Reference Number: NA-1875754598
Plant Breeder
Candidate Description:
This Hansen Agri-PLACEMENT candidate has been working for seed companies, in nurseries and production fields, since 2003. His first years in agriculture were spent rogueing hybrid field corn production fields and making crosses in the breeder’s nursery. His undergraduate education was a diversified liberal arts degree which focused on crop production in organic and sustainable agricultural systems. In graduate school, at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, his thesis was a large field-based research experiment focused on nitrogen use efficiency and fixation in snap beans. He came away from Madison with a more in depth and refined knowledge of breeding theory, genetics and the modern molecular breeding tools. His studies included an emphasis on pathology and a diversity of vegetable crops. In the summers of 2009-2013 he worked as a Research Technician and then took over as the Research Director in January 2014 after earning his master’s degree. Since 2014 he has maintained the pea program in breeding processing shelling peas. He and his team have expanded with new breeding projects for the fresh market industry including snap peas, snow peas, edible tendril peas, colored peas, jumbo peas, and pea sprouts/shoots. Some of their new processing pea projects include early season peas; late season peas; petit pois; root rot, downy mildew, drought and heat stress tolerance. He has significantly increased observation trialing across North America and added a winter breeding nursery for both peas and beans. In 2014 he kickstarted the bean breeding program and has brought it up to near the same size as the pea program. He and his team have active breeding projects for large cut beans, regular sieve dark beans, whole beans, wax beans, flat beans, root rot tolerance, improved plant architecture, shelf life, colored beans and pole beans. His department has been responsible for all foundation seed and some seed stock productions for the company, including custom productions in peas, beans and other crops for international and domestic customers and collaborators.
Contact Info:
If you would like to consider this candidate for your position, please refer to their Reference Number and contact Eric Hansen at eric@hansenagriplacement.com or call 308-382-7351.