Hometown: Butler, Mo.
County: Bates
Family members: Mom, Myra
Off-The-Farm Career: “I graduated from Kansas State University with a Bachelor’s in Animal Science May 2020 and worked as a Vet Tech at H&E West MO Veterinary Clinic during Covid-19 to gain some work experience. During my time at the clinic I devided to start my Master’s Degree online through University of Nebraska-Lincoln. After a semester of being online they asked me to transition to in-person. I earned my Master’s of Science with an emphasis in Ruminant Nutirtion. My research for my Master’s degree focused on methane inhibitors in feedlot diets.
“During my last few months of my master’s I had the opportunity to take a job with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association as Associate Director of Sustainability Projects on the Producer Education & Sustainability team. My advisor at UNL and I decided that this was an opportunity that was something that I could not pass up. I started at NCBA while finishing up my master’s degree by being online for the last 3 months.
“In my role at NCBA I have the pleasure of being the program manager for the Environmental Stewardship Award Program which is one of the most prestigious awards in the cattle industry. With this program we award 7 regional winners and 1 national winner across the US on their outstanding stewardship of their land and livestock. This award program acts as a platform to help these producers share their stories with fellow producers, consumers and policymakers.
“Also in this role I work on critical projects related to the sustainability of the beef industry. Some of these projects include grazing management plans, succession planning and grazingland conversion. With these projects I develop educational materials for producers to utilize to improve the sustainability of their operations.”
Farming Operation: “I grew up on a cow/calf operations while my parents primarily had commercial pairs and I had purebred Angus pairs. After the passing of my Dad I made the difficult decision to sell out so that I could focus on college and a future career.
“I grew up showing livestock on a local, state and national level. During my time showing I was able to get involved in multiple organizations and associations. This time in those really showed me that I appreciated the work that they do to support our industry. That appreciation led to my desire to work for an association representing the cattle industry. My background, lessons learned and appreciation gained for the aspects of the cattle industry are now being lived out daily in my work.
“While I miss raising cattle with my career at NCBA I get to support cattle producers every day and that gives me a great sense of pride. Also being from a small agriculture town will always be one of humbling characteristics and what shaped me into the person I am today.
“It is extremely rewarding to give back to an industry that gave me so much when I was younger.”
