Degrees

• B.S. Natural Resource/Wildlife, University of Nebraska, 1989
• M.S. Agronomy/Range & Forage, University of Nebraska, 1992
• Ph.D. Agronomy/Range & Forage, University of Nebraska, 1995

Research Interests

• Grassland Management
• Grassland Ecology
• Grassland Establishment
• Grass Growth and Development
• Fire Ecology

Extension Area of Emphasis

• Range management
• Grassland establishment and management

Major Project Activities

I'm interested in conducting research that will help producers find ways to stay in business. I currently have about 15 projects ranging from the economics of livestock grazing on established grasslands to developing better techniques for establishing perennial warm-season grasses.

Selected Publications

• Mitchell, R.B., K.P. Vogel, T. Klopfenstein, B. Anderson, and R. Masters. 2005. Grazing evaluation of big bluestems bred for improved forage yield and digestibility. Crop Sci. 45:00-00 (in press).
   
• Vermeire, L.T., D.B. Wester, R.B. Mitchell, and S.D. Fuhlendorf. 2005. Fire and grazing effects on wind erosion, soil water content, and soil temperature on sandhills rangeland. J. Env. Qual. (in press).
   
• Abbott, C. W., C. B. Dabbert, D. R. Lucia, and R. B. Mitchell. 2005. Does muscular damage during capture and handling handicap radiomarked northern bobwhites? J. Wildl. Manage. (in press).
   
• Philipp, D., V.G. Allen, R.B. Mitchell, C.P. Brown, and D.B. Wester. 2005. Forage nutritive value and morphology of three old world bluestems (Bothriochloa spp.) under a range of irrigation levels. Crop Sci. (in press).
   
• Mitchell, R., J. Cathey, B. Dabbert, D. Prochaska, S. DuPree, and R. Sosebee. 2005. Managing yaupon with fire and herbicides in the Post Oak Savannah. Rangelands (in press).
   
• Pleasant, G.D., C.B. Dabbert, and R.B. Mitchell. Nesting ecology and survival of scaled quail in the Southern High Plains of Texas. J. Wildlife Management (in press).
   
• Vogel, K.P., M. Schmer, and R.B. Mitchell. 2005. Plant Adaptation Regions: ecological and climatic classification of plant materials. Rangeland Ecol. Manage. 58:315-319.
   
• Mitchell, R.B., K.P. Vogel, B.E. Anderson, and T.J. McAndrew. 2005. Renovating pastures with glyphosate tolerant soybeans. Online. Forage and Grazinglands doi:10.1094/FG-2005-0428-01-BR.
   
• Mitchell, R.B., K.P. Vogel, G.E. Varvel, T. Klopfenstein, R.T. Clark, and B. Anderson. 2005. Big bluestem pasture in the Great Plains: an alternative for dryland corn. Rangelands. 27(2):31-35.
   
• Vermeire, L.T., M.C. Wallace, and R.B. Mitchell. 2004. Elk populations in the western United States and Canadian provinces. Rangelands. 26(5):29-33.
   
• Mitchell, R.B., V.G. Allen, J. Waller, and P. Ohlenbusch. 2004. A mobile classroom approach to graduate education in forage and range sciences. J. Nat. Res. Life Sci. Educ. 33:117-120.
   
• Vermeire, L.T., R.B. Mitchell, S.D. Fuhlendorf, and R.L. Gillen. 2004. Patch burning effects on grazing distribution. J. Range Manage. 57:248-252.
   
• Vermeire, L.T., R.B. Mitchell, S.D. Fuhlendorf, and D.B. Wester. 2004. Selective control of rangeland grasshoppers with prescribed fire. J. Range Manage. 57:29-33.
   
• Pleasant, G. D., C. B. Dabbert, and R. B. Mitchell. 2003. Evaluation of the moisture-facilitated nest depredation hypothesis in a semiarid environment. Wilson Bulletin 115:343-346.
   
• Dabbert, C.B., R.B. Mitchell, J.M. Mueller, A.R. Forbes, and J.H. Treadway. 2002. Northern bobwhite and red imported fire ant interactions in the Texas Coastal Plains. Southw. Entom. Suppl. No. 25:105-110.
   
• Tunnell, S.J., and R.B. Mitchell. 2001. Redberry juniper response to picloram and top removal in the Texas Rolling Plains. Texas J. Agric. and Nat. Res. 14:112-116.
   
• Britton, C.M., R.B. Mitchell, B.J. Racher, and E.B. Fish. 2001. Prescribed fire ignition from horseback on rough rangeland. Fire Manage. Today 61(3):21-22.
   
• Mitchell, R., J. Fritz, K. Moore, L. Moser, K. Vogel, D. Redfearn, and D. Wester. 2001. Predicting forage quality in switchgrass and big bluestem. Agron. J. 93:118-124.
   
• Mitchell, R.B., and C.B. Dabbert. 2000. Potential fire effects on seed germination of four herbaceous species. Texas J. Agric. and Nat. Res. 13:99-103.
   
• Ganguli, A.C., L.T. Vermeire, R.B. Mitchell, and M.C. Wallace. 2000. Comparison of four nondestructive techniques for estimating standing crop in Shortgrass Plains. Agron. J. 92:1211-1215.
   
• Mitchell, R., C. Britton, B. Racher, E. Fish, and E. Atkinson. 2000. Prescribed fire costs on juniper-infested rangeland. Rangelands. 22(5):7-10.
   
• Forbes, A., J. Mueller, R. Mitchell, B. Dabbert, and D. Wester. 2000. Accuracy of red imported fire ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) mound density estimates. Southw. Entom. 25:109-112.
   
• Davis, S.S., R.B. Mitchell, and S. Demarais. 2000. Trap-revealed microhabitat use by small mammals in monoculture grasslands. Texas J. Sci. 52:195-200.
   
• McFarland, J.B., and R.B. Mitchell. 2000. Fire effects on weeping lovegrass tiller density and demographics. Agron. J. 92:42-47.