Tony R. Rickard, Monett
Tony Rickard, Monett, has been a University of Missouri Outreach and Extension regional dairy specialist headquartered in Barry and Jasper counties since 1982 but has been an active participant in dairy education since 1972.
A native of Sacramento, Ky., Tony graduated from Western Kentucky University at Bowling Green in 1971 with a degree in agriculture. He went to Cornell University to continue his education and received MS and PhD degrees in ruminant nutrition in 1974 and 1979. While at Cornell Tony was assistant superintendent of the New York State Fair 4-H Dairy Show.
Upon completion of his graduate study Tony became an assistant, later associate, professor of dairy science at the University of Maryland. There, his responsibilities included working as state 4-H dairy specialist and state dairy nutrition specialist and teaching a senior level dairy science course. Tony also coached the Maryland 4-H Dairy Cattle Judging team which captured first place in the national judging contest in 1978. He then took the team to Edinburgh, Scotland, for international competition in 1979.
Tony has been a productive dairy specialist. In addition to his routine dairy extension program Tony has initiated, with coworkers, such educational programs as a dairy forage and dairy heifer workshops and a dairy grazing school. The latter program was started in 1994 to meet the specific needs of dairy cattle under management intensive grazing and it was, and still is, the only dairy grazing school in Missouri.
He started Dairy Women of the Ozarks in 1991 specifically to meet the educational needs of women working in a dairy operation.
Tony has been a supporter of research and extension programs at MU’s College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources Southwest Missouri Center at Mt. Vernon. He serves on the Center’s advisory committee providing direction for research to benefit southwest Missouri agriculture. In addition he has been involved in trials at the Center including the effectiveness of Micro-Lite in alleviating fescue toxicosis in growing heifers and performance and economics of poultry litter fed to developing dairy heifers.
He has been involved in the effort to build a dairy research facility at the Southwest Center which is to be built during 1998.
As a joint author Tony was involved in submitting and being awarded a $55,000 North Central Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education grant. “Use of a vegetative filter as an alternative waste management system for a sustainable, seasonal management intensive grazing dairy” is the focus of the work under the grant.
Tony has been active as a dairy leader at the state and national level serving as a committee member and chair for the National 4-H Dairy conference from 1984 to 1988. He has worked with the Missouri Holstein Association, coaching the Missouri Holstein Dairy Bowl team in national competition in Milwaukee and San Diego. In addition, Tony has worked with the Southern National Holstein Show since its start and for the past several years has been emcee of the show.
As an extension professional Tony is a member of the National and Missouri Associations of County Agricultural Agents; is a member of the University of Missouri Extension Association serving as president for two terms; and is a member of Epsilon Sigma Phi, extension honorary fraternity.
Tony received the Missouri Farm Bureau County Agriculturalist Award in 1990; the Missouri 4-H Youth Workers Association meritorious service award in 1991; and the National Association of County Agricultural Agents distinguished service award in 1993.
He is also a member of the American Dairy Science Association, Dairy Shrine, charter member of the Missouri Dairy Hall of Honors, and the Missouri Holstein Association.
At the community level, Tony has served as a board member for the Monett Athletic Booster, Band Booster, and Little League organizations; as a Little League and Babe Ruth coach; and as a Mighty Mite Football coach.
He is a member of the advisory board for the Monett Vo-Tech School and is an active member currently serving as assistant Sunday School teacher and director of the Monett Fundamental Methodist Church.
While a graduate student at Cornell Tony met and married Carol Hawkins from Watertown, Conn. The Rickards have three sons – Kyle, Brian, and Tyler now in the 11th, 9th, and 4th grades.