Cooperative Extension at LSU

Bill Cochran

Biography

Bill J. Cochran was born on December 10, 1933 in Darbun, Mississippi. He is the son of Arville Alexander Cochran and Gertrude Lewis. He attended rural Mississippi schools during his youth. In 1958 he graduated with a bachelor's of science in agricultural engineering from Mississippi State University. Upon graduation, he served for a short time in the United States Army, and then returned to school at Texas A&M. In 1962, he graduated with a master's degree in agricultural engineering. In 1964, he joined the faculty at Louisiana State University where he taught in the Agricultural Engineering Department. During the early seventies, he took a sabbatical from LSU and earned a PhD from Oklahoma State University in agricultural engineering. After retiring from LSU in 1983, he worked abroad with the International Rice Research Institute, and the Food and Agriculture Organization in Thailand. From 1992-1996 he worked for the Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service as a solid waste specialist. He lives in Baton Rouge with his wife, Jintana.

Cochran's interview is housed in the T. Harry Williams Center for Oral History at LSU Libraries Special Collections. Cochran, Bill, interview by Wyatt Winnie, audio recording, 2014, 4700.2389, Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections, LSU Libraries, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.