Introducing Pulaski County’s
NEW HORT AGENT, DEREK REED!
Derek Reed is originally from central Texas and has always been involved with agriculture. Growing up, he was heavily engaged in 4-H and eventually FFA. He started by showing hogs in the 3rd grade and continued throughout high school, competing at the county fair and the San Antonio and Huston livestock shows. In FFA, he served as the sentinel, vice president, and eventually the president position. He was involved in FFA’s leadership development events (LDE), such as Ag issues and Parliamentary Procedure, and competed in career development events (CDE), doing both dairy cattle judging and the nursery and landscape competition as well. Though he was far more successful in the latter. Derek followed his passion for plants and went to Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas, where he completed his Horticulture science undergraduate. While at Tarleton, Derek remained involved in school organizations such as Texan reps and was the president of the Tarleton horticulture club and Texans against cancer. Derek worked as a nursery worker at the local Ace hardware throughout college and was eventually promoted to assistant greenhouse manager. After finishing his undergraduate degree, Derek moved to the Dallas, Fort Worth area to work for a landscaping and irrigation company. He was trained as an irrigation technician and worked there until the company merged with another. After this, he decided to continue his education and work on his master’s at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. At Texas Tech, Derek worked to pursue a master’s in Horticulture Science. Derek taught both introductions to horticulture labs as well as an introduction to floral design. Instructing these classes brought forward a new passion for Derek, a love for teaching. Derek was also one of the founding members of the Texas Tech Ornamental Research Group. In the ornamental research group, Derek assisted in building raised beds and planting the beds with trail plants to test viability in the Texas high plains region. Although heavily involved in teaching and research, Derek still had to work on his research and thesis. The Texas Lavender Association reached on to Derek, and his advisors wanted a study on lavender propagation methods to assist growers in increasing productivity. While there are many resources online for the asexual propagation of lavender, little researched-backed information is available. Derek researched different asexual propagation methods, media, growth regulators, and lavender cultivars for his thesis. He ran several trials over three years before presenting his thesis to his board of advisors. Derek also presented some findings at the Texas lavender associations yearly meeting. His research was later published in the Journal of Environmental Horticulture. Upon graduating from Texas Tech, Derek went for a different horticulture avenue and pursued a production agriculture job. He accepted a position as the Nursery and Young Plant Specialist with Gotham Greens at their newest greenhouse in Davis, California. Derek assisted in the commissioning of the new location and established practices for seedling care. Derek’s primary job was caring for the seedlings for their first 18 days before moving to the production line. Gotham Greens primarily produces basil and several different varieties of lettuce. He enjoyed working in the hydroponic lines and the opportunities his position presented. While production agriculture in a controlled environment greenhouse was an enjoyable and valuable learning experience, Derek found he missed the educational side of things and aimed to get a little closer to his family. Derek applied for the Pulaski County horticulture extension agent position to achieve these goals and officially began work on February 3rd. He enjoys his job and is excited to work with the master gardeners and the Pulaski County community. Derek aims to eventually return to school and receive his Ph.D. in Horticulture education but hopes to be able to remain as your extension agent while working on his degree. Feel free to contact Derek at the Pulaski County extension office to say hi or ask any questions you may have for him.
You must be logged in to post a comment.