Posted: August 30, 2017
Robert C. Goodling, Jr., received the Distinguished Service Award from the National Association of County Agriculture Agents at their annual meeting Utah.
Robert C. Goodling, Jr. and his wife Erin at the awards ceremony.
Robert C Goodling, Jr., Extension Associate in Penn State's Department of Animal Science, received the 2016 Distinguished Service Award from the National Association of County Agriculture Agents (NACAA) during their Annual Meeting and Professional Improvement Conference held in Salt Lake City, UT in July.
Goodling has served Penn State Extension for over 12 years, first as a Lebanon County educator, and currently as Extension Associate. An integral member of the Dairy Business Management Team, he provides research, training, and tool development for their core programs, and engages more than 3,000 clientele annually. His expertise includes dairy records management; understanding and using farm financial records; and dairy genetics and reproduction. His passion is to provide producers the tools needed for a profitable, sustainable dairy business.
Dr. Terry Etherton, Head of the Department of Animal Science, said, "It is a wonderful achievement for Rob to be recognized by the National County Agents Association for the outstanding work he provides for our dairy industry. I am very appreciative of Rob's many contributions."
Goodling graduated from Penn State with a B.S. in Animal Science, Science Option and earned his M.S. in Dairy Science at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. In addition to being a member of the Pennsylvania chapter of NACAA, he is a member of Epsilon Sigma Phi Extension Professionals organization and the American Dairy Science Association.
Dairying is a multi-generational part of Goodling's family, with his siblings actively farming in PA, WI, and NY, and an uncle managing the PA dairy where his mother grew up. He and his wife Erin hope there are industry opportunities in the future for their two sons, Robert and Lincoln.
The NACAA Distinguished Service Award is given to agents with more than 10 years of service in Cooperative Extension and have exhibited excellence in the field of Extension Education and is presented to just two percent of the County Extension Educators in Pennsylvania each year.
