By Eric Watkins
We have been without an Extension Educator for Turfgrass since May, when Maggie Reiter left the University. We are happy to let you know that Dr. Jon Trappe has accepted an offer from UMN Extension and will begin as the new Extension Educator on October 24, 2022. Many of you will remember Jon from his time as a Postdoctoral Associate in our program, where he led a number of applied research projects and was active in outreach and Extension activities.
Dr. Trappe is originally from Fort Wayne, Indiana, He received his B.Sc. in Agronomy from Purdue University and M.Sc.in Horticulture from the University of Arkansas. After receiving a Ph.D. at Purdue University, Jon came to the University of Minnesota as a postdoc, focused on projects related to weed suppression in fine fescues and improving seed and management recommendations for roadside turfgrass installations. He also played an important role in the development of outreach programming, including helping to launch an online course focused on roadside turfgrass installation and management. Since leaving UMN in 2019, Jon had worked at Midwestern BioAg as a Technical Agronomist where he provided technical knowledge on fertilizer products and practices.
Jon will be providing Extension support to all Minnesotans within and around the turfgrass industry. His Extension program will be focused on educating homeowners and professionals within the industry to maintain or improve turf conditions with fewer resources. Jon is also passionate about educating the general public about the environmental and recreational benefits of turf.
We are really excited to have Jon coming back to UMN. Welcome Jon!