Former Polk County Cooperative Extension Agent Jeff Bradley was recently named Rutherford County Cooperative Extension director.

Bradley, 37, succeeds Steve Duckett, who resigned in May 2009 to become Extension director in Buncombe County.

Bradley, a 1991 Chase High School graduate, came to the Polk County Cooperative Extension in 1999. He worked there for six years, leaving to teach agriculture at Polk County High School for several years.

Bradley got a bachelors degree in animal science, with a minor in poultry science, at N.C. State University. Then he earned a masters degree in agricultural and extension education.

Bradley says Rutherford County is experiencing a burgeoning sustainable agriculture movement, and he sees a role for Cooperative Extension in that effort. He says the local food movement is growing and plans to help it grow through some educational programs.