Larry Galligan keeps research moving at the Vegetable Research Station
May 28, 2026
By John Lovett
University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture
Fast Facts
- Fruit and vegetable research supports pest management, sustainable crop systems
- Galligan became station director in February following retirement of Steve Eaton
- Worked in forest entomology for 15 years while running a small farm
(746 words)
Download PHOTOS of Galligan at the station
ALMA, Ark. — On a round table near Larry Galligan’s desk sits a box of brass fittings, spools of wire, a box of switches and a diverter valve he is rigging for a tractor sprayer at the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture’s Vegetable Research Station.
The setup is just one small part of overseeing the 86-acre station near Kibler, which hosts research plots in a wide range of vegetables and fruits for scientists with the Division of Agriculture’s research arm, Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station.
For Galligan, the many challenges that come with agricultural research are simply part of running the station. Aside from helping troubleshoot projects, wildlife is always in the picture. Rabbits burrow under the trailers. Coyotes brave the electric fences to get into the strawberries. And then there is the weather, with rains delaying some replanting after a recent hailstorm.
“When you do get some dry days,” Galligan said, “you’re just like, ‘Go, go, go.’”
Galligan arrived at the station in October 2025 in time for the soybean harvest and took on the station director role in February following the retirement of longtime director Steve Eaton, who had worked with the experiment station system for 45 years. But Galligan already had a long history in agriculture, both at home and with the Division of Agriculture.
Mary Savin, head of the department of horticulture, said the team was fortunate to hire Galligan for the position after Eaton announced his retirement.
“We completely lucked out by hiring Larry into the director position,” Savid said. “He has that unique combination of skills, experiences in agricultural research, and personality that poise him to be a successful research station director and we look forward to the continued excellence and growth under his leadership.”
Jean-François Meullenet, senior associate vice president for agriculture-research and director of the experiment station, echoed those sentiments.
“Larry brings a rare combination of scientific experience, practical problem-solving and hands-on agricultural knowledge to the Vegetable Research Station,” Meullenet said. “He understands both the needs of our researchers and the realities of production agriculture, and his leadership is helping ensure that critical fruit and vegetable research continues to move forward for Arkansas producers.”
A small, but mighty location
A full-time staff of five — including Galligan — at the Vegetable Research Station supports projects across multiple disciplines, including horticulture, crop and soil sciences, weed science and Cooperative Extension Service demonstrations.
“Kibler’s location makes it an important station for the state’s research and extension programs,” Savin said. “That importance is demonstrated by the variety of projects conducted there.”
The station has become a focal point for research on a destructive disease in strawberries called Neopestalotiopsis. Other research there includes field trials to develop spinach varieties tolerant of a fungus-like pathogen called Pythium, organic production methods, long-term cover crop research, southern pea breeding trials, soybean variety trials and soybean seed production.
“My goal for the next year is just to keep the wheels on the place and figure out all the processes that typically go on here,” Galligan said.
That means coordinating research projects, maintaining equipment, keeping supplies in stock, managing the team and navigating the unpredictable realities of field research at the Division of Agriculture’s smallest — but by no means insignificant — research location.
A background in science, research and farming
Galligan earned a master’s degree in entomology at the University of Arkansas in 2007. As a graduate student, he began working as a program technician in forest entomology for University Professor Fred Stephen, assisting with research on forest insects such as Red Oak Borer and native Woodwasps, and remained in that role for 15 years. He was also a program technician at the Milo J. Shult Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Fayetteville before arriving at the Vegetable Research Station.
“I’m very comfortable helping people carry out a project, troubleshoot it and figure out how to overcome whatever issues are coming,” Galligan said.
That comfort began early. Galligan grew up on an 800-acre cattle farm on the South Fork Little Red River near Clinton in Van Buren County. Today, outside of work, Galligan operates a small farm in Washington County’s West Fork with his wife, Brooke, and their 13-year-old son, Wyatt, growing vegetables and root crops.
“When I graduated high school, I wanted absolutely zero to do with agriculture. If you had told me when I was 17 or 18 that I would be doing this today, I’d say, ‘No way.’ It’s funny like that — somehow it has all come back to agriculture.”
To learn more about ag and food research in Arkansas, visit aaes.uada.edu. Follow the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station on LinkedIn and sign up for our monthly newsletter, the Arkansas Agricultural Research Report. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit uada.edu. To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit uaex.uada.edu.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 22 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on three system campuses.
Pursuant to 7 CFR § 15.3, the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs and services (including employment) without regard to race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, sexual preference, pregnancy or any other legally protected status, and is an equal opportunity institution.
# # #
Media Contact:
John Lovett
U of A Division of Agriculture
Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station
(479) 763-5929
jlovett@uada.edu