One foot in the furrow: implications to one's career in plant pathology

Most of us want to be successful in what we do-either financially or programmatically. For me, being a good, well-respected plant pathologist is what motivated me throughout my professional career. After being trained as a plant pathologist at the University of California-Davis, an institution that prides itself in solving problems, I spent the majority of my career in population-sparse Montana-"the last best place." And best place it has been for me as I became involved in researching a number of plant disease problems and solving a few. J.C. Walker's philosophy of keeping "one foot in the furrow" has stood by me, and I encourage young plant pathologists to adopt it as well to ensure a productive and satisfying life in agricultural science.