Source: NCDA&CS, 3/10/21


It’s not uncommon for a woman who grew up helping on the farm to embrace the term “farm girl,” but what do you call a woman who grew up on one of North Carolina’s agriculture research stations where farming meets academic research?


In one case, you could call that woman the division director. Teresa Lambert is now the director of the Research Stations Division in the N.C. Department of Agriculture. She may also embrace the “farm girl” term, but she’s done a lot since growing up at the Upper Mountain Research Station in Ashe County.

“My dad was actually the burley tobacco supervisor, and at the time, supervisors were required to live on the stations,” Lambert explained.

Her family eventually moved about a mile down the road from the station, and in the late 1990’s, she became the first woman to work at the Upper Mountain Research Station outside the office. She’s quick to point out there are several women working on research stations these days.

“We have some rock star females that work at research stations,” Lambert said before launching into a story about some passionate and knowledgeable women she worked with when she was superintendent of the Piedmont Research Station in Salisbury.

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