Frank Carey and Jeff Rutledge Named Crop Science Departmental Outstanding Alumni

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Outstanding Ph.D. Alumnus Frank Carey, left, works for Valent USA, and Outstanding B.S./M.S. Alumnus Jeff Rutledge works for AgHeritage Farm Credit Services while also farming corn, rice and soybeans.

Frank Carey and Jeff Rutledge have been named 2021 outstanding alumni by U of A's Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences.

Carey is the Outstanding Ph.D. Alumnus and Rutledge the Outstanding B.S./M.S. Alumnus. Carey is the senior regulatory expert manager for Valent USA in Olive Branch, Mississippi. Rutledge is northern region director for AgHeritage Farm Credit Services in Newport.

"The CSES department has a long history of outstanding students who have made significant contributions to and become leaders in the agricultural industry during their careers," said Nathan Slaton, interim department head. "Frank and Jeff are excellent examples of our alumni who have made the most of the tools and skills they obtained during their graduate student careers. We are very proud of them and pleased to name them as our outstanding alums for 2021."

Carey manages the labelling and regulatory process for key Valent brands, including plant growth regulators, biological insecticides and rice herbicides. He works with product development managers and marketing managers to form the asset management team for each brand. Those teams direct all registrations, labelling and product life-cycle management for the brand. He also works with external commodity, sales and regulatory partners to obtain new labels and sales opportunities for his brands.

Carey was with Valent as manager of research for its Mid-South Agricultural Research Center from 2014-19. He started his career with Valent as a research specialist in Champaign, Illinois, in 1994 and worked as a field market development specialist from 1994-2014.

He earned his Ph.D. in 1994 and his master's in 1990, both from the U of A, in agronomy. 

Rutledge farms corn, rice and soybeans, and serves on boards for Arkansas Ag Council, Arkansas Rice Council, Arkansas Rice Research and Promotion, USA Rice Federation, USA Rice Council, Jackson County Farm Bureau, Newport School, Newport Levee and the Arkansas Waterways Commission.

He also served with the U.S. Grains Council, Riceland In-Depth, Arkansas and American Farm Bureau Young Farmer and Rancher committees and the Newport Chamber of Commerce, and his family has been named Jackson County Farm Family of the Year.

He earned his master's degree from the U of A in agronomy in 1999.

Carey and Rutledge will be recognized during a CSES awards ceremony on Zoom on April 26.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture. For more information about Bumpers College, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter at @BumpersCollege and Instagram at BumpersCollege.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among fewer than 3% of colleges and universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.