Steve M. Brown is a 1978 graduate in agronomy and soils from Auburn University and later earned MS and PhD degrees in agronomy/weed science at Auburn and Texas A&M, respectively. He worked as an assistant county agent in a cotton pest management role for a couple of years in northern Alabama and then served as a research associate in a Cotton Incorporated-funded project on no-till cotton from 1980 to 1984. From 1987 until 2008, he served as an Extension weed scientist and cotton agronomist for the University of Georgia in Tifton. He worked for a major seed and biotechnology company from 2008 until 2019, when he joined the faculty at Auburn. His entire career has focused on cotton.
Brian Pieralisi is currently the Extension cotton agronomist at Mississippi State University. He was previously employed at the Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville, Mississippi, as a research associate under Dr. Bobby Golden while pursuing a PhD in soybean nutrient uptake. Brian has experience with both soil fertility and weed science research in cotton, corn, soybean, and rice. He served as a fourth-generation cotton, corn, and soybean producer in the Mississippi Delta for 15 years before earning a PhD at Mississippi State. Brian also earned an MBA from Delta State University while operating a 4,500-acre farm in 2005.
