WRITTEN BY: Olivia Rogers (Ogrogers@ncsu.edu)

Near the end of October, Jim Suits visited NC State’s campus on behalf of the USDA-Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS). Suits is a Senior Advisor of Program Operations at USDA-FAS. While on campus he met with Scientific Exchanges Program (SEP) Fellows and gave a presentation on “Linking U.S. Agriculture to the World: Enhancing Export Opportunities and Global Food Security.”

Kicking off his visit, Suits met with SEP fellows on Centennial campus. The Latin America fellows each gave their presentation on their current research, and talked with Suits about climate smart studies. This provided an opportunity for the Fellows to discuss the research they are doing under the USDA-FAS program.

After this meeting, Suits toured research fellow Vanessa Diaz’s laboratory and discussed research practices with the Fellows.

Before his presentation, Suits also met with other CALS International Programs staff, IR-4 and the Minor Use Foundation. These meetings helped to round out the information Suits was gaining from his visit.

Suits finished up his bustling day with his presentation. His presentation touched on the role of the USDA and American agricultural production globally. Suits also discussed the Foreign Agricultural Service’s efforts of managing marketing development across international borders.

Suits’ visit helped collaboration efforts between NC State, international researchers and USDA-FAS. This collaboration helps to continue the work towards international agricultural reach and global education.