Greenwood man named one of two top national agri scientists for 2009

story by Roy Hill
rhill@mynewroads.com

Dr. Mike Looper of Greenwood has been named the Agriculture Research Service national scientist of the year for 2009. He is the first winner from Arkansas, and the first from the Southern Plains Region, one of the eight agricultural regions in the country overseen by the ARS.

“It’s very humbling when I look at the careers of past winners,” Looper said in a recent interview. “I’m still in shock. I got a phone message from Dr. Ed Knipley, the ARS administrator back in August. His boss is [Tom Vilsack] the Secretary of Agriculture. I had a secretary verify it really was his number before I called back.”

Looper will be officially given his award on June 8, in Beltsville, Md. He was originally scheduled to receive the award in February, but the ceremony had to be canceled because of blizzard conditions around the Washington D.C. area.

Looper graduated from Greenwood High School in 1987. He then earned a masters degree from the University of Arkansas and a doctorate in bovine reproductive physiology from Oklahoma State University. He now works as an animal scientist at the Dale Bumpers Small Farm Research Center west of Booneville, and teaches biology and physiology courses at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith as an adjunct instructor.

The ARS, under the U.S. Department of Agriculture, honors only two scientists per year in such a manner.

Looper’s award, the Herbert L. Rothbart Outstanding Early Career Research Scientist, goes to the top “early career” scientist, seven years or less into his or her work. The other award goes for scientists who have served longer. Looper will reach only his fifth year of service with the ARS this May.

The award earns Looper a $4,000 personal prize, and $25,000 that will help with research projects at the Dale Bumpers Research Center.

“We’re a very small lab,” Looper said. “To be successful, you have to collaborate with other scientists. We have cattle and land, but we try to find researchers without the cattle and land, but who have more developed lab facilities.”

Looper’s scientific collaborators are spread across the nation, from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, to Oklahoma State, to ARS centers in Texas and Kentucky, to the University of Georgia. Looper thinks the widespread cooperation and collaboration was a large part of why he was selected for the award.

“I think I won the award for collaborating,” Looper said. “I do a lot of outreach–producer meetings, hands-on stuff with students. I owe it all to my collaborators.”

Looper’s research focuses on the economic impact of developments for small farmers, by improving their livestock.

“We’re out there with old, traditional whole-animal studies,” Looper explained. “Two things are at the forefront of the research: to identify genotypes and DNA of animals and to find what genotypes are suited for specific environments, and can be successful. That way, the producer can increase profits.”

Looper believes an increase in profitability will help small farmers meet the growing demand from consumers for locally-grown products.

“I think people want to buy local. Knowing where your food comes from is important. It helps food safety and improves quality, and it’s economically more friendly to buy local. You might not be able to buy locally-grown blueberries off season, but it’s better tasting stuff,” he said.

By winning the ARS award, Looper is automatically nominated for the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, which goes to the top scientist or engineer chosen from among many other departments and agencies in the federal government.

“I’ll get to go to DC again and meet President Obama in the Rose Garden sometime in Spring 2011,” said Looper, who will attend that White House reception for the nominees with up to 100 other award-winning scientists and engineers.