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department of crop science
  crop science extension component

Welcome to the Cooperative Extension component of the Crop Science Department. Our Extension Specialists work closely with field faculty in all of NC's 100 counties to deliver information and technology that make NC's diverse agriculture more profitable and ecologically sound. Our faculty is one of the largest and most diverse groups in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. The current staff includes 17 specialists, two associates, 18 technicians, and six secretaries. Most extension faculty have joint research and/or teaching responsibilities and direct graduate programs. Several specialists have programs recognized nationally and internationally and three hold named professorships.

North Carolina agriculture is wealthy in diversity! Extension specialists work with all of our state's major commodities including corn, cotton, forages, peanuts, small grains, soybeans, tobacco, and turf. Additionally a new specialization, meat goat production, is finding a home in NC. Our Extension Specialists also provide leadership in the areas of seed extension and research, weed science, IPM, sustainable agriculture, and agroecology. Our faculty provide non-biased research-based information about each of these production systems, train students to be the next generation of NC farmers, and extend information to clientele.

To support these programs, most specialists conduct research on farms throughout the state, the 16 North Carolina research stations, and the Center for Environmental Farming Systems. As a result of these diverse, broad-based educational and research programs, there is strong support from, and cooperation with, faculty in other CALS departments and related public agencies, as well as with commodity, industry, and environmental groups.