The University of Georgia College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences recently announced the 2009 D.W. Brooks award winners. These individuals have made significant contributions to agriculture, the college, and their communities.

The D.W. Brooks winner for Public Service Extension work is Paul Wigley from Calhoun County. He is a Rockmart high school graduate and son of Mrs. Marjorie Wigley and the late Ralph Wigley of Bellview community.

Wigley has distinguished himself as one of the elite agriculture and natural resources agents with the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension. He is widely recognized as one of the most knowledgeable and experienced agents in the United States on the subjects of peanut production and peanut disease control.

For the past ten years the focal point of his work has been the study of Rhizoctonia Limb, Pod and Peg Rot in peanuts and its control. He conducted 26 replicated trials evaluating almost 40 fungicides in over 80 different combinations and systems to study their control of this disease in peanuts. His research plots and trials have been featured on tours with over 800 visitors from the United States and 9 foreign countries. His work and the data it has generated have become the cornerstone for control recommendations for this disease to peanut growers in every peanut producing state in the United States. The adoption of his findings by local peanut growers has led to over $14 million in additional farm income in Calhoun County since 2000.

Due to his expertise in this field, he has been invited to make 41 presentations on his research at various international, national, regional and state conferences and meetings. The Georgia Peanut Education for Excellence program recognizes the extension agent with the best overall educational program for peanut production in Georgia. Wigley has been the state winner in this program 3 times since 2001. He has been honored for having the best presentation by a county extension agent at the American Peanut Research and Education Society meeting and nominated for the prestigious Bailey Award 4 times since 2002.

Wigley has conducted trials and educational programming for peanut growers on other topics including tomato spotted wilt virus management, row spacing, maturity determination and yield enhancement product evaluation. He manages the states largest extension sponsored Integrated Pest Management program. This program has employed up to 21 summer workers that made reports on upward of 21,000 acres annually. Programming on these topics has netted an additional $5.7 million to Calhoun County growers since 2000.

Under his leadership, the Calhoun County junior swine program has become one of the premier junior swine programs in the state. His students have captured state champion or reserve champion honors at the Georgia Junior National Market Swine Show on multiple occasions. Due to his expertise on this subject he is routinely called upon to teach workshops on managing the youth swine project throughout Georgia. He is one of the most sought after swine judges in the southeastern United States where he has judged over 50 shows in the last 7 years.

As a senior member of the UGA Extension staff, Wigley is called upon to provide leadership at many levels. He has served on numerous CAES and Extension committees. He served as a formal mentor to several new agents. He held the offices of President and Treasurer of the Georgia Association of the County Agricultural Agents. From 2006- 2009 he served as Treasurer of the National Association of County Agricultural Agents. He was recently elected Vice President of the National Association of County Agricultural Agents. He will serve as NACAA President from 2011 – 2012.