By Jon Tollefson, Department of Entomology
Dr. Erin Hodgson has been hired as state extension specialist for field crops, filling a vacancy left by Marlin Rice’s departure from Iowa State University in early February. Hodgson earned her PhD from the University of Minnesota. Her major professor was David Ragsdale and her dissertation was on the Population and Sampling of the Soybean Aphid. The sampling techniques and thresholds used by ISU Extension for the Asia soybean aphid come largely from her doctoral research.
She earned her undergraduate and master’s degrees from North Dakota State University. Her master’s research was on the distribution of a sunflower pest. Since 2006, Hodgson has been the Extension entomology specialist at Utah State University.
Hodgson comes to Iowa State University and ISU Extension familiar with Iowa cropping systems, intimately involved in developing management programs for a primary soybean pest, and nearly three years of extension experience. She will begin her work at Iowa State on May 4. Until then Jon Tollefson will be covering the extension field crop questions. He can be reached at (515) 294-1101 or (515) 294-8044. His cell phone number is (515) 231-0438.
Jon Tollefson is a professor of entomology with extension and research responsibilities. He can be reached by email at tolly@iastate.edu.
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