Serendipity in life. Mentors in careers. Importance of forage breeding. Addressing bottlenecks in Southeast US forage agriculture. 

Dr. Joe Bouton earned his B.S. degree at Miss. State Univ., and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees at the Univ. of Florida.  He was a Professor (now Emeritus), Univ. of Georgia; and a Director, Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation. He now owns Bouton Consulting Group LLC.

Dr. Bouton taught courses in plant breeding and genetics; and his research centered on development of forage cultivars. He released 28 cultivars with 12 still being sold, but is best known for development of ‘Alfagraze’ alfalfa, “Jesup MaxQ” tall fescue, and ‘Durana’ white clover . He now reviews research projects, writes producer articles, and gives talks at student seminars, and farmer and scientific meetings.

“The Wonder Grass: The Story of Tall Fescue in the United States” by D.M. Ball, G.D. Lacefield, and C.S. Hoveland. https://www.oregontallfescue.org/wondergrass/Bouton, J. (2007). The economic benefits of forage improvement in the United States. Euphytica, 154(3), 263-270. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10681-006-9220-6"Poisons of the Past: Molds, Epidemics, and History" by Mary Kilbourne Matossian https://www.amazon.com/dp/0300051212/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_WVVGJE92GSZ79VADEW6Y