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CONTACT INFORMATION |
Research Soil Scientist
Phone: 406.433.9402
Fax: 406.433.5038
E-mail: vcochran[at]sidney.ars.usda.gov |
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EDUCATION |
 B.S. |
Soil Science |
1966 |
California State
Polytechnic University (Cal Poly), San Luis Obispo, CA |
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M.S. |
Soils |
1971 |
Washington State
University, Pullman, WA |
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CURRENT RESEARCH |
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Mr. Cochran’s current research focuses on
improving soil productivity and the physical condition of dryland soils
that have been degraded by soil erosion and loss of organic matter due
to excessive tillage and the practice of "black fallow". This involves
enhancing the soil biology by increasing crop intensity, crop diversity,
and maintaining crop residues on the soil surface. |
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RESEARCH EXPERIENCE |
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Mr. Cochran began his career with ARS as a
summer employee while he was a student at Cal Poly. After completing his
B.S. Degree in 1966, he was hired as a soil scientist with ARS Soil and
Water Research Unit, at Pullman, WA. While working fulltime, he was a
part time graduate. His research included field and laboratory studies
on soil erosion, water conservation, microbial production of plant
toxins (phytotoxins) from crop residues, and carbon and nitrogen
dynamics in dryland soil conservation tillage systems in the Pacific
Northwest. In 1985, he transferred to the Subarctic Agricultural
Research Unit located in Fairbanks, AK. Several thousand acres of newly
cleared land in interior Alaska had been cleared of forest for barley
production. The soils are light textured and precipitation is similar to
that in Eastern Montana; thus, they were subject to severe wind erosion
during the winter months. Furthermore, these soils are underlain with
permafrost, which restricts plant root growth, and the growing season is
very short. Mr. Cochran was charged with studying nitrogen and
phosphorus dynamics in these recently cleared and cold soils as well as
finding practical methods of controlling wind erosion. In 1989, Mr.
Cochran became the Research Leader for the unit, and he and two members
of the University of Alaska Fairbanks faculty were the first American
agricultural scientists to visit Siberia as part of a scientific
exchange with Russian agricultural scientists working on permafrost
soils. He transferred to Sidney in 1994 and served as the Research
Leader until 1997. That period included the efforts to save the station
from closure (1995), and the merger of the two ARS research units from
Bozeman, MT in 1996. He also contributed to the original design and cost
estimates for the new ARS office/laboratory building, the biocontainment
building, and new greenhouses.
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RELATED WEBPAGES |
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 Alternatives
to Wheat-Fallow Rotation
Long-term Research to Improve Productivity of Dryland Soils (.pdf)
Managing
to Improve Soil Quality
Molecular Tools for
Bio Control, Soil Quality, and Insect Research
Profitable
Alternative Cropping Systems on Dry and Irrigated Land
Russuloid
Basidiomycete Fungi as Bio Indicators for Soil Quality |
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SELECTED PUBLICATIONS |
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, and
Schlentner, S.F. 1995. Dry matter production, N2 fixation, N transfer,
and N fertilizer response by intercropped oats and fababeans in
Alaska. Agron. J. 87:420-424.
Sparrow, S.D., Cochran, V.L., and Sparrow,
E.B. 1995. Residual effects of harvested and green manured legumes on
a subsequent barley crop in a subarctic environment. Can. J. Plant Sci.
75:453-456.
Sparrow, S.D., Cochran, V.L., and
Sparrow, E.B. 1995. Dinitrogen fixation by seven legume crops in
Alaska. Agron. J. 87:34-41.
Sparrow. E.B., and Cochran, V.L. 1995.
Effect of soil depth and temperature on CH4 consumption in subarctic
agricultural soils. In Soil Management and Greenhouse Effect.
Lal.R., Kimble, J., Levine, E., and Stewart. B.A. (eds) Adv. Soil Sci.
CRC Press Boca Raton.
Cochran V.L., Schlentner.
S.F. ,and Mosier, A.R. 1995.CH4 and NO3 flux in subarctic agricultural
soils. In Soil Management and Greeenhouse Effects, Lal. R.,
Kimble, B., Levine, E., and Stewart, B.A. (eds) Adv. Soil Sci CRC Pres
Boca Raton.
Mosier, A.R., Cochran, V.L.. Delgado,
J.A., Valentine D.W., and Parton. 1996 W.J. Methane and nitrous oxide
fluxes in soils and current studies in subarctic, temperate and
tropical grasslands p 43-64. In: Global Changes and
Agriculture: Soil Water and Plant Resources. Vol. III. USDA-ARS, May
1996.
Pikul, J., Aase, K., and Cochran,V. 1997.
Lentil green manure as fallow replacement in semi-arid Northern Great
Plains. Agron J. 89:867-874.
Mosier, A.R., J.A. Delgado, V.L. Cochran,
D.W. Valentine, and W.J. Parton. 1997. Impact of agriculture on soil
consumption of atmospheric CH-4 and a comparison of Subarctic,
temperate and tropical grasslands. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems
49:71-83.
Cochran, Verlan L.,
Sparrow, Elena B., Schlentner, Sharon F., and Knight, Charles W. 1997.
Long term tillage and crop residue management in the subarctic: Fluxes
of methane and nitrous oxide. Can. J Soil Sci. 77:565-570.
Juday, Glen Patrick, Cochran, Verlan,
Henning, Steve, McDowell, Eric. Rice, William (Bud), and Sparrow,
Stephen. `1998. Human land use and management, in Gunter Weller
and Patricia A. Anderson (eds). Proc. Workshop on Implications of
Global Change in Alaska and the Bering Sea Regions. Fairbanks, AK June
3-6, 1997. Published April 1998.
Caesar-TonThat, TheCan, Cochran, Verlan L.
2000. Soil Aggregate stabilization by a basidiomycte. Biol. Fertil.
Soil 32:374-380.
Cochran. Verlan L.,
Pugin,
Jennifer A., and Sparrow, Stephen. D. 2000. Effects of migratory geese
on nitrogen availability and primary productivity in subarctic barley
fields. Biol. Fertil. Soil. 32:340-346.
Caesar-TonThat, T.C., Shelver W.L, Thorn, R.G. and
Cochran,V.L.. 2001. Generation of antibodies for soil
aggregating basidiomycete detection as an early indicator of trends in
soil quality. App. Soil Ecol. 18:99-116.
Caesar-TonThat, T.C., and Cochran, V.L.
2001. Role of saprophytic basidiomycte soil fungus in aggregate
stabilization pg 580-587. In D.E. Stott, RH. Hohtar, and G.C.
Steinhardt (eds). Sustaining the Global Farm – Selected papers from
the 10th International Soil Conference Organization Meeting, May
23-28, 1999,West Lafayette, IN.
Cochran, Verlan,
Danielson, Joan, Kolberg, Robert, and Miller, Perry. 2002. Management
systems in climate regions of the world. Group A, Canadian Prairies
and the U.S. northern Great Plains. In G.A Peterson, P.W. Ungar,
and W.A Payne (eds). Dryland Agriculture. Agronomy Monograph No. 23,
ASA, Madison .WI. (In review)
Cochran, Verlan,
Caesar-TonThat,
TheCan, Kolberg, Robert, and France, Rene’. 2002. Long-term effects of
topsoil removal on soil productivity factors, wheat yield and protein
content. Agron. J. (In review).
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