By Marlee Jackson

Dr. Scott Graham is drawn to row crops like moths to a flame — or, perhaps more appropriately, like insects to leafy cotton.

“My first thought when I see a field is, ‘I wonder what’s in there?’” said Graham, an Alabama Extension cotton entomologist based at Auburn University.

That curiosity, close relationships with cotton growers and consequential research trials recently earned Graham the Rittenour Award for Excellence in Production Agriculture & Forestry Research.

Graham received the award from the Alabama Farmers Federation Aug. 8 during the Farm & Land Conference in Mobile.

“Scott is well respected by Alabama farmers,” said Carla Hornady, the Federation’s Cotton Division director. “He’s not afraid to get in the field, tackle tough problems and really help our growers. His work ethic has especially been evident with emergence of the cotton jassid. Scott understands this is a real threat to farmers who are already dealing with slim margins. He is doing everything he can to help them make educated decisions.”

Alabama farmers began battling the diminutive, devastating cotton jassid in late summer 2025. Graham said the growing season became a blur with frequent farm visits, countless phone calls and rapidly evolving spray recommendations aimed at reducing jassid populations, which could greatly hamper yield.

Graham delivered presentations during a slate of winter meetings around the Cotton Belt. Graham said he will use the Rittenour Award’s $10,000 prize from the Alabama Farmers Agriculture Foundation to fund similar travels this year.

A native of Grenada, Mississippi, Graham holds two degrees from Mississippi State University, plus a doctorate in cotton entomology from the University of Tennessee.

“As soon as you think you have an insect figured out, something changes,” Graham said. “It’s a very exciting, rewarding career.”

While Graham isn’t a farmer, per se, his life follows the rhythms of the growing season. Family road trips with wife Ashlynn, 4-year-old daughter Mary Clare and 2-year-old son Scotty often include detours to hunt for insects. The Grahams even planned their wedding around his graduate research.

“I knew, based on the year before, that the week of June 10 would be the one week I wasn’t busy. I could go on my honeymoon and not worry about someone else doing my research,” Graham remembered. “We were through the thrips window and before the plant bug.”

Now working in the steamy Alabama heat, Graham gets to business identifying insects. He’s earned deep tan lines and even deeper credibility with growers — a quality he’s quick to credit to his predecessor.

A household name in cotton entomology, Ron Smith earned the Rittenour Award’s counterpart honor just months after Graham joined Extension in 2020.

“There was a quote Ron had when he won the Duncan Award that he started his career helping farmers and finished it helping friends. I remember thinking it would be cool to say that one day,” Graham said. “I feel like that’s where I am now. I have buddies who live all across the state.”