L-R: Paul Hlubik, Burlington County farmer and NJ ag leader; William “Bill” Bamka and Brian Schilling, director, RCE.
On November 1, William “Bill” Bamka, agriculture and natural resources (ANR) agent, RCE of Burlington County, was recognized at the Burlington County Board of Agriculture (BOA) dinner with the board’s “Distinguished Service Award.”
Bill Cutts, cranberry farmer and Burlington County BOA member, paid tribute to Bamka’s impressive accomplishments over almost three decades at Rutgers. “I’ve worked with Bill on various issues over many years. I’ve always found his advice to be sound, his help to be invaluable, and his work ethic to be extraordinary. I believe that those of you who have worked with Bill have found the same things. He is the epitome of what an agricultural agent should be, and how they should conduct themselves to better the agricultural industry.”
Bill began his career with Rutgers in 1996 at the level of County Agricultural Agent III with Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Burlington County, NJ. He attained tenure in 2002 and in 2022 earned the title of County Agent I, equivalent to the rank of Full Professor at Rutgers. His is one of only five agricultural agents at this rank, which is achieved only in recognition of exceptional scholarly work, research, teaching, extension practice, and service.
Education and Prior Employment
Before coming to Rutgers, Bill received his Bachelor of Science degree in Agronomy at Delaware Valley College in 1985. From there he went on to study at Penn State University where he received his Master of Science degree in Agronomy. After graduating from Penn State Bill worked as a Farm Manager for the Plant Genetics Group at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY. His duties included soil, crop, and pest management of field plots, and greenhouse experiments to isolate genetics of corn plants. At Cold Spring Harbor Labs, he worked under the direction of Nobel laureates Dr. James D. Watson, and Dr. Barbara McClintock. Bill then went to Kent County Delaware where he was a Biosolids Utilization Manager, responsible for management and operation of the County Water Pollution Control Facility’s Biosolids Land Application Program. He was the liaison between county government and the agricultural community. Bill’s next employment was as Soil Scientist at Tectonic, Inc., in Doylestown, PA, where he conducted wetland delineations and soil investigations throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania. His last job before coming to Rutgers was as a Soil Scientist and Project Manager at Coastal Environmental Services, Inc., in Princeton, NJ, where he was responsible for wetland delineation and mitigation design, regulatory permitting, soil mapping studies, soil erosion and sediment control plan preparation, agricultural best management practices and watershed management studies.
William “Bill” Bamka, at right, practices applying a tourniquet to Burlington County farmer, Matt Stiles, during one of two “Stop the Bleed” training sessions for the NJ ag community that were conducted by the Rutgers Farm Health and Safety Working Group. Photo credit: Danielle Wainwright, NJFB.
Rutgers Research and Outreach Role in Service to NJ Agriculture
Bill is a trusted and respected Agricultural Agent, co-worker, and friend to those at Rutgers and to the Ag community. He has earned this trust and respect by continually showing up for others and going that extra mile (literally) to serve the agricultural industry. His main programming is focused on field crops, but he has also worked on many other areas important to farmers over the years. Some examples are Integrated Pest Management, Direct Marketing and Agritourism, Water Allocations, Biosolids, Equine Pasture Management, Hemp, Malting Barley, Hops, Farm Health and Safety, Hay Management, Outreach Webinar Series, Spotted Lantern Fly Outreach, Homesteading Educational Series, Master Gardeners, and many others.
When it comes to serving farmers, Bill is always the first to say yes and make things happen. When Rutgers shut down in March of 2020 due to COVID restrictions, it was Bill’s idea to start a weekly webinar series with two of his colleagues – “Ask the Agent” to bring farmers together to discuss what was going on and how Rutgers Cooperative Extension could help farmers navigate the pandemic. When the Agricultural Agent who organized the Rutgers Educational Sessions for the annual VGANJ/Ag Convention retired, Bill volunteered to co-chair these duties and he works year-round co-managing this event. When the 2018 Farm Bill provided for states to disseminate permits for hemp production, it was Bill who stepped up to conduct hemp research and provide sound, science-based information to producers. When others were jumping on the “band wagon” telling growers they should jump into this new crop, it was Bill who explained the pitfalls and cautioned growers to thoroughly investigate this new crop. This advice most likely saved some farmers from losing lots of money. This is the job of an Agricultural Agent – to provide science-based, non-biased information – and Bill is one of the best out there.
Awards and Publications
For his exceptional education, research, outreach and service, Bill has received 29 national awards, 15 regional awards, and 16 state awards from professional organizations. He has co-authored chapters in two books: “Rural Policies and Employment: Transatlantic Experiences” and “Pasture Based Livestock Production”. He has written 16 peer reviewed professional journal articles to report his research findings and extension programs and 41 peer reviewed abstracts. Also, he has produced over 200 fact sheets, bulletins, newsletter articles, extension outreach articles and popular press articles on agricultural topics. He has also developed videos, blogs, podcasts, and websites to promote his programming.
Community Service
In his community, Bill has been a volunteer fireman with the William Penn Fire Company since 1996. His service to Rutgers University is impressive, as he has served on numerous search committees, mentoring committees, merit raise committees, commodity working groups, and others. Additionally, he has held leadership roles in and provided service to the National Association of County Agricultural Agents, the National Extension Tourism Professionals, the New Jersey Soybean Board, the National Agronomy Society, NJ Grain and Forage Producers Association, the National Corn Growers Association, and others. He’s often asked to review promotion packets from other universities and recently completed a term on the Rutgers University Appointment and Promotion Committee.
