I'm Steve Amerige, a Systems Development and Project Manager in the Precision Sustainable Agriculture (PSA) program at NC State University, where I develop software systems, research computing infrastructure, and decision-support tools that support agricultural research and extension. I am also pursuing a Ph.D. in Crop Science, with research focused on applying computer vision, machine learning, and synthetic data to plant disease identification and digital agriculture.

Before joining NC State, I spent four decades in software engineering, retiring from SAS Institute as a Distinguished Software Developer. That experience continues to shape how I approach agriculture today: viewing complex biological problems through the lens of systems thinking, software engineering, data science, and reproducible research.

Beyond my work in research computing, I am passionate about horticulture, ecological gardening, pollinator conservation, and science communication. As an NC State Extension Master Gardener℠ volunteer, speaker, and writer, I enjoy translating plant science into practical ideas that help gardeners observe more carefully, ask better questions, and make more informed decisions.

Crop & Soil brings together these interests. The site explores the intersection of plant science, ecology, agriculture, and technology, sharing presentations, educational resources, software tools, and articles—including my "Naked" series, which challenges us to look beyond what we think we already know and discover how plants really work.