The prospect of getting to explain plant science and technology to the farmers for whom it matters most drew Mikayla Berryhill<\/a> to a career with North Carolina Cooperative Extension<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the past year, she\u2019s found her work evolving as she\u2019s played an additional role: getting to bring growers into the N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative<\/a>\u2019s research and technology development process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Berryhill, who serves field crops farmers in Person and Granville counties, is among the first 12 agents selected for the initiative\u2019s Extension Agent Network<\/a>. The network now has 24 members in four cohorts representing North Carolina\u2019s diverse geography and crop production systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Berryhill has seen both researchers and growers benefit from the network. She was part of one of the network\u2019s first projects: helping beta-test a web-based decision support tool with farmers. The tool is designed to help them use information specific to their farm to help them increase yields and efficiency by adopting cover crops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Based on suggestions that Berryhill passed along from growers who tested the tool, researchers ended up revising the tool significantly to make it more useful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was a cool thing to be able to go out to farmers and show them the software, for them to tell me changes they wanted to see, and then be able to come back a few months later and say, \u2018Hey, you remember that change you suggested? It happened.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The big thing for me is being the connection from the researchers to the growers and from the growers back up to the researchers.<\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
In another case, Berryhill worked with a producer who tested the software and ended up learning more about cover crops than he\u2019d ever known. That grower is now using that knowledge to decide which of those crops might help him with weed control in organic soybeans grown on the same ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s just one example of someone I work with who is already using the tool on his farm,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd working through this technology together with growers has given me a closer connection with my farmers. Extension is all about relationships, and I wouldn\u2019t be able to do my job if I didn\u2019t have good relationships with my farmers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From Student to Extension <\/strong>Agent<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
It was relationships Berryhill was seeking when she joined Extension in 2020. Since high school, she\u2019d thought she would like to follow in the footsteps of Green Revolution hero Norman Borlaug and become a plant breeder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a major in crop and soil sciences<\/a> in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at NC State, Berryhill took classes and did internships that exposed her to plant breeding and genomics, and she loved the science and the promise it held for improving people\u2019s lives. However, she realized she wanted more interaction with people than she had working in the lab and field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moving Toward Better Technology <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Right now, Berryhill is working on a project team that\u2019s pursuing a grant to develop sensors that could be attached to drones to instantly analyze the nitrogen and phosphorus levels in their soil. The researchers don\u2019t have agricultural backgrounds, and Berryhill sees her role as helping them connect with farmers \u2014 the end users \u2014 to ensure the technology effectively meets their needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Looking ahead, Berryhill sees opportunities with the network to help farmers with precision agriculture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think the Plant Sciences Initiative is going to be integral to NC State staying up-to-date on precision agriculture technologies,\u201d she says. \u201cEverybody is trying to reduce their inputs and be more environmentally sustainable and economically viable, and we need precision agriculture to make that happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Berryhill points specifically to work being done under the N.C. PSI banner to develop a patch that could be put on the leaves of plants to detect when different pathogens are present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s going to be revolutionary for growers because it will allow them to know when a disease is present and protect their crop beforehand, before they ever see a loss,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Getting to work on similarly promising N.C. PSI technology is rewarding for Berryhill, fulfilling her long-held desire to help people through agricultural science while satisfying her need for building relationships with people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe really big thing for me is being the connection from the researchers to the growers and from the growers back up to the researchers,\u201d she says. \u201cThat\u2019s definitely been happening over the years with Extension, but perhaps never as directly as it\u2019s being done with the Plant Sciences Initiative.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false,"raw":"\n\n\n\n\n
The prospect of getting to explain plant science and technology to the farmers for whom it matters most drew Mikayla Berryhill<\/a> to a career with North Carolina Cooperative Extension<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the past year, she\u2019s found her work evolving as she\u2019s played an additional role: getting to bring growers into the N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative<\/a>\u2019s research and technology development process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Berryhill, who serves field crops farmers in Person and Granville counties, is among the first 12 agents selected for the initiative\u2019s Extension Agent Network<\/a>. The network now has 24 members in four cohorts representing North Carolina\u2019s diverse geography and crop production systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Network Benefits Go Two Ways<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Berryhill has seen both researchers and growers benefit from the network. She was part of one of the network\u2019s first projects: helping beta-test a web-based decision support tool with farmers. The tool is designed to help them use information specific to their farm to help them increase yields and efficiency by adopting cover crops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Based on suggestions that Berryhill passed along from growers who tested the tool, researchers ended up revising the tool significantly to make it more useful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was a cool thing to be able to go out to farmers and show them the software, for them to tell me changes they wanted to see, and then be able to come back a few months later and say, \u2018Hey, you remember that change you suggested? It happened.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The big thing for me is being the connection from the researchers to the growers and from the growers back up to the researchers.<\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
In another case, Berryhill worked with a producer who tested the software and ended up learning more about cover crops than he\u2019d ever known. That grower is now using that knowledge to decide which of those crops might help him with weed control in organic soybeans grown on the same ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s just one example of someone I work with who is already using the tool on his farm,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd working through this technology together with growers has given me a closer connection with my farmers. Extension is all about relationships, and I wouldn\u2019t be able to do my job if I didn\u2019t have good relationships with my farmers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From Student to Extension <\/strong>Agent<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
It was relationships Berryhill was seeking when she joined Extension in 2020. Since high school, she\u2019d thought she would like to follow in the footsteps of Green Revolution hero Norman Borlaug and become a plant breeder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a major in crop and soil sciences<\/a> in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at NC State, Berryhill took classes and did internships that exposed her to plant breeding and genomics, and she loved the science and the promise it held for improving people\u2019s lives. However, she realized she wanted more interaction with people than she had working in the lab and field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moving Toward Better Technology <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Right now, Berryhill is working on a project team that\u2019s pursuing a grant to develop sensors that could be attached to drones to instantly analyze the nitrogen and phosphorus levels in their soil. The researchers don\u2019t have agricultural backgrounds, and Berryhill sees her role as helping them connect with farmers \u2014 the end users \u2014 to ensure the technology effectively meets their needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Looking ahead, Berryhill sees opportunities with the network to help farmers with precision agriculture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think the Plant Sciences Initiative is going to be integral to NC State staying up-to-date on precision agriculture technologies,\u201d she says. \u201cEverybody is trying to reduce their inputs and be more environmentally sustainable and economically viable, and we need precision agriculture to make that happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Berryhill points specifically to work being done under the N.C. PSI banner to develop a patch that could be put on the leaves of plants to detect when different pathogens are present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s going to be revolutionary for growers because it will allow them to know when a disease is present and protect their crop beforehand, before they ever see a loss,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Getting to work on similarly promising N.C. PSI technology is rewarding for Berryhill, fulfilling her long-held desire to help people through agricultural science while satisfying her need for building relationships with people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe really big thing for me is being the connection from the researchers to the growers and from the growers back up to the researchers,\u201d she says. \u201cThat\u2019s definitely been happening over the years with Extension, but perhaps never as directly as it\u2019s being done with the Plant Sciences Initiative.\u201d<\/p>\n"},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Extension Agent Mikayla Berryhill helps ensure farmers have access to new technology and a hand in its development through the N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative’s Extension Agent Network.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":788059,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"views\/single-immersive.blade.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"source":"","ncst_custom_author":"","ncst_show_custom_author":false,"ncst_dynamicHeaderBlockName":"ncst\/default-immersive-post-header","ncst_dynamicHeaderData":"{\"backgroundColor\":\"green_400\",\"caption\":\"CALS alumna Mikayla Berryhill, an agent in Granville and Person counties, is part of the N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative's Extension Agent Network.\",\"showAuthor\":true,\"showDate\":true,\"showFeaturedVideo\":false,\"subtitle\":\"Extension Agent Mikayla Berryhill serves as a bridge between growers and researchers, helping ensure that farmers have access to new NC State University technology and a hand in its development.
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