Agriculture

Tammy Holder has served at the College of the Ozarks as associate professor of agronomy since 2010. Since coming to the college, she has also served as manager at the dairy, beef farm, feed mill and agronomy workstations.  She is currently serving as general farm manager.

Tammy completed her M.S. degree from the University of Arkansas in Crop Science and her undergraduate studies at College of the Ozarks.  Her interests lie in forage production and forage physiology. In her graduate research she was responsible for discovery of several of the novel endophytes used in many improved varieties of tall fescue today.

Tammy has been a member of the Agronomy Society of America, Soil Science Society of America, and Crop Science Society for 24 years.  She has been a Certified Crop Advisor since 2008 and has served on the Missouri CCA Exam Committee for the since 2018.

Dr. Russell began his career teaching high school agriculture before he transitioned to a Research Assistant and Student Supervisor at Iowa State University. Upon receiving his master’s degree, he worked for Pioneer Hi-Bred in its new business development division as the Western Region computer training supervisor. Donn also co-authored Pioneer’s farm accounting software, advised agriculture commodity offices on business practices, and was a loan analyst for Pioneer’s producer loan program. While completing his doctorate he was a school administrator at Des Moines Public Schools where he started the urban agriculture program. He has been a professor at College of the Ozarks since 2000. During his time at the college, Dr. Russell has supervised workstations, developed international agriculture opportunities for students, and received his Honorary American FFA Degree. He holds a B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. from Iowa State University.

Mr. Matt Shekels obtained his B.S. degrees in Animal Science and Agri Business from Arkansas Tech University in 2007 and his master's degree in Agri Business from Kansas State University in 2012. Matt is also a trained bovine embryologist. He and his family live on a beef farm, raising cow/calf pairs for seedstock and feeder animals. Matt enjoys engaging with issues in agriculture through Farm Bureau, while co-sponsoring the CofO Aggie Club. He is also active in his faith community, leading worship and ministering at his church.

Nathan Roberts earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of Missouri and his Ph.D. from Cornell.  He has worked for several state and federal agencies as a wildlife researcher and biologist, primarily focused on carnivore and furbearer management issues.  He has published numerous scientific articles and mentored several graduate students. Dr. Roberts came to College of the Ozarks to teach Conservation and Wildlife Management in 2020.

­Dr. Micah Humphreys graduated from Oklahoma State University with a B.S. in Plant and Soil Science, continuing there to obtain his M.S. degree in Soil Fertility under Dr. Bill Raun. He graduated from Purdue University with a Ph.D. in Agronomy with Dr. A. P. Schwab as his dissertation advisor. After teaching for 11 years at Northwest College in Powell, WY, he was hired at St. Charles Community College in Cottleville, MO, to start a program in agriculture. He began at College of the Ozarks in 2021. His program area is horticulture, and he manages the Feed Mill and Agronomy workstations. He is also in charge of the campus garden, supplying vegetables to the Keeter Center and the Pearl Rogers Dining Center.

Caleb Robertson grew up in Southwest Missouri and has been teaching at College of the Ozarks since 2021. He received a B.S. in Agribusiness from Northwest Missouri State University before attending the University of Missouri and receiving a M.S. in Agricultural Economics. His thesis was entitled "Eat MO Beef: Effects of Regional Labeling on Missouri Consumers' Beef Preferences." His research and teaching interests include agricultural policy, consumer/food economics, risk analysis and market systems.

Dr. Amanda Holder graduated from College of the Ozarks in 2015 with a double major in agronomy and agriculture business. After earning her B.S. at C of O, she went on to study plant breeding and genetics at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville where the research focus of her M.S. was genetic resistance to fungal pathogens in wheat. After completing her M.S. degree, she continued her education at Oklahoma State University where she earned her PhD in ruminant nutrition. Her doctoral research evaluated the impact of diet quality on intake, greenhouse gas emissions, gene expression, and production measures in mature beef cows. She is now serving as an assistant professor of agriculture and teaches the core animal science classes