What are the responsibilities and job description for the Chickpea Research Associate position at SC State Public Service & Extension?
The Chickpea Research & Extension Program within SC State Public Service & Agriculture at South Carolina State University is seeking a research associate for a year (March 2025 to March 2026). The position will be extended for subsequent years with funding from future projects. The research associate will be part of a multidisciplinary research group working with the Project Director (PD), Dr. Nana Kusi (SC State 1890 Extension Agronomist), student intern(s), farm management team, and SC State 1890 extension agents as needed. Projects will focus on sustainable agriculture, including chickpeas, cover crops, reduced- or no-till practices, as well as other biogeochemical soil research projects within our research group. Prior experience in an agricultural field is necessary, but not required.
Fieldwork will take place at the SC State Research and Demonstration Farm in Olar, SC. The farm is a 200-acre facility located at 1678 Alligator Rd, Olar, SC 29843 in Bamberg County. The SC State Farm is equipped with modern facilities such as a GPS-operated tractor, center pivot, boom sprayer, equipment shed, etc.
* No visa-issued sponsorships.
Job Description/Duties
Applicants should be eager to work and be comfortable with both physical work in the field and
indoor/laboratory conditions.
- Plant population count, height measurement, soil coring, biomass sampling, greenhouse gas sampling, and/or measuring crop growth and photosynthesis.
- Processing samples in the lab, such as soil extractions, chemical analysis, plant grinding, and root washing, as we develop the program.
- Assisting the PI and farm team with planting, harvesting, field maintenance, pesticide application, seed inventory and other management practices.
- Plant maintenance in the field may involve some weekend/holiday responsibilities, like pesticide or irrigation application supervision.
- Data analysis – entry of data into spreadsheets, data sorting, data processing – all computational
- Data reporting using spreadsheets, documents, or presentation formats.
- Helping organize workshops, field days, interest groups (USDA, NRCS, grade school students, etc.), and visits to the farm.
