I first want to thank all the growers that have reached out to share their support on my new role as Extension Specialist for specialty crops. I am honored and excited to take on this role! In recent years I have been focused more on row crops, so I am working on wrapping up projects and transitioning to more of a specialty crop focus, especially as we look to the 2027 growing season. Two big areas of interest I want to focus on are weed management and cover crops in specialty crops. I have learned a lot with my row crop work and think there could be value to bringing in some of those concepts to specialty crop production. Of course, I will continue my work on pumpkins and love to expand into other crops. I can’t tackle every crop at once but want to try and rotate through including trials on different crops from year to year.
I also plan to work with my existing network of Extension colleagues to help identify your challenges and needs. I am always available to help research questions on any crops or issues as they come up. I look forward to making it to various events throughout the rest of the year and winter meeting season to meet and talk with all of you more! Please reach out!