He received his B.S. from Texas Tech University in Range Management in 1986. He received a M.S. from Texas A&M in 1991 and his thesis research involved determining nutrient inputs into upland shrub clusters in South Texas savannas. He received his Ph.D. from Texas A&M University in 2008. His dissertation research focused on combining remote sensing and simulation modeling to map forage for livestock. During the past 20 years he has worked on a variety of research projects including arid land restoration at the Nevada Test Site, technology impact assessment in East and West Africa, and livestock early warning systems in East Africa, Mongolia, and the U.S.A His research currently focuses on using satellite imagery to improve landscape estimates of livestock forage and building decision support tools for improving livestock management on rangelands.