When many farmers in the U.S. think of amaranth, most imagine a weed getting in the way of corn and soybean production. Dr. Matthew Blair is hoping to change this perception. A recipient of the Tony Kleese Award for his contributions to promoting an open, sustainable food system, Blair is a Professor at Tennessee State …
Category: plant breeders
Plant Breeder Spotlight: Dr. Michael Mazourek
When Dr. Michael Mazourek transitioned from focusing on the pharmaceutical side of human health into the field of plant breeding, he found the Northeast neglected by the seed industry. An area once home to a great amount of plant breeding projects had been largely abandoned as markets shifted to California and the seed companies underwent …
Plant Breeder Spotlight: Dr. Jeff McCormack
Founder of the Southern Exposure Seed Exchange (SESE) and Garden Medicinals and Culinaries and co-founder of Virginia Plant Savers, Jeff McCormack has long played an important role in southeast plant breeding. With a background in natural products chemistry and ecosystem dynamics, he moved to the south and began teaching at the University of Virginia in …
Plant Breeder Spotlight: Edmund Frost
Edmund Frost lives in Virginia where he is the managing director of Common Wealth Seed Growers, a cooperative of seed growers producing farmer-grown, regionally trialed seeds in the southeast. Frost was drawn to seed growing as part of his anti-GMO activism. As a seed grower, he has spent time at both Acorn and Twin Oaks …