, and effective aerial and ground fungicide applications to control scab, a fungal disease in small-grain crops. His fascination with machinery began while growing up on a farm near Clear Lake, S.D. “I’d much rather be out in the field running the equipment than working with livestock,” he recalls. He earned a bachelor of science degree in agricultural mechanization at South Dakota State University and a master’s degree in agricultural engineering from NDSU. He spent the next six years designing items such as hopper bottom bins, bucket elevators and livestock structures for Behlen Manufacturing Co. in Columbus, Neb. In 1975, he came to NDSU as an Extension agricultural engineer and assistant professor. He has been an associate professor since 1980. Hofman has no regrets that he took this career path instead of staying on the family farm. “There are so many interesting things going on that I’ve been a part of,” he says. One of his first roles as an Extension agricultural engineer was helping county Extension agents educate producers on how to calibrate their chemical sprayers. That involved collecting the discharge from spray nozzles to determine whether they were applying chemicals uniformly. He collected the discharge in trays he manufactured. “I built that stuff because there wasn’t anything commercially available at the time,” he says. This kind of ingenuity is a Hofman trademark, according to colleagues. For example, he’s had four scaled-down models of farm equipment, including a Steiger tractor, motorized. He uses them to demonstrate safety issues and problems producers might have with their equipment. “Producers like to see the results of what someone has done, not just a bunch of flashcards, posters and data,” says Paul Nyren, director of NDSU’s Central Grasslands Research Extension Center near Streeter. Hofman frequently is on the program at NDSU Research Extension Center field days. His topics have included spray drift, grain dryers, sewage disposal systems and farm safety. “He’s been a key component of our field days at all of the centers year after year,” says Jay Fisher, director of the North Central Research Extension Center in Minot. “He’s one of our most popular presenters.” Hofman’s educational efforts haven’t stopped at U.S. borders. He has traveled to Brazil, Australia, Mongolia and Ukraine to study their no-till seeding methods and share his expertise on the subject. During a tour in China that focused on the country’s air pollution and environment, he spoke about the development of alternative fuels such as biodiesel. Hofman believes the Extension Service’s educational role is vital because producers need to know a lot more than they once did to have a successful farming operation. For example, computers are standard equipment on today’s tractors. A growing number of producers use global positioning systems to spread fertilizer across fields based on each area’s need for nutrients. Auto steering mechanisms keep tractors running straighter than a human driver could. Ultrasound technology keeps spray boom height uniform over uneven ground. “Things have come a long way since I started, and it’s only been 30 years,” he says. “I wonder what things are going be like in the next 30 years, or in 20 or 25 years.” ### Source:
Vern Hofman, (701) 231-7240, vhofman@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Photo cutline: NDSU Extension agricultural engineer Vern Hofman demonstrates geographic information system technology during a field day program at the North Central Research Extension Center in Minot. |
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