Cathy Herring has played a key role in some of the greatest advances in agriculture, helping thousands of experiments\u2014and research careers\u2014slowly progress and take shape on a daily basis. Now, after nearly 40 years of service to NC State\u2019s researchers, Herring says it\u2019s time to step away and give others a chance to take over her unique role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Herring will retire on March 31 after working with the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service for nearly four decades, beginning in 1982 as a student worker to pay for her B.S. in agronomy and eventually graduating to research station superintendent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the superintendent at the Central Crops Research Station in Clayton since 2012\u2014and the assistant superintendent since 2003, Herring admits she has seen a lot of interesting work come to her station\u2019s fields. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere were thousands of research projects over 36 years with a lot of different focuses,\u201d said Herring. \u201cThe fun part of it: You have an opportunity to work on things that are just coming out, and you can see how things will benefit growers early on.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Herring recalled some of her more exciting days on the job, many of which involved the research she and her staff had helped manage in field plots for principal investigators. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very fulfilling to see numbered compounds eventually becoming herbicides and insecticides that will have a great impact on farmers,\u201d Herring said. \u201cMy family farmed, so it\u2019s easy to see the potential impact for producers and how it will help them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Herring\u2019s most exciting day, however, had little to do directly with research. It was the day the Central Crops Research Station officially expanded from 483 to 523 acres in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe were renting 40 acres of property adjacent to our fields for 40 years. The day we managed to get it purchased as permanently part of the research station\u2014the day we found out it was a done deal, knowing we had it, that was a great day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Colleagues and fellow leaders at the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service (NCARS) describe Herring as dedicated, accomplished, and invaluable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCathy spent a long career dedicated to agricultural research that supported North Carolina\u2019s number one industry,\u201d said Loren Fisher, assistant director of the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service (NCARS). \u201cHer contributions to the success of agricultural research in this state are beyond measure, and her leadership and \u2018can do\u2019 approach in the entire research station system has been exceptional and clearly commendable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Though Herring has been recognized as an accomplished leader, she avoids claiming the Central Crops Research Station\u2019s accomplishments as her own, despite all the beneficial research projects she has stewarded over the decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere are a lot of things I\u2019ve helped with, but the scientists are the ones doing the research. You\u2019re just helping to make it happen,\u201d Herring said. \u201cOur accomplishments come from the researchers and the research station staff working together to host good, quality, repeatable research that gets disseminated out to the producers. This is something you do as a team.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Herring began supporting NC State\u2019s agricultural researchers in 1982, working part time to help pay her way through school as a full-time undergraduate agronomy student. She grew up on a farm in eastern North Carolina and originally intended to continue farming. But by the time she graduated from high school, the agricultural economy had taken a hard turn. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe knew then that farming would not support three households, for my parents, my brother and me,\u201d Herring said. My brother was working on the farm full time, so I had the opportunity to go to school, learn, and get a job. I knew I wanted to stay in agriculture, because I love it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Herring first worked in the soil lab of Bill Jackson, a soil scientist and distinguished professor known for his research on nutrient uptake in plants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe did some cool stuff, and he really got me interested in research,\u201d Herring said. \u201cHe put radioactive isotopes in plants to track the movement of plant nutrients. In the beginning, I was there to clean up. But after working with him for a while, I had the opportunity to work on his experiments.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Herring graduated in 1983, she took a part-time, then full-time position with Eugene Kamprath, another distinguished professor, in his soil fertility lab, where she helped collect soil samples for a long-term soil fertility project focused on nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In April 1985, Herring took her first permanent position with Robert H. Moll, a corn geneticist, working on a long-term project on the uptake and utilization of nitrogen, as well as a project on corn prolificacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI worked there until the fall of \u201893. The research project had been running almost 20 years by then. You really didn\u2019t want to mess up his samples,\u201d Herring said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her first job at a North Carolina research station started in 1993 at the Sandhills Research Station in Jackson Springs as a farm manager, where she helped steward various research projects on field plots for crops such as soybeans, apples, nectarines, peaches, and blueberries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She began the first of her 26 years at the Central Crops Research Station in 1995 as a field crops supervisor. There she looked after the plant breeding nurseries, planned the crop rotations, designed fertilizer regimes, and identified pests and control measures for the field crops unit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMoving to the Central Crops Research Station allowed me to work more in the field crops side, which was more relatable to my family and friends\u2019 farms,\u201d Herring said. \u201cBut going to Sandhills was a great experience. It allowed me to learn something different.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After eight years as a field crops supervisor, she advanced to assistant superintendent, a position she held for eight more years before becoming superintendent in 2012. Herring says these positions allowed her to make more of a difference in the research and connect with colleagues more broadly across the research station. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen I became assistant superintendent, it gave me more chances to interact with the other units outside of field crops, like the horticultural and swine units,\u201d Herring said. \u201cAs a unit manager, you\u2019re more involved with the planning for research projects. As superintendent, you have to look at how it affects the entire station.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Herring also enjoyed watching the researchers grow their careers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had the opportunity to work with some really good scientists,\u201d Herring said. \u201cI saw some of them start as grad students and go on to be nationally and world-renowned professors. Some of them end up being your boss along the way. That’s okay too. You know you don\u2019t have a big part in that, but it sure is fun to watch them be successful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Herring credits her successes to her parents, who shaped her work ethic, her sense of responsibility, her love for farming and agriculture, and her career path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe made a family decision that, with the way agriculture was changing, someone needed to get an education,\u201d Herring said. \u201cIt was an easy decision for me to go into research, and we all valued what I did. My father and brother would occasionally come to me with questions about their crops. I could help the family while doing the work I wanted to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Herring says she hopes to be remembered by her NC State family for being supportive of research and making research projects move smoothly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“During her decades with NC State, Cathy has been involved with thousands of projects that have benefitted millions of growers throughout our state, nation, and world,\u201d said Steve Lommel, Director of North Carolina Agricultural Research Service and Associate Dean for Research at CALS. \u201cWe truly appreciate all the time, energy, and care she has put into her work.” Herring\u2019s colleagues will hold a Zoom-based retirement party on Thursday, March 25th at 4 p.m. All are welcome to attend. Please register beforehand to join the celebration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n