Merle
was born and raised in Thornton, CO, but his family farmed in the San Luis Valley.
It was during summer visits to the valley, that Merle became interested in agriculture.
He went to CSU to get his B.S. in agronomy (1980) and his M.S. in soil fertility
in 1983. Dwayne Westfall was his graduate advisor at CSU, but we don't hold
that against him! Merle was a county agent in Logan County for one year, and
then went back to school to get his Ph.D. in soil fertility/chemistry from Kansas
State University in 1989.After all that schooling, Dr. Vigil got a post-doc position with the USDA-Agricultural Research Service in Lincoln, Nebraska. He moved to Akron in 1991 to accept a position at the Central Great Plains Research Station as a soil scientist. Merle's research focus is on nitrogen transformations in agricultural soils and on nitrogen fertilizer use efficiency. He uses simulation modeling of these processes to expand the application of his research results. Dr. Vigil was promoted to Research Leader for the Akron station in 2000.
Merle is married to Desiree, and they have five children and one grandchild. Merle spends most of his free time following his kids around to sporting events, but he also enjoys hunting, fishing, camping, and backpacking. He plays guitar, runs, and bikes to work whenever possible. Merle has taught the Jr. High Sunday School class at St. Joseph's Catholic Church ever since the Vigils moved to Akron. With all those hobbies (and kids!), it's amazing how hard he works to support the farmers in Washington County and the Great Plains.
