Stefanie Ray, RSA
What is your role with Stine? How long have you been with the company, and what are your day-to-day responsibilities?
I have been a regional sales agronomist for two years. I work directly with independent sales representatives to build their business. That includes account management, agronomy, organizing meetings and sales/agronomy trainings, regional programs, rewards, promotional items and team building.
Why is Stine a good fit for you?
Stine is a family-owned company that puts the farmer first.
What drew you into an occupation in agriculture?
I grew up on a farm, and farming has always been a passion of mine since I can remember. There are no better people to work with than farmers.
Why should women consider a career in agriculture?Agriculture is a growing industry. From farming to seed production to agronomy and more, there are many opportunities available to women in the ag industry. I work with many at Stine, and I see many women involved in farming operations when I visit customers in my region.
What’s your one piece of advice for a woman who’s considering a role in the ag industry?
There are many opportunities for women in agriculture, including leadership roles. My best piece of advice is don’t hesitate. Don’t hold yourself back from succeeding in an industry that welcomes women and has a variety of career opportunities to choose from.
Maria McEnany, Soybean Research Associate
What is your role with Stine? How long have you been with the company, and what are your day-to-day responsibilities?
I’ve been a soybean research associate for Stine’s soybean nursery group since I started in January 2015. My day-to-day responsibilities vary throughout the year. My responsibilities include helping organize and record information for our crossing blocks and other related nursery projects. This includes assisting with the setup of different aspects related to planting, tissue sampling, crossing and harvesting the seed. I am responsible for helping record all crosses that we attempt in our summer crossing blocks. Other responsibilities I have include assisting in the setup of the appropriate materials for these projects, which includes printing labels and tags for tissue/seed sampling and harvest envelopes for seed produced in the nursery trials. Reviewing seed sample results and assisting with the review of tissue sample results are two other responsibilities of my role.
Why is Stine a good fit for you?
When comparing the number of employees and locations that other companies have, Stine is a smaller, family-oriented company, and that is what makes it great. You’re not constantly having to deal with the restructuring of job positions, total elimination of positions or locations like with other companies that have merged together. Since I began working at Stine, the nursery group, with a couple exceptions, has stayed the same group of individuals which has given us the opportunity to get to know one another better allowing us to better function as a team.
What drew you into an occupation in agriculture?
There are several reasons that I was drawn to an occupation in agriculture. I come from a family that is very involved in the agriculture industry. My dad was an agricultural educator for 38.5 years, my mom was raised on a dairy farm and currently works for the Story County Farm Bureau and six out of seven kids in my family have chosen occupations in the agricultural industry. Participation in 4-H, FFA and the PAS Organization (Post-Secondary Agricultural Students) are all activities that helped to further my interest in agriculture through the various activities these organizations offer to their members. The majority of the jobs I had before graduating college were directly related to agriculture. I rogued and detasseled seed corn in high school. While in college, I had the opportunity to work with corn, soybeans and even rice through the various companies and groups I worked with. My overall reason for choosing an occupation in agriculture is because I have always had an interest in expanding my knowledge of plant genetics to improve crops to help meet global needs in the future.
Why should women consider a career in agriculture?
Women should consider a career in agriculture because, just like any other industry out there, we need a diverse set of minds to help promote and grow the agriculture industry.
What’s your one piece of advice for a woman who’s considering a role in the ag industry?
My piece of advice for any woman who is currently in or interested in the ag industry is you are capable of doing anything, and never let others stop you from achieving your goals