I am a plant breeder with a 100 percent research appointment in the Department of Horticultural Science. My responsibilities include developing new sweet potato and potato varieties for farmers, developing new breeding methods, and training the next generation of plant breeders. Sweet potatoes are the most important vegetable crop produced in North Carolina, generating about $90 million in annual farm revenue. North Carolina accounts for about 40 percent of our nation’s sweet-potato production. Potatoes, North Carolina’s third most important vegetable crop, account for $18 to $22 million in annual revenue.

 

I work extensively with farmers in eastern North Carolina, and I collaborate with scientists (basic and applied, in everything from genomics to food science) at NC State and elsewhere, nationally and internationally. Much of my research is conducted at agricultural research stations located in Clayton, Clinton, Kinston, Plymouth, the Sandhills, and Fletcher. We also are engaged in on-farm research, conducting three to five potato variety trials each year, in cooperation with extension agents/specialists. The Grower Participatory Breeding Program is a highly successful partnership between industry, research, and extension, supported by the North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission. Our latest variety, Covington, will account for about half the sweet-potato acreage in North Carolina during 2006.

 

My projects receive minimal operational support from the state, and my technical support is eroding due to funding reductions. Most of our budget is grant supported, via a combination of commodity organization support, USDA-CSREES and USDA-ARS grants, funding from foundations, variety royalty income, and private donations.

 

During the off-season (after harvest) I spend about 50 hours per week on my job: preparing reports, writing grants and manuscripts, and mentoring students; in addition, I manage our laboratory and greenhouse winter-breeding activities. I attend scientific meetings (typically on weekends) and I present research results at commodity organization and extension meetings during the winter. These night meetings result in late-night trips home from eastern North Carolina locales. May to November, during planting and harvest, my associates and I often leave home by 6:30 a.m. and return after 6:30 p.m. This makes for long, but productive days and many 60-hour-plus weeks.

 

My formal appointment is 100 percent research, but my position allows me to contribute to the extension and teaching mission of our land-grant institution. I guest lecture in several courses, and I teach a graduate-level plant-breeding course. Being a university professor highly engaged with farmers and extension personnel located in rural North Carolina provides me with a unique perspective regarding the role that NC State plays in generating economic development in urban and rural North Carolina, and NC State’s impact on North Carolina families. I truly enjoy my job and greatly value the support and friendship of my academic colleagues, and the many farmers and industry members whom I work with around the state. NC State’s faculty are making an important difference in the lives of many North Carolinians.