Global blueberry breeding and nursery stock company Fall Creek Farm & Nursery has appointed Dr Paul Sandefur as manager of its US breeding programme.
Sandefur holds Bachelor and Masters degrees in Science from the University of Arkansas and a PhD in Horticulture from Washington State University.
He will lead Fall Creek’s mid and high-chill blueberry breeding programme, based in Oregon, while also collaborating closely with the company’s breeding teams in Mexico and Europe.
“After an extensive nationwide search, what stood out about Paul beyond his training and expertise was his drive to be a truly great fruit breeder. He has an excellent reputation as one of the top up-and-coming fruit breeders in the country,” said Fall Creek’s president Dave Brazelton.
“Throughout the search, his name kept coming up. And now, we are proud to welcome him to the Fall Creek family. He is a perfect match for our World with Better Blueberries vision.”
Sandefur said he was looking forward to building on Fall Creek’s reputation as a leader within the sector.
“I’ve been so impressed with how connected Fall Creek is as both a company and a breeding programme to other blueberry companies, marketers, producers, food companies, and the industry as a whole. Everything Fall Creek does is focused on making better blueberries,” Sandefur explained.
“Fall Creek released its first cultivars in 2013 and has seen great success in a short time and yet, the programme is still young. I look forward to helping to lead it into the future.”
