Robert I.D. Murphy retired from the Alabama Cooperative Extension System after 29 years of service, a career during which he served as a mentor to many other county agents. Murphy served in Marshall, Winston and Jackson counties.
Murphy received a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education and a master’s degree in agriculture. He was a pioneer in helping farmers convert from mechanical to chemical weed control. “My proudest accomplishment was helping the farmers of Marshall County convert to chemical weed control,” says Murphy. “We set up chemical weed control demonstrations in Marshall, Winston and Jackson counties each year and held farmer meetings to help with the switch from mechanical to chemical weed control in most crops.” |
One of the greatest challenges faced by Murphy during his career was a threat by county commissioners to cut funding for Extension. Murphy made sure that his clientele were aware that funding was in jeopardy and apparently the message got through to the powers-that-be that the farmers were not happy. Not only was the funding restored, it was modestly increased.
Murphy believes strongly that every agent should be specialized in one or two subject matters. “You’ve got to know one or two subjects very well, you can’t be a generalist all the time,” Murphy notes. When knowledge is generally available on the computer, clients want extra knowledge and experience. Murphy recommends that agents study their clientele so they can provide expertise in areas they need. And even thirty years into retirement, Murphy still gets calls from people looking for information and hardly a day goes by that he doesn’t get an agricultural question. |