“Sugar Beet Breeding for North America”

Dr. Patrick O’Boyle,

Friday, May 8th, 2026

12:00 pm- 1:00pm CST

Online via Zoom

Session Description: Sugar beet is a unique crop in the North American agricultural landscape, providing approximately 50% of the domestic sugar supply, yet it remains an enigma to many people, relative to its counterpart – sugar cane.  Dr. O’Boyle will pull back the curtain, presenting a modern look at the history of production and breeding efforts in sugar beet cultivation in North America, with an emphasis on the milestones making the success of this crop possible and an examination of the breeding challenges past, present, and future.

Dr. Patrick O’Boyle began his career in plant breeding as a summer corn pollinator at a corn breeding station near his hometown of Ithaca, Michigan.  Following a B.S. in Crop and Soil Sciences (with a specialization in Plant Breeding) at Michigan State University and an M.S. in Plant Breeding and Genetics (dry bean breeding), Dr. O’Boyle received his Ph.D. in Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), working in small grains breeding and genetics.

Since 2009, Dr. O’Boyle has been employed at KWS Seeds, LLC in Shakopee, MN.  He has served in several roles across various breeding programs, with his primary responsibilities being the team lead for the Roundup Ready Backcross program and the Cercospora pollinator program for durable fungal resistance.  In addition to breeding project responsibilities, he is the hybrid breeder for the Michigan Sugar and Western Sugar South (Colorado, Nebraska, Wyoming) sugar beet production areas and along with a dedicated team of Minnesota-based researchers has released dozens of successful varieties for cultivation in these challenging areas with complicated disease and insect resistance needs. 

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