Outstanding in his field

Following just over 40 years of dedication to the educational side of the agricultural industry, Agronomy Research Specialist Steve Zwinger has formally announced his retirement.

The Sykeston native's final day on the job at North Dakota State University Carrington Research Extension Center was this past Thursday, December 1, as a reception was held in his honor at NDSU CREC.

"Over many years, there have been so many opportunities to work with a wide variety of great people," said Zwinger. "It was my first job out of college, and I've been here ever since."

He graduated from SHS in 1977, and worked in construction for a year before enrolling at NDSU and receiving a degree in what was then known as Crop and Weed Science.

When Zwinger went to work for NDSU's research center at Carrington in May, 1982, the very concept of the university's extension centers hadn't even come into being.

Four years later, in 1986, the NDSU Carrington Research Extension Center, the first one in the state, opened, which was somewhat of a revolutionary concept at the time.

"We mostly just focused on the research side early on, and the extension service followed that," he explained. "When [the NDSU CREC] came, it was about delivering that information from the research to the public."

Starting out with just the agronomy and livestock programs, the CREC has expanded into a diverse array of educational offerings and additional research programs. That has brought an influx of staff and specialists to the region which has been invaluable.

While the information Zwinger and his colleagues have made available for public consumption in four decades has largely remained similar in scope, the dissemination methods have certainly changed.

"With the rise of the internet, along with interactive videos, we were able to reach a much wider audience than before," he explained. "Also, automated means of delivery were also a big change, such as GPS, combine technology, and weighing systems so you can figure for much faster data analysis."

In his many years at NDSU CREC, Zwinger has been very thankful for all those who he has worked with, and says, "I'm very appreciative of working with different ag groups, as well as non-profits related to agriculture."

Retirement doesn't necessarily mean he will start moving away from his life's passion, however.

Zwinger, along with his wife, Diane, will continue to do work on his farm growing vegetables and seeds. They are the proud grandparents of four children, and Steve hopes to get in some hunting and fishing, as well as possibly traveling, in the upcoming years.