Story by Michelle Jewell & Haleigh Ortmeier-Clarke
Graduate students from across the country came together to explore how cutting-edge agricultural technology is driving innovation at the intersection of research, entrepreneurship, and real-world farming.
The 2025 Science for Success Graduate Student Tour brought 18 students studying soybean production from 9 land-grant institutions to Raleigh, North Carolina for an immersive, three-day exploration of the state’s thriving agricultural innovation ecosystem. The tour is hosted annually by Science for Success, a collaborative research and outreach group of 25 soybean Extension specialists working to deliver research-based best management practices to US soybean farmers. This year’s tour was a full circle moment, as Dr. Rachel Vann also hosted the inaugural tour in North Carolina and Virginia in 2019.
“We host the Science for Success Graduate Tour annually to give students an opportunity to see production in different regions of the United States, expand networks, and build community amongst peers,” says Dr. Rachel Vann, Soybean Extension Specialist at NC State University and Science for Success leader.
The tour has two primary goals: to expose students to soybean production across different regions and to foster networking opportunities among the students and the professionals they meet along the way. Students are also able to interact via the Science for Success Graduate Committee. Founded by students in 2023, the committee offers additional professional development and networking opportunities.
“My favorite part of the tour was meeting grad students from other soybean extension programs and discussing their research”, said Rianne Wagner, graduate student at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. “It gave me new ideas that I can now apply to my own research project or use in future projects.”
While the tour has historically focused on soybean production and Extension, student feedback expressed an interest in exploring career opportunities in industry. The Research Triangle provided a unique opportunity to showcase how diverse industry careers can be, while simultaneously showcasing crop production in the region.
“For several years the tour has been heavily focused in the field, highlighting not only soybean production but other unique agricultural production systems in hosting states. This year we were excited to take a slightly different spin on the tour and concentrate on the unique ag tech and industry presence in North Carolina that feeds innovation in the field,” says Dr. Vann.
Students toured NC State’s Plant Sciences Building, learning more about the interdisciplinary Plant Sciences Initiative (PSI). They also got to interact with professionals from Elysia Creative Biology, Hoofprint Biome, and Soteria, startup companies based in the building.
Day 2 of the tour was based in Research Triangle Park (RTP), starting with an overview of the region and its unique opportunities at the North Carolina Biotechnology Center. The Traits Company (formerly Traitology) was up next, offering a tour of their lab spaces and a panel showcasing the career journeys of their scientists. The group then got insights into what ag tech looks like at a major agricultural company with a visit to the BASF Center for Sustainable Agriculture. The day ended with a networking social in RTP. Students and professionals from various industry partners were able to connect in a more informal environment, discussing everything from career opportunities to what life is like in the region.
The tour wrapped up with a visit to farms implementing ag tech in their operations. Students heard from farmer Brandon Batten, who grows a diversity of commodities including tobacco, on how technology has helped evolve their approach to post harvest processing. Johnston County Extension Agent Tim Britton and Dr. Vann discussed the PSI Agent Network, an effort to connect farmers with innovative technology. Students also visited J Roland Wood Farms, a multi generational sweetpotato farm and packing house, hearing more about how automation and technology has optimized one of North Carolina’s most valuable exports.
As the tour came to an end, students walked away with deeper insights on how ag tech makes an impact from innovation in a lab to real world application on-farm. Just as importantly, they developed new connections with their peers and industry professionals that will be impactful as they approach graduation.
“At the end of the day, this tour is impactful for farmers, too”, says Haleigh Ortmeier-Clarke, Science for Success Program Manager. “These students are the next wave of talent entering the agricultural workforce, whether that be in academia, Extension, industry, or even as farmers themselves. Investing in these students is an investment in future innovation!”
Check out the 2025 tour wrap up video linked here!
The 2025 tour took place on July 28-30, 2025 and was made possible by generous sponsors, including Science for Success and the United Soybean Board. A portion of the tour was hosted in partnership with GRAD-AID for Ag, an NSF-funded trainee program for doctoral students at the intersection of plant science and AI.
