Rick Brandenburg

What have you been up to since you won the award in 2007?
Obviously, the fact that we’ve been in this recession and virtually every industry’s been hurting, we’ve been trying to address a lot of the issues, looking for more cost effective ways of doing business.
From my perspective, that has a lot to do with, “Can we reduce rates of products we use and how well do generic products work?” – just a lot of issues that deal with cutting costs and improving efficiencies. Our program’s been pushed in that direction to try and help the industry. ... The pressure to move in that direction has been a lot higher because of the economy.

Has that been a challenge or a smooth transition?
I don’t think it’s really been a challenge from the perspective of “Can we do it,” because we certainly can. And we try to follow the needs of the industry. And as the industry has asked for more and more efficient ways of doing business, it’s been something that we just have been encouraged to move in that direction.
If there is a challenging part, just like everyone else, universities are having a hard time financially in finding sponsors for that type of research. Even though people are interested in it, people just don’t have extra money sitting around to support those things.
It’s a challenge for everyone, including universities, just finding the funding to do the things you want and need to do.

Have you seen more students get into the green industry?
Not in the last two or three years. In fact, our numbers are down a little bit, and I think people just looked at it and they see that a lot of opportunities haven’t been there the last couple of years. And students oftentimes, there’s nothing we can do about it, are a little behind the curve because we can’t always give them good leadership, as far as the areas to go into.
And even though we know a lot of industries, including the green industry, are going to recover and come back very strong, we can’t forecast where or when or what the job market is going to look like in a few years.
I think typically, and I can’t blame anyone, when you go to school and you want to get degrees and advanced degrees, you really want to make sure there is a job out there, and it’s hard to make promises.
Students are often reluctant to get into areas where they are uncertain and right now that’s almost every area. But our numbers are down and I can’t say that our numbers are down more than any other particular area.

You said in your 2007 profile that you leave work at work and that makes you a better entomologist. Is that still the case today?
I would say the last few years have been more challenging because I’m just like everybody else. It’s been a difficult period and it takes more hours and more energy to keep afloat right now, and it has taken a lot more work the last few years to deliver and provide the funding to keep my projects going. So, it has been a challenge for everyone, myself included, of keeping everything in perceptive.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
My dad always told me to “Be nicer than necessary; you don’t know what battles they are fighting.”
I do remember my dad treating others with great respect and always trying to be helpful.  I remember we sold a lot of fruits and vegetables on the farm and he would always give people 14 ears of sweet corn when they bought a dozen and so on.
If people didn’t have the money to pay, he would tell them to pay him when they got a chance. I don’t know if they ever did but he stayed with that philosophy. I think there is still a place for treating people with decency, respect and kindness.
My father passed away this past February and while the work ethic he taught me is a valuable component of what I do, I think the lessons about how to treat others is his greatest legacy to me. L&L