Oct 18, 2022

Harrell’s Welcomes New Director of Agronomy

Employee-owned Harrell’s LLC is pleased to announce that Aaron Palmateer, Ph.D., has joined the Harrell’s family as a new director of agronomy, specializing in horticulture.

Palmateer has been involved in the horticulture industry for over 18 years. After receiving his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in plant and soil science from Southern Illinois University, Palmateer went on to receive his Ph.D. in plant pathology from Auburn University. Soon after, an opportunity opened for Palmateer to move to Florida and join the faculty at the University of Florida.

While at UF, he oversaw a plant diagnostic clinic. This opportunity exposed him to thousands of different plant diseases, pests and disorders. During his time in diagnostics, he also performed many in-depth research trials, developing a plethora of experience in unique efficacy trials. This experience set the stage for Palmateer to transition from academia to the technical side of horticulture. Afte nearly 13 years on faculty at UF, Palmateer went to work at Bayer as a technical development manager. Five years later, he transitioned to SePRO in technical development, which was his most recent position before coming on as a director of agronomy at Harrell’s.

Palmateer looks forward to working with the sales team at Harrell’s, offering technical support, but also investigating new product opportunities as unique problems arise. He is excited about the innovation potential that the industry holds at a national level and working with our team to find the best solutions to the toughest horticulture problems. “We are excited to add another industry leading Ph.D. to our research and development team. Aaron brings a wealth of knowledge to our Ornamental division that we have never had before! We are looking forward to an exciting future, one in which Aaron will play a significant part,” said Jack Harrell III, regarding Palmateer joining Harrell’s.