WSU to honor Roe for 51-year ag support career

A celebration of the career of R. Dennis Roe, who devoted more than 50 years to supporting agriculture in the Pacific Northwest, will be Nov. 27 from 5 to 7 p m. at WSU’s Ensminger Pavilion.

Roe retired from his second career with WSU last summer. He served 41 years with the NRCS and then 11 years at WSU.

Raised on a dryland farm near Goldensdale, Roe received a bachelor of science in agriculture from WSU in 1966 and began his career with NRCS that year.

He served the growers of Whitman County and the Inland Northwest for his entire NRCS career, including a two-year stint in Washington, D.C. as part of a USDA Farm Bill team from 1995-1996. He also held an adjunct faculty appointment in the WSU Department of Crop and Soil Sciences from 1996-2007.

At the NRCS Roe availed himself to growers trying to manage crop residue for erosion control. Over the years he helped develop 4,200 conservation plans in Whitman County, the basis for a farmer’s eligibility for federal financial incentive programs.