Networking to New Beginnings
CALS student graduates with job in-hand
Morgan Meyers never thought she’d find herself going into the field of irrigation technology, but her experiences at the University of Idaho ended up leading her straight to it.
Throughout her college career, Meyers discovered that taking advantage of opportunities was about so much more than taking a trip — her experiences have enabled her to make lifelong comradery, gain hands-on experiences and create a network that has enabled her to have a career waiting for her upon graduation.
Growing up in Stanwood, Washington, Meyers always enjoyed being around horses and cattle and knew she had an interest in agriculture at a young age. She will graduate with a degree in agricultural economics: agribusiness emphasis from U of I’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences in spring 2019.
Opportunity Awaits
At U of I, Meyers had the opportunity to travel to a variety of different conferences to help augment her education, including participation in several Agricultural Future of America (AFA) institutes and conferences. AFA works to build bridges for young leaders to foster engagement and innovation in food and agriculture.
“I started out as a delegate attending the conference and then became an AFA ambassador for our university, working to promote AFA and their opportunities for students on U of I’s campus. I was constantly keeping in contact with professionals, growing my network and growing as a leader,” she said.
Initially, Meyers thought she wanted to work in the livestock sector, but through her experiences with AFA, her perspective was opened up to the entire agricultural industry.
“AFA really opened me up to a lot of different aspects of agriculture that I never expected to like or enjoy, like the crop science side of agriculture in general,” she said.
Networking to Success
Meyers had the opportunity to attend multiple AFA institutes, with one in particular leading her down the path to her future career.
“I found the company I’m going to be working for while attending the AFA Technology Institute hosted in conjunction with the Commodity Classic,” she said. “I had the opportunity to network with the company Crop Metrics, who had their head agronomist there, and it led to an internship.”
Crop Metrics provides full service irrigation solutions, collecting data and creating recommendations for optimal irrigation to achieve higher crop yields. Meyer interned with the company in summer 2018.
“In my internship I got to do a little bit of everything, field installations of the product, meeting with growers to educate them on technology and systems, present at field days, and manage about 80 different accounts on irrigation recommendation,” she said.
Meyers is looking forward to a career in a field that at first seemed like an unlikely interest of hers.
“I’m excited to be able to work with people who are dedicated to their work and passionate about their livelihoods, it’s a rewarding experience,” she said. “In agriculture, no matter what I’m doing I’ll be helping the world become a better place and helping growers to feed the world more effectively.”
New Beginnings
Meyers credits a lot of her success at U of I to the faculty and staff in CALS that helped her along the way.
“Without people like Dr. Aaron Johnson and Elizabeth Bullers, I wouldn’t have had the career advice and support professionally to get where I am today. The ability to have a close interaction with faculty and build the relationships necessary to excel my personal and professional development were crucial,” she said. “I know I have resources to come back to with the relationships I’ve built here.”
After graduation, Meyers will move to central Washington to start her career in technology and irrigation as a sales specialist for Crop Metrics in the Pacific Northwest. She will primarily recruit and train a network of dealers to sell products, recruiting retail partners and creating large farm accounts.
“I really want to make an impact on the growers I work with, help them to make farming more profitable and sustainable, and to contribute to making better water management practices more well known,” she said.
Article by Hannah Doumit, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
Published in May 2019
