Congratulations Doug!

Doug Buhler, director of Michigan State University AgBioResearch and senior associate dean for research for the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR), received two awards on Dec. 11, 2013, during the Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market EXPO annual banquet in Grand Rapids.

The Michigan State Horticultural Society (MSHS) honored Dr. Buhler with the Distinguished Service Award, and the Michigan Vegetable Council (MVC) honored him with the Master Farmer Associate Award. Both organizations recognized his strong commitment to serve the needs and listen to the concerns of industry stakeholders.
Doug has served in a number of leadership positions at MSU, among them chairperson of the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, interim state leader for agriculture programs in MSU Extension, and most recently interim dean for CANR.
He has been on the leadership team for MSU Project GREEEN (Generating Research and Extension to meet Economic and Environmental Needs) for many years. The awards credited him for helping develop this initiative into “an outstanding example of cooperation between industry stakeholders and the university.”

Doug was also credited for recognizing the importance of key research and extension positions to industry, and working to hire new scientists during financially difficult times.

Since 1970, the MSHS Distinguished Service Award has recognized those giving dedicated service toward improvement of the Michigan fruit industry. The MVC gives the Master Farmer Associate Award to an individual who, while not directly involved with farming, has had a significant impact on the well-being of the vegetable industry in Michigan.

The expo organizers put together a YouTube video highlighting Doug’s research and career. The video can be viewed online at http://bit.ly/awarddb.