Extension Outreach and Engagement Platform

Engaging with stakeholders to translate plant science into solutions for applied field issues.

Collaboration from Field to Lab

Alongside NC State Extension, the Extension Outreach and Engagement
platform is focused on connecting the science conducted in N.C. PSI to address on-farm challenges. The platform supports effective, bilateral communication between applied expertise in the field and research-based information generated by N.C. PSI. North Carolina’s vast Extension network is crucial to the success of N.C. PSI, both in identifying emerging issues and transferring groundbreaking research, tools and technology back into the hands of North Carolinians.

Education and research connect with Extension to identify issues and develop solutions

Charting a Future: Interdisciplinary Research Across N.C. Commodities

A daylong workshop on June 17, 2024, brought leaders from over 25 of the state’s agricultural and commodity groups together to share insights into the biggest challenges affecting producers and to identify priority areas for future North Carolina Plant Sciences Initiative research. Seven ideas were identified to be good candidates for future research.

NC Commodity leaders identified 7 top farm issues. Early detection of pests/pathogens was #1.

On the Backroads, Again

Researchers from five NC State colleges joined the N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative’s 2025 Backroad Tour, learning more about Western North Carolina agriculture and considering ways their expertise could help solve farmers’ challenges.

Group gathered around a Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension Center sign.

Extension Agent Network

NC State Extension agent were selected to beta-test N.C. PSI-developed technologies in the field to accelerate seamless adoption on farms.

Learn about this novel program

N.C. PSI Extension Faculty

We have a diverse group of N.C. PSI-affiliated faculty with Extension positions who hail from multiple colleges, departments and specialties.

Meet the specialists

Off-Campus Research

We put research to work on farm fields and research stations to refine solutions to real-world challenges.

Explore our statewide research stations

Join N.C. PSI Platform Director Rachel Vann as she interviews Lina Quesada and Lirong Xiang about a project that using robots to help detect cucurbit downy mildew in the field. Quesada is a former N.C. PSI-affiliated faculty member with the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, and Xiang is a former N.C. PSI-affiliated faculty member from the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering.

N.C. PSI in the Field

The Extension Outreach & Engagement Platform seeks to engage with stakeholders in a variety of meaningful ways.

10 people pose outside at a display highlighting the N.C. Plant Sciences Building — N.C. PSI faculty from various departments and colleges representing N.C. PSI at the Sweetpotato Field Day

Two people staff an N.C. PSI display. — Rachel Vann and Celeste Brogdon attending the N.C. PSI Field Day

A person beside a farm research plot and scientific poster, describing research — Undergraduate student Duncan McSorley presenting his work on the Plant Aid Project at the Tomato Field Day at the Mountain Research Station

12 people pose near a farm field — Rachel Vann meeting with Extension Specialists in the midwest

Two people staff a display highlighting the N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative's work — Rachel Vann and Alex Goodnight representing N.C. PSI at the NC AgExpo Field Day

Eleven people pose near a wall recognizing donors to the Plant Sciences Building — N.C. PSI welcomes the Franklin County Extension team to the NC State Plant Sciences Building

Attend an NC State Field Day

David Suchoff

Extension Outreach and Engagement Platform Director

Suchoff is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, and an Alternative Crops Extension Specialist at NC State. As Platform Director, he seeks to build ties to agriculture statewide to ensure that N.C. PSI delivers practical solutions for North Carolina growers.

Learn More

Andrea Gibbs near a wet area of a field, near a sensor

SAS, NC State and ECU Deploying Sensors and IoT Analytics to Help Farmers

N.C. Cooperative Extension agent Andrea Gibbs, the N.C. Ag Analytics Platform and others at NC State are part of effort to create affordable, field-ready sensor systems that give growers timely, data-driven insights. Check out the SAS news release.

A person speaks from a podium, next to a large display screen, to a crowded room

Extension Agents Explore Ways to Use AI To Maximize Their Impact

The recent AI in Agriculture Conference at included a workshop for Extension agents interested in learning how to use AI tools in their work.

Hundreds of people, a humanoid robot and NC State mascots pack an entryway and two staircases.

AI in Agriculture Conference Explores the Future of Farming

Over 460 academics, students, researchers, extension professionals and industry leaders from across the country took part in the 2026 AI in Agriculture Conference at NC State, chaired by the N.C. PSI’s Daniela Jones.