MINOT, N.D. (AP) - The new director at North Central Research Extension Center might be harvesting soybeans one day, answering a producer’s questions about lentils the next and poring over either budget figures or research results in between.
Shana Forster became the first female director of a research Extension center about six months ago when she took over the helm at North Central from long-time director Jay Fisher. She has been with the center since 2008, first as assistant pulse crop breeder and later as the Extension Service’s area agronomist, specializing in cropping systems. Previously, she had worked as a biological science laboratory technician for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Northern Crops Science Laboratory in Fargo from 2003 to 2008, the Minot Daily News reported (https://bit.ly/2e45H0w ).
Forster recalled that she was one of few women studying in an agricultural field when she earned her bachelor’s degree at North Dakota State University. Now about half of agricultural students are female.
One of the most rewarding moments in breaking the gender barrier and being named as director at North Central was a congratulatory note from her grandmother, she said.
“I actually didn’t grow up on a farm. I was in 4-H and I spent a lot of time with my grandparents and their farm,” said Forster, a Mandan native. She has photos to document that she drove baler at age 12 on her grandparents’ farm near Kulm, where they raised beef cattle and also milked cows. Although those are fond memories, she entered high school telling people there were three things she would never do: live in North Dakota, attend ag school at NDSU and work in the agricultural industry.
“And here I am!” she said. There she was earlier this year, showing her grandparents around the center’s trial plots, where the unusual-looking, little combines intrigued the long-time farm couple.
Forster said she went to NDSU because she wanted to live in Fargo, not because she wanted to study agriculture. But it was a summer job in a USDA laboratory at Mandan that shifted her thinking about the industry.
“I liked plants, and then I found this whole world of agriculture,” she said. “It’s the number one industry in North Dakota. You can have a very big impact.”
Forster holds bachelors and master’s degrees from NDSU. She is working toward her doctorate and looks forward to the commencement walk to accept her diploma at NDSU in December.
“I already ordered my cap and gown,” she said.
The best education she has received, though, has been the hands-on experience through her work with the center, she said. The advanced-degree coursework has been easier because of that on-the job training. Still, the formal education has been valuable.
“They have tied some loose ends, or some concepts, together,” Forster said.
Her studies also have offered her new experiences. She traveled to Vietnam last March to see how the Extension program worked there and to visit with farmers. In Vietnam, farms are garden-sized plots designed to raise enough food to feed the family. Family members typically have other jobs that provide income. Forster also came away with an appreciation for the cooperation between Extension and research universities in the United States after observing how the entities operate separately in Vietnam.
Her background in both Extension and research is advantageous as she takes on responsibility for a center that includes both Extension personnel and researchers, she said. She continues to handle agronomy duties because the agronomist position she left to become director remains unfilled due to state budget constraints.
The center’s programs range from crop testing and breeding to work in soil health and pest and weed management.
“There’s so much new technology that it’s very exciting,” Forster said, citing the introduction of drones and precision agriculture. “It’s always changing, yet it stays a lot the same.”
Some of the newer research at the center has been investigating faba beans and carinata, an oil seed crop. The center employs 19 full-time staff as well as seasonal, part-time staff.
The center offers a wealth of information not only to area producers but to growers around the state, yet many people who drive by on U.S. Highway 83 south of Minot don’t even know what the center does, Forster said.
“We are a resource that a lot of people don’t utilize,” she said. “We are here to help, and if we don’t know, we can definitely find out.”
Forster hopes she can use her time as director to encourage more people to take advantage of the center’s resources. Whether it’s the first-time lentil producer who brings in a plant sample to get advice or the county Extension agent who looks to researchers for the latest information, the center has an important role to play in promoting agriculture.
Currently, the center is wrapping up harvest and making plans for next year.
“There’s concerns with the budget cuts we have had and also preparing a 90 percent budget for next biennium. It means we won’t be able to do all the things we have done in the past,” Forster sad. “We did receive money from the Legislature to purchase seed-cleaning equipment, to update our seed cleaning facility, because right now, we don’t really have a working one.”
The center wants to raise funds to erect a building to house the seed-cleaning program, which Forster said she hopes becomes one of the best in the state.
“I want to see everyone here succeed, and the center succeed,” she said.
As for herself, she and her two children, a third-grader and sixth-grader, have settled into Minot, and Forster is ready to make an impact with her new position and soon-to-be doctorate diploma. With all that’s been going on, she said, she hasn’t had time to consider what her next goal will be.
“I am always driven to do more,” she said. “I am always one who likes a new challenge, and this is challenging.”
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Information from: Minot Daily News, https://www.minotdailynews.com
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