Agriculture Advocate
Outstanding Agriculturalist
The Outstanding Agriculturalist Award recognizes individuals who play a significant role in the advancement of agriculture in Nevada.
Gail Kosach is the granddaughter of Nevada ranching pioneers Arthur H. and Adele Barlow of Mineral County. Born and raised in Reno, she spent her childhood weekends and summers visiting her grandparents' ranch. After attending Reno High School and the University, she spent a year traveling and performing with the musical cast of Up With People. From there, Gail accepted a job in Washington, D.C., with Nevada's lone congressman at the time. Gail found life on Capitol Hill to be exciting and adventurous. While visiting her family in Reno during a Christmas holiday, she met her future husband, Steve Kosach. Steve was not particularly interested in residing and working in Washington, having just passed the Nevada Bar Exam. Gail returned to Reno where they were married and have resided since. When Steve became a Nevada district judge, Gail opened Destinations Inc., a travel company that is still in operation. Gail's love for the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology & Natural Resources was strengthened by her strong desire to protect the land-grant foundation established for the benefit of the College, which includes agricultural research and Extension programs throughout the state. As co-chair of the College’s Advisory Board for the past 10 years, Gail is extremely proud of the many accomplishments within the College. Protecting agriculture education, research and food growers by advocating awareness has been her focus. She plans to continue advocating for food security and food safety, as well as help Nevada become recognized as a leader in arid agriculture research and production. She says, "I am humbled and very honored to receive this award. My time spent advocating for the College and its Experiment Station and Extension programs has been more rewarding then I could have imagined. I am so very proud of Nevada's food growers and all those who promote the many facets of agriculture in our State. Thank you for allowing me to share your platform and use my voice to help advocate for and promote awareness for the most essential science of all, agriculture."