- Technical Services VP Tom Kerby to take reduced role effective September 1
- Dave Albers assumes added responsibility June 1, VP Position as of September 1

Delta and Pine Land Company today announced that Dr. Tom Kerby (photo right), who formed the Company's technical services department in the mid-90s, has requested a reduced role within the business in order to spend more time with family.  Kerby will become Director of Technology Products effective September 1.  Dr. Dave Albers, currently Technical Services Director for the Western U.S. and Mexico, will begin transitioning into the vice presidential role by becoming Director of Technical Services effective June 1.  The transition will be complete September 1 when he becomes the VP - Technical Services.

Tom Jagodinski, President and CEO, says the transition provides several advantages.  "We have been working with Tom to design a leadership transition that will meet both his and the company's needs.  He has led some incredible change for the company and the industry in the last decade and his contributions have been invaluable for customers and, consequently, our business.  We are glad to know we will continue to have his expertise to draw upon.  He also has given us quite a talent pool and it is exciting to see Dave Albers taking the next step in his career."

Kerby explains, "Dave is technically very sound, with thorough knowledge and experience in physiology, crop management and agronomy.  He also has a good set of management skills and is well respected by others on the team.  Dave has faced some tough challenges and has handled them with integrity, building himself a lot of credibility with customers and in the industry."

The opportunities for the Technical Services team are clear to Albers.  "Technical Services has a critical role in testing and developing new genetics and technologies.  With the portfolio of products we have on the horizon, it's truly an exciting time for our team and one in which our value to the business is clear," he says.  "We will be building the information needed in order to make decisions as we near market introduction with products like VipCot^® and the traits being developed with DuPont/Pioneer through the DeltaMax joint venture.  And growers will count on the information we provide as they look at incorporating these new products on their farms and move quickly to adopt new DPL varieties and technology."

Jagodinski and Kerby both point to Albers' career as one that seemed to lead directly to the vice president's position at D&PL.

Albers (photo left) began with D&PL as vice president of agronomic services for the company's Paymaster^® division and became D&PL's regional technical services manager in 1999.  Based in Lubbock, Texas, he has been responsible for the areas of the U.S. west of the Mississippi River, with the exception of the High Plains.  He assumed additional responsibility recently when Mexico was added to his region.  During his tenure with the company, Albers has led field testing in these regions and helped respond to issues growers experience on their farms. 

Prior to joining D&PL, Albers was product development manager for Hartz Cotton in Stuttgart, Arkansas.  He also has experience working in the public sector having spent time as an extension and agronomy specialist focused on cotton physiology and management at the University of Missouri locations in both Portageville and Kennett.  Albers spent several years with the USDA GOSSYM-COMAX Information Unit in Starkville, Mississippi.  He earned both masters and PhD degrees in agronomy/crop physiology from the University of Arkansas.  He is a member of the American Society of Agronomy and the Crop Science Society of America. 

Kerby admits he made the decision to scale back with mixed feelings.  "We have an incredible team focused on generating useful information for and providing services to D&PL's customers.  I've enjoyed leading technical services, but want to give more time and energy to my family.  Its easy making the move since technical services will be in great hands with Dave."

Prior to joining D&PL, Kerby was the cotton specialist for the University of California.  During Kerby's tenure there, he pioneered many of the tools and initiatives that are used in cotton fields throughout the U.S. and around the world.  His contributions to the agricultural industry and the cotton industry in particular, have been acknowledged with numerous awards including the 2005 Research Award in Physiology, the Extension Cotton Specialist Award in 1991 and the 1990 Extension Cotton Education Award.  He was named a fellow in the American Society of Agronomy in 1994.  Kerby earned his PhD (1976) and masters (1975) degrees in crop physiology at the University of Arizona.  His bachelor's degree is from Brigham Young University in soil science. 

Delta and Pine Land Company is a commercial breeder, producer and marketer of cotton planting seed, as well as soybean seed in the Cotton Belt.  For more than 90 years, the Mississippi-based company has used its extensive plant breeding programs drawing from a diverse germplasm base to develop superior varieties.  Delta and Pine Land has offices in eight states and facilities in several foreign countries.

VipCot is a registered trademark of Syngenta.
D&PL and Paymaster are registered trademarks of Delta and Pine Land Company.