MCC FFA HOLDS ‘WOMEN IN AG’ TALK

By Jenny Kirk Young women at MCC had the opportunity to gain valuable insight regarding potential careers in the agriculture industry at the first-ever Women in Agriculture roundtable discussion held by the Murray County Central FFA Chapter.

Eight local individuals from different walks of life volunteered their time and expertise as the interested female students in grades 7-12 gathered in the MCC High School auditorium on the afternoon of Tuesday, Nov. 21.

Panelists included:

• Monica Miller, Office and Admin Specialist at Southwest Minnesota State University and Farmwife/Mom/Meal Planner/ Bookkeeper/“Go-For” Gal

• Elsie Risacher, Owner & Operator at Simonson Farms

• Kim Hause, Youth Developent Extension Educator at Murray County 4-H

• Dr. Jenn Reith, Veterinarian and Owner at Rural Legacy Veterinary Clinic

• Seanna Swenson, Freshman Studying Ag Business at Ridgewater Technical College

• Cheryl Heard, Natural Resrouces Conservation Service District Team Leader

• Missy Biren, Owner/Agent at Farmers Agency of Avoca

• Grace Miller, Service Writer and Office Administrator at C&B Operations Slayton After the keynote speakers introduced themselves, FFA secretary Callie Platt asked the first of a series of pertinent questions having to do with the ups and downs and the ins and outs of the ag industry.

Panelists took turns answering questions and offering insights for the MCC students in attendance.

Monica Miller

Miller’s various farm roles include tillage, planting, getting the seed and chemicals, doing the invoices and payments, paying the bills, placing the orders for seed and chemicals, reviewing the insurance policies, taking care of land transactions such as buying land, renewing contracts and reviewing leases for land that they rent, banking, helping make decisions regarding equipment purchases and sales, cooking and grant writing.

For advice, Miller suggested getting involved and trying new things. “Never stop growing,” she said. She also talked about the importance of being organized, but also knowing that things don’t always go according to plan so flexibility is important too.

Elsie Risacher

Risacher took over the family farm about five years ago when her parents retired. “Carrying on the family farm is something that has always been important to me,” Risacher said. “My sister wasn’t interested and I didn’t have any brothers, so I’m really proud I’m able to continue with that.”

She talked about learning to drive a tractor when she was 7 years old, and that she can fix about 95% of her equipment on her own.

Kim Hause

Hause admitted that she didn’t initially choose a career in agriculture but kind of fell into her position when Margie Anderson was in the process of retiring from Extension. Before Anderson retired, she was able to work hand-in-hand with her, which was key in helping keep the program going strong.

In addition to providing more insight about Extension, Hause also shared information about various opportunities that 4-H provides to youth. Ultimately, she encouraged the young women to keep and open mind, keep asking questions and keep learning. “You can make adjustments throughout life,” she said. “If it’s something you enjoy, keep learning about it. Ask questions about it. There’s always people willing to demonstrate how to get to where you want to get to, but you have to be the driving force to make it happen.”

Dr. Jenn Reith

Reith stated that she knew she wanted to be a veterinarian at a very young age.

She said the best part about her job is “building that community” with her clients. She also talked about that while there are a lot of rewards, there are also a lot of challenges. “It can be anything from dealing with weather to physically large animals, but I think the day-to-day communication with people, just trying to explain what’s going on, is probably the biggest challenge that you see every day.”

Reith said going through vet school was difficult, but was also one of the best and most fun things she’s ever done.

Seanna Swenson

As a student, Swenson is still searching for her ideal ag career, but said, “I think one of the big things that really helped me decide I wanted to work in ag was being involved with FFA, and just growing up on a farm and always being around to do chores or fieldwork,” Swenson said.

She encouraged the young women to keep an open mind before deciding what direction to go, stating that she first wanted to work with livestock, and now she thinks she may want to work with crops instead. “So just keep an open mind when you go to college,” she said.

Cheryl Heard

Setting goals is a key ingredient to success, Heard shared with the students. “There’s definitely a way you can raise your family and make a career in agriculture work,” she said. “You just have to plan ahead and organize.” One of Heard’s biggest accomplishments took place when her office helped bring in $2.2 million for Murray County this summer. “It all comes back to our families around here,” she said.

Missy Biren

Biren joked that she’s probably the only person who ever graduated from high school who actually wanted to be an insurance agent. She has been at Farmers Agency for eight years and an owner for two.

She said the best part about her job is helping people every day. Her least favorite part is that, as an independent agency which writes insurance for a lot of different carriers with lots of changes coming down right now, they don’t always get a say in how it affects their clients. “We insure a lot of farms in our area since we’re a rural community,” she said. Equipment is the most common thing they insure, but they also insure outbuildings like barns, hog confinements, machine sheds, and shops. They also insure land and crops.

Grace Miller

Miller works alongside a team of coworkers who are all men, but she doesn’t let prejudices or perceived limitations slow her down one bit. “Once they realized I wasn’t just a person who sits behind a desk and answers a phone, now it’s ‘Is Grace there?” It took quite a while for them to get used to a woman working with them every day,” Miller said.

She splits her time working alongside the technicians, but also performs office manager duties. She loves that her job is very diverse and encourages people to think outside the box when it comes to socalled job titles. “I can pretty much do anything,” Miller said. “Just because you have a title doesn’t mean you are stuck doing that. If you set your mind to do something or someone asks you to do something, in my line, I just do it. Find passion in it.”

Miller also pitches in with her husband on the farm, where they feed 70,000 head of isowean to finisher pigs and crop farm. She advocates for being flexible in finding the right postsecondary education for each individual. Having transitioned from a 4-year university to a 2-year college, Miller said she’s proof that it’s possible to find a good job in the ag industry without a 4-year degree.