The prospect of getting to explain plant science and technology to the farmers for whom it matters most drew Mikayla Berryhill to a career with NC State Extension.
Over the past year, she’s found her work evolving as she’s played an additional role: getting to bring growers into the N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative research and technology development process.
Berryhill, who serves field crops farmers in Person and Granville counties, is among the first 12 agents selected for the initiative’s Extension Agent Network. The network now has 24 members in four cohorts representing North Carolina’s diverse geography and crop production systems.
Rachel Vann leads the network as the N.C. PSI’s platform director for Extension, outreach and engagement. The network was started as a way to leverage the state’s robust Extension system to accelerate technology development.
The idea, Vann says, was to incorporate applied expertise and a high level of connectivity to growers during the technology development pipeline.
“Not only would this help N.C. PSI research teams get technology out faster, but it would also help our Extension agents evolve their skillsets and knowledge on cutting-edge innovation from NC State University,” she says.
“It is incredible to see our Extension agents thriving in this role, catalyzing new projects that address their producers’ needs and elevating our Extension system across the university.”
