My name is Jeanine Davis and I am an associate professor and extension specialist in the Department of Horticultural Science at North Carolina State University. My research and extension programs are dedicated to the development of sustainable and organic production systems for herbs, vegetables, and a wide variety of specialty crops. Here is a short video on what I do in my Extension role.

The purpose of this portal is to provide access to up-to-date, practical information on the production and marketing of these crops and to keep you informed about the current projects in my program and maintain easy access to what we learned from past projects.

The current research projects my staff and I are involved in are scattered across two research stations and farms in western North Carolina. Our offices, lab, and greenhouses are located at the Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension Center in Mills River. There we are completing a hops breeding project which was led by Dr. Luping Qu, who recently retired. We have a hop yard there planted with all the new breeding lines. At the Mills River station we also have research and demonstration plots on forest farming with native woodland medicinals (e.g., goldenseal, black cohosh, and bloodroot), and ramps, and propagation studies and replicated production studies on Chinese medicinal herbs.

We also have field research at the Mountain Research Station in Waynesville.There we have more of the replicated Chinese medicinal herb studies and replicated breeding trials for the organic tomato project known as TOMI3. We also have two Black Perigord truffle orchards (one is producing).

We have three commercial scale on-farm trials for the Chinese Medicinal Herbs and two organic on-farm trials for the TOMI3 organic tomato project

In addition to our research, we conduct many educational and Extension programs in the form of conferences, workshops (virtual and in-person), and field days. A multi-state Extension program we are heavily involved in is the Appalachian Forest Farmer Coalition. Research scholar Margaret Bloomquist is a lead organizer for the WNC Medicinal Herb Growers and its subgroup, the Woodland Stewards. All of our events, publications, news updates, and articles can be found on our New Crops & Organics website and the NC Extension Hemp website. We make good use of social media, too, so follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

The NC Farmlink Program is lead by Dr. Noah Ranells and Stephen Bishop with assistance from Chas Edens. Noah is the program director for the eastern part of the state and Stephen is the program director for the western part of the state. NC FarmLink connects farmers, landowners, and service providers across North Carolina to farm transition resources, assists new and aspiring farmers looking to transition into farming, and assists older farmers with succession planning. NC FarmLink offers a variety of tools and resources, including the NC Farmland Opportunity Database, which can be used to help connect farm seekers and landowners. They publish a monthly email newsletter and offer free consultations to farmers and landowners.

Our Team

	Margaret Bloomquist Research Scholar E: Margaret_Bloomquist@ncsu.edu Responsible for overseeing the general operations of the program and for the forest farming and Chinese herb studies and the agroforestry trainings. One of the leaders of the WNC Medicinal Herb Growers Group and it’s subgroup, the Woodland Stewards. Associate director of the Appalachian Forest Farmer Coalition. Frequent speaker on all the above. Margaret has been a valued member of our team since 2012.
	Dr. Luping Qu Research Specialist and Breeder E: Luping_Qu@ncsu.edu Recently retired, he was responsible for the hops breeding project and provided support for other field research. Luping was an important member of our team since 2013.
	Katherine Learn Research Associate E: Katie_Learn@ncsu.edu Katie began working for us in 2018 with our hemp studies and earned her Master’s degree on organic tomatoes. She took a year off to work in another program and returned to us in 2024. She now has responsibility for the truffle and organic tomato (TOMI3) projects and oversees the maintenance of the hops.
	Dr. Mary Saunders Bulan Extension Assistant E: Mary_Bulan@ncsu.edu Mary started in our program in 2024. She organizes our agroforestry tours and other outreach projects, writes the newsletter, and assists with many of the field and forest projects.
	Lillian Derry Temporary Research Specialist E: lgderry@ncsu.edu Lilly started in our program in 2024 and comes to us with plenty of plant experience and enthusiasm to learn more. She works on most of the projects in the program and with Mary on social media.

Updated on 5/1/2025 by Jeanine Davis (with assistance from Brandon Hopper!)