(12/04/24) BATON ROUGE, La. — LSU AgCenter plant pathologist Paul “Trey” Price received the Louisiana Soybean and Feed Grains and Promotion Board Distinguished Professorship on Nov. 20, at the board’s proposal meeting in Baton Rouge.

Price is an associate professor and soybean and feed grains disease specialist, located at the Macon Ridge Research Station. He is the first recipient of the professorship.

This distinguished professorship is awarded to a faculty member whose research program enhances the economic viability of Louisiana soybeans. This award supports the advancement of soybean research, promotion and dissemination of consumer and industry information.

The Louisiana Soybean and Feed Grains Research and Promotion Board established the endowment of $480,000 at LSU for the distinguished professorship in February of 2024. This grant qualifies for state matching funds from the Board of Regents.

“I’m very grateful for the support and hope to finish my career at the AgCenter one day,” Price said. “My goal is to keep producers in business by saving them money by reducing disease issues in crops.”

This honor is on top of Price’s list of awards. He received on the Tipton Team Research Award for Cercospora leaf blight of soybean research, the National County Agent Association Distinguished Service Award, Distinguished Tri-State Soybean Service Award, the Southern Soybean Disease Workers Distinguished Service Award and the AgCenter Extension Excellence Award.

“The Louisiana Soybean and Feed Grains Research and Promotion Board has long looked to our LSU AgCenter faculty to carry out research projects that have advanced our yields and increased our sustainability,” said Charles Cannatella, board chairman. “Now, by investing in this professorship, we are creating a legacy in perpetuity to allow that to carry forward for generations to come.

Cannatella went on to say that Price being the first recipient of the professorship is a great reflection of board’s legacy, as price has been and will continue to be a model for what they hope to see in agriculture research and extension personnel.

Price’s research and extension work focuses on cotton, corn, soybean, wheat, oats, peanuts, rice and grain sorghum. He conducts seed treatment and in-furrow fungicide trials, foliar fungicide experiments and variety trials on all those crops to determine the best options for producers. He goes on field calls for producers, consultants and agents to solve issues.

“The LSU AgCenter is grateful to the Louisiana Soybean and Feed Grain Research and Promotion Board for their generous gift of an endowed distinguished professorship to honor and support outstanding faculty conducting research to support the Louisiana soybean industry,” said Mike Salassi, AgCenter executive associate vice president and Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station director. “Trey Price is an outstanding recipient of this professorship. An accomplished plant pathologist, Price conducts critical crop disease research, which directly provides solutions to many of the production challenges faced by producers in the state.”

Salassi went on to say that the AgCenter is also grateful for the tremendous support given by the board each year in funding a wide range of research and extension projects, whose outcomes directly benefit Louisiana producers.

Price has been with the AgCenter since 2003. He graduated from Louisiana Tech with a Bachelor of Science degree in agronomy and a Master of Science degree in plant pathology and has received a doctorate in plant pathology from LSU.

The Louisiana Soybean and Feed Grains Research and Promotion Board with Trey Price. Pictured standing left to right, Burch Pierce, Joey Olivier, Andy Brown, Trey Price, Kody Beavers, Darrell Vandeven and Kellon Lee. Sitting left to right, Scott Wiggers, Jr., Charles Cannatella, Joey Boudreaux and Wil Miller. Photo by Olivia McClure/LSU AgCenter

Trey Price receiving the Professorship from Charles Cannatella, Soybean Board Chair and Matt Lee, LSU AgCenter Vice President. Photo by Olivia McClure/LSU AgCenter