Fall Creek Farm & Nursery, Inc. Names Dr. Paul Sandefur as Manager of Breeding Operations
LOWELL, OR – Looking to further bolster its blueberry offerings throughout the globe, Fall Creek Farm & Nursery, Inc., has finally found its newest Manager of the company’s U.S. Breeding Program. Dr. Paul Sandefur has been named to the position.
“I’ve been so impressed with how connected Fall Creek is as both a company and a breeding program to other blueberry companies, marketers, producers, food companies, and the industry as a whole. Everything Fall Creek does is focused on making better blueberries,” Dr. Sandefur stated. “Fall Creek released its first cultivars in 2013 and has seen great success in a short time and yet, the program is still young. I look forward to helping to lead it into the future.”
Dr. Sandefur will head Fall Creek’s program for breeding mid- and high-chill blueberries in Oregon. In this position, according to a press release, Dr. Sandefur will also work closely with the company’s breeding teams in Mexico and Europe as well.
“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 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.”
Further bolstering his appointment, the company noted that Dr. Sandefur has a Ph.D. in Horticulture from Washington State University, in addition to have both Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Horticulture from the University of Arkansas.
“Paul’s path through Arkansas under Dr. John Clark and Washington State under Dr. Cameron Peace is exceptional. These are well-known, robust breeding and genetics programs and two top level professors. Dr. Sandefur brings the latest technology developments in breeding paired with a passion for field-breeding to produce the world’s best blueberries,” continued Brazelton.
The company stated that this new appointment will allow Fall Creek to continue strategically delivering genetics, plants, horticulture support, and market intelligence to the global fruit industry.
Fall Creek has wholly-owned nurseries and R&D centers in the U.S., Mexico, Peru, and Spain, in addition to having partner licensees throughout the world.
