Naomi Chapman Woodroof (February 5, 1900 – January 4, 1989) was an American agriculturalist known for increasing peanut yields five-fold. She was the first woman to attend and graduate from the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The Universit ...

College of Agriculture and achieved posthumous recognition for her research, including the breeding of peanuts, the fertilization of pecans, and the prevention and control of cotton diseases.

Early life

Woodroof was born on February 5, 1900, to parents James Leslie Chapman and Grace Ora Chapman, a pioneer family, who settled in Idaho along the Snake River. She grew up on a ranch responsible for the care of both

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated ...

and

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...

. Due to growing up on her parents' ranch, she decided to further her education in the area of animal husbandry by attending the University of the Idaho College of Agriculture. Adams The Tetons and the Snake River

Career

Woodroof was the first woman student and first woman to graduate from the University of the Idaho College of Agriculture, and the first woman to be inducted into the Georgia Agriculture Hall of Fame due to her research in peanut farming. She was responsible for founding the Plant Pathology Department located at the Coastal Plain Experiment Station where she became an essential component to the developments in peanut breeding. Here she developed a method of breeding which allowed for a fivefold increase in peanut crops. This development led to the allowance of Georgia to become the United States' leading producer of peanuts. Because of her findings regarding peanuts, she was named an honorary member of the "Ton-an-Acre" Peanut Club. In her later years, she traveled to underdeveloped countries and shared information regarding disease control among crops, how to increase the harvest amount, and better methods of storing food.

Marriage and children

While working on a pecan project, she met Jasper Guy Woodroof whom she married in 1926. They had three children: Jane, Cade, and Jasper. When her husband was named the first President of the

Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC) is a public college in Tifton, Georgia. It is part of the University System of Georgia and offers baccalaureate and associate degrees. The college is named after Abraham Baldwin, a signer of the Uni ...

, the family moved to

Tifton, Georgia Tifton is a city in Tift County, Georgia, United States. The population was 17,045 at the 2020 census. The city is the county seat of Tift County. The area's public schools are administered by the Tift County School District. Abraham Baldwin Agr ...

, where Woodroof continued her peanut research. University of Georgia, Coastal Plain Experiment Station

Death

Naomi Chapman Woodroof died on January 4, 1989, at 88 years old. According to her son-in-law, "she was way ahead of her time, she was working in a man's world, but she was not competing, she was simply contributing."

Citations

Works Cited

* * * * 1900 births 1989 deaths American agriculturalists University of Idaho alumni {{Improve categories, date=May 2021