By Emily Ford
eford@salisburypost
South Rowan High School junior C.T. Welch may have found his calling.
Welch spent one morning last week hanging off the back of a large farm vehicle called a transplanter, placing a strawberry seedling into each hole made by the machine.
Although the heavy equipment crawled along at just two miles per hour, Welch said he had the best assignment on planting day.
“I had the funnest job out there,” said Welch, who takes two agriculture classes at South. “If someone would pay me to do it, that would be my job the rest of my life.”
Welch and dozens of other South Rowan students planted about 1,000 strawberry plants in collaboration with the N.C. Research Campus in Kannapolis.
The largest agricultural undertaking in the high school’s history, the project will allow students to take the plants from seedlings to harvest, conducting scientific studies as they go and eventually selling the fruit at school and farmers markets.
“We are doing real and relevant experimentation and collecting data,” said David Overcash, an ag teacher at South Rowan.
Research conducted at the school will help inform the 10-year effort to develop a strawberry variety custom-made to grow in North Carolina.
It’s the first time the South Rowan ag department has worked with a scientist, Overcash said.
The partnership started last spring when Dr. Jeremy Pattison, the state’s first dedicated strawberry breeder who works for N.C. State University in Kannapolis, needed a greenhouse.
State-of-the-art greenhouses and growing fields at the Research Campus are on hold, victims of the economic downturn.
So despite having cutting-edge life sciences tools like the world’s largest magnet, the 350-acre campus founded by Dole Food Co. owner David Murdock has no place for Pattison to seed his strawberries.
“That’s when it’s great to be in a small county where everybody knows each other,” Pattison said.
Joe Hampton, superintendent of the Piedmont Research Station near Salisbury, knew of Pattison’s plight.
Hampton talked to employee Mitchell Overcash, father of David Overcash at South Rowan.
South Rowan has two greenhouses.
Students moved all their plants to one, and Pattison took over the other.
“David greeted us with open arms,” Pattison said.
They started talking about introducing students to real-world strawberry production and agricultural science.
Pattison suggested a program that would teach students the trade skills needed to grow crops, but also give them hands-on experience in research and experimentation.
“We want them to look at applying scientific tools in an industry that supports farmers and uses science to make decisions,” Pattison said.
So far, the students approve.
“It is very good experience,” said junior Matt Honeycutt, who hopes to study forestry at N.C. State. “It teaches me and other kids about different varieties of plants and how long it takes them to grow and how to take care of them.”
With ongoing help from Pattison, the students will manage the growth and development of the plants, including fertilization, frost and fungus prevention and irrigation. They will conduct statistical analyses to determine which variety has the biggest yield and the best quality.
They likely will try to discern which has the best flavor as well.
They will determine pH and sugar levels and may even do genetic studies in collaboration with high schools in Cabarrus and Mecklenburg counties.
“We want them to be thinking about ag in a different light, beyond plowing earth and planting crops,” Pattison said. “How do we generate some solutions to problems by forming the next hypotheses?”
Strawberries are the perfect crop to grow at school, Pattison said, because they go into the ground in the fall and bear fruit in the spring. Other crops are harvested in the summer.
Pattison is also working with Faith Elementary, where third graders learning about plants and photosynthesis have a small strawberry patch.
Anytime teachers can provide hands-on activities, students will respond, Overcash said.
“That’s when they ask questions,” he said. “Then the light comes on.”
Overcash has a hard time containing his excitement about working with Pattison, who he calls a “rare find.”
“He’s the lightning rod. He’s the catalyst that’s got us all going,” Overcash said. “He thinks pretty broad. A lot of folks could be all about their research, instead of trying to involve students.”
In all, about 140 students at South Rowan will participate in the strawberry project. Laura Hoffner’s ag classes will pitch in, too.
Planting 1,000 strawberry plants last week didn’t really require the huge transplanter or a large tractor.
But the heavy equipment made the experience more fun and more real.
“We didn’t need that piece of equipment out there, but it’s such a good thing to expose them to,” Pattison said. “Part of that trial is simulated production ag, and the idea was to get all our big guns out there for them.”
Junior Ashley Eudy helped plant as part of her animal science class. Next semester, when she takes horticulture, she will help manage the strawberries and conduct research.
“It’s good experience for anybody in any type of ag class,” said Eudy, who raises cows. “Ag classes are my favorite classes.”
Eudy plans to go into law enforcement. While Welch jokes that he’d like to ride the transplanter for a living, he actually plans to join the Coast Guard as a rescue swimmer.
His best event is the 500-meter freestyle.
And he’s proud that his high school can lend a hand to the $1.5 billion Research Campus.
“The collaboration is a great thing for us,” he said. “We’re the closest ag school to the Research Campus, and we’ve got the right resources.”

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