Source: NCDA&CS, 5/25/22


We Are Agriculture is a year-long series that will highlight the hard-work done by employees across the Department of Agriculture. Joy Goforth, Plant Pest Administrator with our Plant Industry Division, is one of those employees. Stay tuned each Wednesday here on the blog or any of our social media accounts and join us in honoring those who continue to drive our state’s agriculture industry forward each day!

A love of agriculture isn’t always immediate, sometimes it has to grow on you. At least that was the case for Plant Pest Administrator of our Plant Industry Division, Joy Goforth.

At the age of 12 years old, Joy’s family started a landscaping business in Forsyth County, which meant that Joy’s summer vacation quickly turned from fun play dates with friends to hot, sweaty afternoons helping with the business. “Although I wasn’t the most eager volunteer, something about my time learning the value of a hard days work, having my hands in the soil and seeing the finished product of a well-planned landscape must have ignited a spark in me,” Joy said, “because despite constantly telling my parents that I would never, ever do this for a living, somehow I ended up having many jobs in the green industry and loving every single one.”

After falling in love with horticulture, Joy went on to pursue a degree in Agriculture Education at N.C. State University and learned all about different aspects of the industry, including Poultry Science, Forestry and Agricultural Engineering. “I found every aspect of agriculture fascinating, much to my surprise,” she said, “and the more I learned, the more passionate I became about a career that centers around agriculture.” She even acquired hands on experience with various divisions of the agriculture industry at N.C. State, including working as a technician for a group associated with the Department of Forestry where she oversaw the exportation of seeds for an international seed cooperative. “Although I didn’t know it at the time, I was learning something invaluable each step of the way that would fuel my career with the NCDA&CS,” she said.

For more of this story, click here.