For lifetime contributions and leadership, NC State University’s E. James Dunphy recently won the American Soybean Association’s Pinnacle Award. 

The Pinnacle Award is an industry-wide recognition of individuals who have demonstrated the highest level of contribution and leadership within the soybean family and industry, through work involving a significant amount of their lifetime.

Jim Dunphy is a professor in NC State’s Crop and Soil Science Department and a soybean Extension specialist. He’s served and led within the soybean family and industry for nearly 50 years. Dunphy is recognized as an excellent teacher, a top-notch researcher and an exemplary Extension specialist.

Dunphy “is a tireless worker and has made it his mission personally to serve the soybean growers of North Carolina,” said John Fleming, president of the North Carolina Soybean Producers Association, in his nomination letter. “And while we know we have gained the most from Dr. Dunphy’s contributions, we also know he has had a significant impact on the soybean industry at large. Soybean farmers across the United States have benefited from his 50 years of dedicated service to research and teaching.”

Dunphy was a pioneer in helping growers save money by reducing their soybean plant populations, while still maximizing their yields. His work on soybean plant populations is used by soybean researchers across the country.

Dunphy used data from research on row spacing to educate growers about achieving yield increases from planting in narrow rows versus wide rows. And he’s become a leading expert on double cropping soybeans with wheat.

His work contributed to growth in the soybean industry through yield and acreage increases in North Carolina and on a national level.

Dunphy has been a strong collaborator on projects with other state soybean extension specialists. He’s collaborated on numerous multi-state projects, including planting considerations, planting date and population studies, variety evaluations, and a soybean rust information platform, to name just a few.

Dunphy’s legacy includes educating thousands of soybean farmers and students, operating an Extension program that is a model for how to effectively reach soybean farmers, and always making it a priority to put the soybean farmer first in his research and Extension work.

This post was originally published in College of Agriculture and Life Sciences News.