Bill Braunworth received his BS in Agronomy in 1975 and the MS in Crop Science in 1977 from Colorado State University. His PhD in Horticulture, 1986, is from Oregon State University.
After his master's degree, Bill was first employed as the agronomist for a seven county area in southeast Colorado for the Cooperative Extension Service. In addition to outreach education, Bill conducted on‑farm research in perennial weed and insect management, improved cropping systems and variety trials.
From 1980-1983, Bill served as a team leader for the Egypt Water Use and Management Project in Cairo through the Consortium for International Development at Colorado State University. Here he worked on improved water conveyance, application efficiency, and the introduction of new crops, as well as improved cultural practices for existing crop systems. In collaboration with his Egyptian counterparts, Bill conducted an extensive outreach program and assisted farmer organizations in cooperative water delivery and canal maintenance.
In 1983 Bill moved back to the United States and attended Oregon State University where he obtained a PhD in Horticulture. His dissertation was related to irrigation scheduling and water use of sweet corn.
From 1986 to 1988, Bill held a temporary position at Oregon State in the Office of International Research and Development and then accepted a position as Extension weed management specialist for the Department of Horticulture before resuming his international work, this time in Malawi, Africa. Bill served as a technical advisor to a horticultural commodity team advising outreach educators on the production of tropical fruits, roots, vegetables, coffee, and nursery crops. His efforts were instrumental in enhancing applied research and extension services to meet the needs of smallholder farmers including women farmers. With his Malawi colleagues, Bill reviewed and formed the direction of the national horticulture research program, assisted with aspects of applied research and trained researchers in computer-driven data analysis and reporting. In all, Bill and his family spent three and one half years in Malawi.
Bill assumed leadership of the OSU Extension Agriculture Program in 1992, and continues to serve as Agriculture and Natural Resources Program Leader today. The program's chief goals are to coordinate science-based resource management, to enhance environmental quality in agricultural production systems while improving profitability. The development of integrated pest management practices has assisted with production changes needed to accommodate the reduction of registered pesticides for specialty crops. The Program also serves smaller-scale farmers, consumer horticulture clients and the Master Gardener program.
Bill is married to Diana Braunworth; they have four children. Bill enjoys skiing, biking, hiking, and camping with his family.
