Estimation of Crop Water Consumption for Irrigated Crops Using Soil Moisture Data
Oliver Hargreaves, Alfonso Torres-Rua, Niel Allen, Matt Yost, Lawrence Hipps, David Stevens, Rui Gao, Karem Meza-Capcha , Laura...
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Bridging the gap between the academic world and the turfgrass industry
The 4th Annual Bill Rose Memorial Golf Tournament will be held in Oregon in June 2025, stay tuned for more information!
The mission of the Foundation is to bridge the gap between the academic world and the real-world application of turfgrass research and development. The Foundation will help accomplish this goal by providing turfgrass science students with travel scholarships to industry events and field days and by awarding grants to academic programs engaged in sustainable turfgrass research.
The Bill Rose Foundation has been formed in memory and honor of Bill Rose, the founder of Pure Seed, Roselawn and Pure-Seed Testing and pioneer in the grass seed industry. Bill was a cattle rancher, grass seed farmer, and a visionary in the grass seed industry. His philosophy of leading with research, quality production, seed services and marketing innovations have impacted the world. His relationships and ideas have influenced countless people from farms to ranches, golf courses, sports fields, and home lawns. The foundation is determined to continue innovation in the turfgrass industry through support of students and academic research programs across the United States.
Congratulations to the 2024 Travel Scholarship Winners!
Meet the Scholarship Winners
The 2024 Bill Rose Foundation Scholarship Winners
University of Georgia
Harishita Saxena
"Attending the Pure Seed's Field Day in Canby, OR, in 2023 was an extraordinary experience. It provided a wonderful opportunity to connect with industry professionals worldwide. The engagement, enlightening speakers, and an impressive showcase of turfgrass and forage research. The event served as an excellent platform to deepen my knowledge of the turfgrass industry and ongoing research. I am grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this exceptional event."
Art Director
Ashley Jones
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Tech Lead
Don Francis
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Virginia Tech
Ava Veith
"The Pure Seed Field day put on by the Bill Rose Foundation was one of the most organized events I have ever attended. The people were so welcoming, and I had the pleasure of meeting a ton of new people in the turfgrass industry not only at the field day itself, but also amazing events such as the happy hour, axe throwing, duckpin bowling, and golf tournament which I really enjoyed. The other scholarship recipients and I were given the opportunity to attend and present our research during the lunch following the field day. I thought it was perfect. Do the field day, have a nice lunch, and then present some of my research while everyone was finishing up eating. I have nothing but positive things to say about the Bill Rose Foundation and I am so thankful to be a scholarship recipient! Truly had a great time."
Utah State University
Karem Meza Capcha
"I am incredibly grateful to the Bill Rose Foundation for allowing me to participate and share my research on field day. This experience was unforgettable because I was exposed to a large group of people who share the same interest in the turfgrass industry. The tour of the turfgrass plots was useful in understanding how turfgrass science is advancing to tackle challenging issues such as heat and drought stress. I would encourage students to apply for this scholarship next year and take advantage of the networking opportunities."
Virginia Tech
Elisabeth Kitchen
"Receiving the Bill Rose Foundation scholarship has been an incredible experience. I had an amazing time at the field day, where I got to present my research and make valuable connections. I met industry personnel I can now collaborate with on new projects and bonded with fellow scholarship recipients, exchanging ideas and insights. The optional networking and fundraising events were fantastic, and the Pure Seed staff was incredibly accommodating, making the experience an absolute pleasure to attend. Everyone attending was kind and supportive, reminding me why I love the turfgrass industry: the incredible people. Seeing such a large group come together to share ideas and see the new research from Pure Seed was truly inspiring."
Rutgers University
Ryan Earp
"My trip to the Pure Seed Field Day made available by the Bill Rose Foundation was an awesome experience. I had the opportunity to present my research to both industry and academic professionals as well as make connections with them along with other students. In my past turf experience, I have not interacted much with the seed industry. This was a great opportunity to see that side of the turf industry. I am extremely thankful for the Bill Rose Foundation for making this trip possible!"
Texas A&M University
Ashton Franks
"Receiving the Bill Rose Foundation scholarship has been an incredible experience. I had an amazing time at the field day, where I got to present my research and make valuable connections. I met industry personnel I can now collaborate with on new projects and bonded with fellow scholarship recipients, exchanging ideas and insights. The optional networking and fundraising events were fantastic, and the Pure Seed staff was incredibly accommodating, making the experience an absolute pleasure to attend. Everyone attending was kind and supportive, reminding me why I love the turfgrass industry: the incredible people. Seeing such a large group come together to share ideas and see the new research from Pure Seed was truly inspiring."
University of Tennessee
Dillon McCallum
Attending the Pure Seed field day as a recipient of the Bill Rose Foundation travel scholarship recipient was a great honor. From check in the whole field day had a very welcoming environment. I felt very comfortable walking up to people and introducing myself. The entire staff of Pure Seed was very kind and generous. I enjoyed talking with each and every one of them. Being able to present my research to the industry that is most likely going to benefit from my work was an awesome experience. I also enjoyed hearing from an industry seed producer about the difficulties of producing the next evolution of germplasms. I am fascinated at what genetics can create and attending this field day only made me more enthused to work in this industry. Lastly, the activities (Axe-throwing, duckpin bowling, and golf scramble) were a lot of fun. It was a great way to network with others in the industry and get to know what they do within the breeding world. I would suggest anyone interested in the turfgrass breeding industry as a career should apply for this travel award next year because the connections you can make could be life-changing.
The 2023 Bill Rose Foundation Scholarship Winners
University of Georgia
Harshita Saxena
"Attending the Pure Seed's Field Day in Canby, OR, in 2023 was an extraordinary experience. It provided a wonderful opportunity to connect with industry professionals worldwide. The event featured a fantastic group, fostering engagement, enlightening speakers, and an impressive showcase of turfgrass and forage research. The event served as an excellent platform to deepen my knowledge of the turfgrass industry and ongoing research. I am grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this
exceptional event."
Michigan State University
Jackie Guevara
"I am honored to have received the
Bill Rose Foundation Travel Scholarship, which granted me the opportunity to attend the 37th Pure Seed Field Day. Each day was filled with exciting events. It was my first time talking to seed farmers and it made me understand the industry as a whole. As someone who typically engages with homeowners and turfgrass managers, it was eyeopening to see the work and challenges behind grass seed production and breeding. Now, I find myself with a newfound appreciation for every bag of seed
that comes my way."
University of Georgia
Qianqian (Amy) Fan
"It's my great pleasure being a part of this incredible event, and meeting each of these amazing members, Crystal, McKayla, Austin,
Makaela and so on.…I had such wonderful experiences in Oregon, getting to know various interesting projects as well as the legend life of Bill Rose. The passion the family put into the turfgrass research and bridging the gap between academia and industry really impressed me. I highly recommend whoever is interested to apply for this scholarship opportunity! Great chance to learn, explore and grow!"
Mississippi State University
Amy Wilber
"I was honored to be selected to share my research with attendees at Pure Seed’s Field Day and to learn about the ongoing research at Pure Seed Testing. This event provided a valuable opportunity to network with other students, professors, researchers, and industry professionals, allowing me to gather input for my project and gain insights into research being conducted across the country. I made meaningful connections that have turned into lasting friendships. Having grown up on a sod farm, I found it particularly interesting to see the differences between planting grass for seed production and for sod production. I thoroughly enjoyed the seed production tour, which covered the entire process from planting to harvest, cleaning, and packaging."
Virginia Tech
John Peppers
"Receiving one of the inaugural Bill Rose Foundation Scholarships was a great honor and learning experience. I thoroughly enjoyed the field day and seeing new innovations in turf breeding through enhanced genetics. Additionally, I had never experienced cool-season grass seed production before this experience and having the opportunity to go on the seed production tour really opened my eyes to what is required to produce turf seed. I feel that this experience helped me to have a more holistic view of the turf industry and I would encourage any student to apply."
North Carolina State University
Esdras Carbajal
"Being chosen for the Bill Rose Foundation travel scholarship to Pure Seed field day and production tour in 2023 was the professional highlight of my year. At North Carolina State University I have acquired a lot of knowledge breeding for warm-season turfgrass. This was a unique experience wherein I saw and experienced the entire pipeline of seed production on cool-season turfgrass. From the selection process in the research trials, to the crossing blocks and fields for seed production, everything was a valuable learning experience for me as a turfgrass breeder. Thank you so much for this opportunity!"
Ohio State University
Tyler VanLandingham
“ The field day and production tour at PureSeed was one of the coolest experiences I have ever had in the turf industry. Over my 16 years in turf, I had never seen turfgrass seed production, especially at this scale. From the experiences at field day, seeing all of the current research and development, and all the way to meeting a grower and seeing their operation, the PureSeed family made me feel right at home. An absolute must attend!”
2024 Golf Tournament Sponsors
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