Roy Roberson

Roy
Roberson
Associate Editor
Southeast Farm Press

James R. (Roy) Roberson began his career in agricultural communications as an assistant editor of agricultural research and teaching in Auburn University’s College of Agriculture and Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station. When he retired from Auburn University in 2004, he was head of the agricultural communications program at Auburn and assistant director of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station. Between stints at Auburn University, Roberson worked for several years as an account manager for Fletcher/Mayo and Associates, which at that time was the largest agricultural marketing and public relations company in the U.S. He also worked for nearly five years as Southeast marketing and public relations coordinator for Swanson-Rollheiser-Holland, an Omaha, Nebraska-based agricultural advertising and public relations company. In addition to his current position on the editorial staff of Southeast Farm Press, Roberson is former editor and publisher of Southern Pulp and Paper Magazine and was part of the team that created the Atlanta-based Southeast edition of Ad Week. Roberson grew up in rural east Alabama and earned bachelor and masters degrees in journalism and mass communication from Auburn University.

Articles by Roy Roberson
Virginia thrips management tools holding up
Much was made earlier in the spring about heavier than usual flights of thrips moths.
Rotation, innovation critical for South Carolina grower
Whether it be driving to nearby Myrtle Beach in his 1960s vintage Ford Galaxy convertible or planting crops on his Bennettsvillle, S.C., farm, Frankie Hinson has always done things a little differently than most folks and often getting surprising results.
Kudzu bugs hitting South Carolina soybeans early
Kudzu bugs are a new pest from China and though they are spreading rapidly from south to north, heavy populations apparently have decided to stay in South Carolina.
South Carolina grower finds flax production takes commitment
Growing flax is a little like jumping out of an airplane in that you had better be prepared and you had better be committed, says Pamplico, S.C., farmer and agri-businessman Tom Kemp.
Grain sorghum an option for Carolina, Virginia growers
North Carolina-based grain company, Murphy-Brown, is pushing grain production in the Carolinas in 2012, and they are putting money on the table to make it happen.
Upper Southeast cotton growers brace for thrips invasion
A warm winter, an exceptionally warm March, heavy and early thrips flights — all the elements seem to be coming together for the perfect storm of damage to cotton for 2012.
Is Southeast livestock industry in trouble? 1
This little piggy went to China, this little chick went to Japan, and along with them went nearly 60 percent of the 3.1 billion bushels of soybeans grown in the U.S. last year.
Timing peanut tank-mix applications difficult
Sequential treatments are much like ‘cuss’ words to most peanut growers and tank-mixing is too often music to their ears.
Reduced-tillage, precision farming two more keys to peanut profits
Reduced-tillage comes in at No. 8 and precision farming is listed as the No. 7 key to peanut profitability in the Southeast.
Wheat stripe rust found in North Carolina
Wheat stripe rust has been found on a farm in the southern end of North Carolina, adding to the weather-related troubles this year’s crop has already encountered.
Top wheat lobbyist says politics killing agriculture
Dana Peterson is a Middle America farm girl who has spent much of her professional life as a Washington D.C. lobbyist.
Freeze puts North Carolina, Virginia wheat at risk
The jury will be out for a while as to the damage to wheat and other winter crops caused by last night’s sub-freezing temperatures in North Carolina and Virginia.
New legislation would help Chesapeake Bay farmers
The latest political counter-blow in the long-standing battle to clean up the Chesapeake Bay came in March when Virginia Congressman Bob Goodlatte introduced H.R. 4153, the Chesapeake Bay Program Reauthorization and Improvement Act.
Billy Bain: A living history of peanuts
Billy Bain is a third generation Virginia farmer who has seen the good and the bad for peanuts in his state.
Crop insurance No. 1 priority in new farm bill
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, leaders of the U.S. Agriculture Crop Insurers Association and the directors of all U.S. grain associations agree that the single most critical part of the upcoming farm bill has to be crop insurance.

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