As we celebrate
#WomeninScience
today, we're very appreciative of Extension agent Lina Quesada-Ocampo, who runs
@QuesadaLabNCSU
. Check out how she's crucial to helping vegetable
#growers
deal with devastating
#plant
diseases:
Congratulations to Rich Bonanno for being named Vice Provost for Outreach and Engagement for
@NCState
. In addition to his new responsibilities, Bonanno will continue to serve as associate dean and director of NC State Extension.
Owned by
@NCAgriculture
, the Upper Coastal Research Station is the oldest research station in our state. From peanuts to
#Stevia
, discover how
@NCState
faculty and grad students are working hand in hand with the Department of Agriculture to improve the crops grown in our state.
We're thrilled to share that NC State Extension Director Rich Bonanno will remain at the helm for another five-year term! A champion of
#agriculture
, a family man and farmer first, Rich embodies our
#ThinkandDo
spirit as we continue to grow North Carolina.
Meet
@NCStateCALS
"Outstanding Grad" Abby Whitaker, who will receive her
#master
's degree this Saturday. Check out her plans to work as a future
#CoopExt
livestock agent:
📷:
@Ab_Whit
The biggest barbecue enthusiast you know is probably on the waitlist for NC State BBQ Camp.
The school of barbecue is run by Extension's Meat Science Specialist Dana Hanson, who is the certified expert of low and slow.
Learn about him in
@ourstatemag
:
Ever found a creepy crawly you can't identify? 🪲 That's where Matt Bertone (
@Bertonemyia
), director of
@NCSU_PDIC
, comes in. Matt and his team identify around 3,000 insect samples a year for farmers and gardeners alike.
Learn more in
@ourstatemag
:
Today, we celebrate 109 years of Extension.
For over a century we have helped North Carolinians transform science into everyday solutions that improve their lives and grow our state.
Find out more about Extension's impact:
Congrats to Extension Specialist Hannah Burrack (
@NCSmallFruitIPM
) on her new role as Director of Education and Outreach for the N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative! We asked her a few questions on everything from
#goals
to her favorite
#HowlingCow
flavor:
After 80 years, Hemp, the plant with a hundred uses, finds its way back to the field. In the
@ourstatemag
July issue,
@NCState
alternative crops extension specialist David Suchoff talks about his research on hemp grown for fiber.
Read more:
If you've enjoyed a sweet potato in the last 40 years, it was more than likely grown right here in North Carolina. 🍠 Our state is a sweet potato powerhouse as the country's leading producer of the crop. Learn more about the industry:
I'm pleased to announce Dale Monks as the new associate director of NC State Extension! I'm confident he will bring a deep understanding and passion for Extension that will enhance our efforts to support North Carolina
#ag
and grow our state:
-Dr. B
Congrats to
@NCStateHort
Professor Brian Whipker on being named Extension Educator of the Year by
@ASHS_Hort
! His contributions provide permanent resources in plant health, nutrition and growth regulation for the
#floriculture
industry and I can't wait to see what's next.
-Dr. B
How long should you wash your hands to prevent the spread of germs? Extension Specialist
@BenjaminChapman
shares the proper techniques to reduce the risk of disease.
#NCStateHomegrown
Have you received any unsolicited packages of
#SeedsFromChina
labeled as earrings? Do not plant these seeds as they could be a pathway for the introduction of invasive species, insects and plant diseases. Learn more here:
#SeedsFromChina
Asian giant hornets (
#murderhornets
) are NOT in
#NorthCarolina
at this time, but there are a lot of insects who look like them. Here's a visual comparison between the Asian giant hornet and common insects they are being mistaken for:
It's National Sweet Potato Month! If you've enjoyed a sweet potato in the last 40 years, it's probably from North Carolina. Explore how
@NCState
helped grow the industry into a global powerhouse.
➡️
27 percent of all North Carolina farmers are now women, making them a force to be reckoned with in
#agriculture
. Check out some of their stories from Lee County Extension.
#InternationalWomensDay
#womeninag
NC State Extension has trained some 600 farmworkers in North Carolina about vaccination, especially related to COVID-19, and new federal funding will enhance the effort.
Thanks to our agricultural research and extension work in tobacco, sweet potatoes, cotton, blueberries and soybeans, we provide 1.67 billion dollars to the state’s
#economy
each year.
Extension internships are helping train the next generation of agricultural professionals.
This past summer, 31 students from NC State and other universities interned at one of Extension's 101 centers across the state. Learn about the internship program:
Who doesn’t love a pollinator garden? 🐝🌼🐛 Extension’s Pollinator Paradise Garden in Chatham County hosts over 225 unique perennials. It’s used to provide forage for pollinators and as a teaching tool.
Check out the full gallery of spring snapshots:
The
#EmeraldAshBorer
has already killed millions of ash trees in the U.S. and is one of the fastest spreading invasive forest pests our state has ever seen. This fact sheet from
@NCSUExtForestry
teaches you how to identify and manage them:
Last weekend the first all-girl
#robotics
competition was held in our state with the 2019 FIRST Robotics Competition! Participants came from across N.C. to compete, like the
@4H
Roto Raptors of
#WayneCounty
. What a great way to empower these girls!
#FIRSTLikeAGirl
📷:
@FIRSTNC
With the most beekeepers per capita in the country, it makes sense that N.C. would be home to the epicenter of bee research. 🐝
@NCState
has partnered with
@NCBeekeepers
to develop a one-of-a-kind apiculture research and education program.
Learn more:
In case you didn't hear the buzz,
#PollinatorWeek
has officially arrived! Meet
@NCSU_DEPP
graduate student Hannah Levenson, who's been studying native
#bee
populations in our state and helped create our bee identification guide:
Congrats to our 4-H'ers who packaged 50,000 meals today at our annual Hands to Service meal packaging event for hungry
#NorthCarolina
families. Learn more about how you can volunteer with us and
#CoopExt
:
#4HGrowsHere
📷:
@NorthCarolina4H
Three
@NCStateCALS
scientists have won a four-year grant of $6.4 million to improve
#blueberry
and cranberry crops! See how the work they are doing through
@NCState
's Plants for Human Health Institute will meet farmers' needs and peak consumers' interest:
#DidYouKnow
North Carolina is the fourth-largest producer of
#strawberries
in the nation? Consider taking a bite out of the juicy berry during Strawberry Day today at the State Farmer's Market!
Leaves of three, let it be. But when you're walking through our state's fields, forests or even your own backyard, those poisonous leaves can be a little difficult to see.
Learn how you can identify poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac in this episode of Homegrown.
A recent study shows that wrapping potato seeds in biodegradable paper made from unusable parts of banana plants reduces the infestation and harmful effects of a potato cyst nematode.
@NCStateCALS
shares more details.
Extension soybean specialists from around the country came to our state this summer to exchange ideas, evaluate research and develop information to help soybean growers optimize production of the essential crop. Learn about their collaboration:
You haven't experienced a scentsation quite like this before.
NC State's 8-year-old corpse flower has bloomed for the first time at
@jcraulstonarb
in Raleigh. The titan arum is most impressive early in blooming, so stop by soon to smell it for yourself.
– "Leaves of three, let them be."
– "A hairy vine is no friend of mine."
– "Longer middle stem, don't touch them."
Poison ivy, oak and sumac are itchy summer staples, make sure you know how to identify them! 🚫🖐️🚫 Find more at .
As the first Black male to serve as a Family and Consumer Sciences Extension agent in
@Union_NCCES
, Marcus McFarland is teaching people to honor their culture as they build healthy habits. Read his story:
Happy birthday, Cooperative Extension System! Helping families, farms and family farms across North Carolina and the country since 1914.
@USDA_NIFA
#ExtensionHasAnswers
What better way to celebrate
#NationalBlueberryMonth
than by enjoying some delicious N.C. blueberries? 🫐 Southeastern N.C. is prized for growing the berry due to its highly acidic soil. Learn more about our state's thriving blueberry industry:
Thankful for the ones who work hard to put food on our tables and for the ones we are fortunate enough to share it with.
#HappyThanksgiving
to you and yours.
When famous chefs support
#localfarms
, this may lead to increased visitation as well as diversified farm income. This is the idea behind the work of
@NCStateCNR
Ph.D. student Bruno Ferreira, who's wants to increase recognition of farmers: via
@NCExtTourism
Did you know pandemics have been common in food crops? With the help of Genetic engineering, plants can potentially develop resistance to future plant pandemics that are sure to come. Learn more.
Spring is strawberry season in North Carolina! These sweet spring favorites are harder to grow than they are to eat. Learn how Extension helps farmers grow bountiful berries for you to pick, pop and preserve each year.
Average first frost dates are approaching for many areas of the Carolinas. ❄️ For a gardener, preparing for that first frost of the season is essential to ensuring the health of your plants.
Check out our guide to managing frost in your home garden:
For more than two decades, Nancy Creamer has been dedicated to promoting equitable food systems in
#NorthCarolina
. With her recent retirement as director of
@infoCEFS
take a look back at her long career:
Here we BLOOM again! For the third time since 2016, the corpse flower will bloom right here at
@NCState
. In fact, we expect it to bloom within the next day or so. Unable to see it in person? Tune in via livestream!
With unemployment rates hitting record levels, Extension Specialist Mark Hoffmann is heeding the call by donating
#strawberries
from his experimental plots to the
@FoodShuttle
Farm. See how it's a win-win in light of an abundant harvest:
When
#farmer
Martha Calderon needed help keeping her
#tomato
harvest fresh, she turned to NC State Extension. Discover how we helped her grow a
#solution
that protects her
#crops
and ensures profitability.
#WeGrowNC
NC State Extension director Richard Bonanno gets ready for his big debut on Homegrown coming this March. We’ve got you covered on
#food
,
#farming
and
#gardening
.
If Extension had a favorite holiday, it would be "Native Plants Week." Congrats to the
#nativeplants
chapter of our Extension Gardener Handbook for coming out as our most popular tweet of the year! Here's to more
#planting
in 2020: 😉
#DidYouKnow
N.C. boasts the third most diverse
#agriculture
economy in the U.S., with more than 80 commercial crops and a large animal agriculture presence? NC State Extension Director Rich Bonanno reflects on the state of the industry:
#NCStateHomegrown
The Bradford pear tree is an ornamental commonly planted tree in North Carolina, but it's structurally weak, stinky and harmful to native ecosystems. How can you remove them?
Read more:
Do you have challenging shady areas in your garden? Ferns can come to the rescue! In this episode of In the Garden, Mark Weathington of NC State’s JC Raulston Arboretum (
@jcraulstonarb
), explores one of the best plants for shade.
🪴➡️