Ferguson College of Agriculture

Brian Arnall is a professor in the Oklahoma State University Department of Plant and Soil Sciences and the Sitlington Endowed Chair in Agriculture, Precision Nutrient Management Extension Specialist. He earned his associate’s degree in agronomy from NEO A&M in Miami, OK, then earned his B.S. at OSU and never left, even though he tried several times during college.

 

Arnall is one of the few Three-Way appointments in the Division, being 55-30-15 in Extension-Teaching-Research.

 

“My research interests rest heavily in spatial variance at high resolution,” he said. “We try to understand why crops do or do not respond to the application of P and K fertilizer.” 

 

His work also focuses on improved N management and continued development of sensor-based N recommendations. This approach opens the N application window, meaning farmers have more time to collect data, make better decisions, and apply when the weather best benefits the system. 

 

“Work with winter wheat N management has shown that all the preconceived notions about N timing (the crops need it early and to not ever be deficient) are wrong,” he said. “In fact, work across multiple crops has shown benefits of plants experiencing early season N stress.”

 

When approaching teaching, Arnall’s interest comes from bringing his experience from the field into the classroom and providing the opportunity to experience new things. 

 

“I also try to provide a background that allows my students to quickly evaluate new technology,” he said. 

 

Arnall enjoys working with students and building his relationships with them. 

 

“By getting to see or talk to former students, I learn more about their lives, jobs, and families,” he said.

 

In Extension, his approach is all about showing and telling to reach diverse audiences. 

 

“That’s why I have a blog (www.osunpk.com), and two podcasts, RedDirtAgronomy Podcast and CropSciencePodcast,” he said. “Through this, my focus in Extension is about questioning assumptions or approaches that we have been told or taught to be facts and then answering the questions that come up, especially the immediate needs of the Oklahoma producers.”

 

Arnall is passionate about his work at OSU. 

 

“We are a land-grant and we have not forgotten our mission,” he said. “The  department as a whole has a mind toward service.” 

 

His favorite part of working at OSU is the people. 

 

“I love my colleagues, collaborators, our discussions and arguments—they push me to be a better scientist and a better person,” he said. “The students—graduates and undergraduates—keep the excitement of our science in their hearts.”

 

OSU still does a significant amount of applied agronomy, which many peer institutions have moved away from, thus moving away from directly helping producers. Because of this focus on applied agronomy, Arnall sees OSU as a great resource for unbiased and cutting-edge information and science for the state of Oklahoma.

 

Arnall did not grow up on a farm, nor did he know anything about farming until grad school. When he is not doing Extension work, he plays racquetball. 

 

“When I’m not in the field, I try to play racquetball three days a week,” he said.

 

He enjoys the relationships he has built over the years at OSU, through providing excellent service in collaboration with producers, students, Extension specialists, industry professionals, and farmers across the state of Oklahoma.