USDA Dairy Forage Research Center Seeks Research Agronomist/Soil Scientist/Biologist
Posted on March 30, 2023
Position Title:
Research Agronomist/Soil Scientist/Biologist
GS-0401/0470/0471-12/13
Position Summary:
Salary Range of $82,830.00 to $128,043 Per Year
The incumbent is a Research Agronomist/Soil Scientist/ Biological Scientist assigned to the Environmentally Integrated Dairy Management Research Unit (EIDMRU) of the U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center (USDFRC), Madison, WI. The workstation for this position is located in USDA-ARS laboratory research facilities in Marshfield, WI. The incumbent will serve as a research team member for the EIDMRU and participate in a dynamic, team-based, and collaborative research program designed to address dairy forage agronomic and nutrient management goals and objectives among USDA, industry, and academic partners. The incumbent will develop objectives and conducts basic and applied research efforts that model and assess improvements in forage and dairy production and provide environmentally sound alternatives for sustainable dairy production.
Major duties would include:
- Establish and sustain a subject matter expert status and module development leadership role in the Ruminant Farm Animal System (RuFaS) model development team specifically for the nutrient management, soil health and /or environmental fate module(s).
- Develop module subroutines that assess the implications of changes in nutrient management and cropping systems on nutrient use efficiency, forage productivity, soil health and sustainability of dairy production system using relationship from published literature and supplemented with the incumbent’s new soil science or cropping systems research.
- Test and validate the nutrient management, soil health, and/or environmental fate-related modules and the overall RuFaS model.
- Collaborate with other RuFaS team members to ensure that nutrient management, soil health, and /or environmental fate modules connect to and inform other modules in the model.
- Conduct original research to fill data gaps for biophysical processes not well represented in current models and summarize and report upon the findings of nutrient management, soil health, and /or environmental fate-related modeling efforts to inform forage and dairy producers, dairy industry stakeholders, and policy makers regarding the impacts of practice change on dairy sustainability, environmental impact, and greenhouse gas emissions.
For further information and complete application instructions, search for announcement: ARS-D23MWA-11898677-JML at https://www.usajobs.gov/
U.S. Citizenship is required.
Applications must be received by the closing date of April 27, 2023.