Ashley Hanks

Farm News, like many residents of Iowa, has been watching with pride the graduates who emerge with agronomy-related degrees in the spring of 2024 class. We interviewed a few energetic and inspiring young, promising minds to see what the future holds for them and the impact they hope to make on the future of farming. Here are their answers in their own words.

David Wedemeyer

Hometown: Lake City

High School: South Central Calhoun

Parents: Alan and Annette Wedemeyer

David Wedemeyer

Did you grow up on a farm?

I grew up on our small family farm just outside of Lake City where we grew various grains, vegetables, and hay. My family also raised laying hens and broiler chickens. We sold most of the vegetables, eggs, and processed broiler chickens at our local farmers markets.

After I joined 4-H, my family and I began a small cow-calf operation for raising calves that could be shown at the Calhoun County Expo and later sold at the sale barn. I continued raising cattle until I left for Iowa State University in 2020, but I hope to start raising them again now that I have returned home.

College attended: Iowa State University

Degree: Bachelor’s degree in agronomy with a minor in ag systems technology, and a certificate in soil science

Nolan Grove

What attracted you to your field of study? I grew up working with my family and neighboring farmers where I learned all about crop production, livestock production, and basic mechanics.

This was always something I was passionate about and was excited to be a part of because every day was something new — not only hard work but also rewarding. Agronomy was full of classes from seed science to soil conservation. I was attracted to precision agriculture after my second summer internship at NEW Cooperative working with their agronomy and precision ag teams and working on yield monitor and moisture sensor combine kit installations and rebuilding anhydrous toolbars. I added an ag systems technology minor that offered more precision ag classes. These classes were hands-on precision technology from GIS and GPS field mapping to hands on tearing down and rebuilding tractor engines.

Job found/job seeking: After my summer internship, I was offered a job at NEW Cooperative as an agronomy sales tech.

Location preference: I would like to stay within the northwest part of Iowa but am excited to see where the world of agriculture takes me.

What will you miss most about college? Being in class talking to friends and professors about class or just about anything. Being in class with mostly farm kids and ag professors meant the conversations would normally be about the weather, how the crops were, or old stories from the past.

Sally Geckler

Tate Phillips

Hometown: Holstein

High School: Ridge View High School

Parents: Curt and Kristal Phillips

Tate Phillips

Did you grow up on a farm? I grew up on a row crop and cattle operation. We grow corn, soybeans, alfalfa, and sometimes rye. We also run a cowherd of predominantly Angus-based cows and finish their calves in our feedlot.

College: Iowa State University.

Degree: Animal science

What attracted you to your field of study?

I’ve always loved working with cattle, and I thought this was the best degree I could get to match my interest; I was able to take a few agronomy classes such as the forages class that would allow me to learn information about agronomy while having it still apply to my livestock operation.

Wyatt Bailey

Job found/job seeking: I will be going back to school in the fall, being accepted to the University of South Dakota’s law program; however, I still work on the home farm during the summers and the weekends.

Location preference: After law school, I will be moving back to Holstein.

What will you miss about college? It was the best four years of my life. What I’m going to miss the most is seeing the friends that I made. I was in Alpha Gamma Rho which gave me some of my best memories. My class took some great trips, like going to Oklahoma State for football games and exploring the bar scene down in Stillwater, or just this past year we rented a house in Gulf Shores for spring break. Even when we went to the bars in Ames, we always had fun.

Ashley Hanks

Hometown: Rockwell City

High School: South Central Calhoun

Parents: John and Kari Hanks

Did you grow up on a farm? I grew up outside of town and, while my family does not farm, my dad helps farmers, and I have done so myself.

Colleges: Iowa Central Community College and Iowa State University

Degrees: Associate of Art and Bachelor of Science in agronomy

What attracted you to this field of study? I found my passion to be an agronomist by talking with my dad’s agronomist and taking agricultural classes in high school. I have helped run grain carts, helped check rootworm traps throughout the summer, sorted seed bags, and treated seeds with my dad.

Job found/job seeking: I got a job with Nexus Cooperative in Alden, Minnesota, working as an agronomist associate. I will be training for a year to learn the production side of the company and then have my own sales territory in Minnesota. I am passionate about helping farmers get the most out of their fields, and I would love to offer them the best seeds and products.

Location preference: I want to remain close to Iowa or move back to Iowa someday. If I could return to Iowa, I would love to be an agronomist back home and work closely with my dad and the seed company he is a part of.

What will you miss about college? Seeing my friends on campus and in all my classes.

Sally Jo Geckler

Hometown: Guthrie Center

High School: Adair-Casey-Guthrie Center High School

Parents: Scott and Carla Geckler

Did you grow up on a farm? I did not grow up on a farm but was heavily active in 4-H and livestock throughout my life.

Colleges attended: Iowa Central Community College and Iowa State University.

Degrees: Associate of Science degree in engineering and Bachelor of Science with a double major in agronomy and seed science.

What attracted you to your field of study? Agronomy and seed science was the perfect combination for my interests in chemistry, research and agriculture. Also, some convincing from Dr. Mary Wiedenhoeft (interim department chair of agronomy at ISU) helped me realize the degree has endless potential.

Job found/job seeking: Currently employed with Corteva Agriscience as a field science Intern. After the summer, I am looking for an agronomist or crop consulting position.

Preference of where you want to live: Northwest or west-central Iowa.

Is there anything you would like to share? I have been accepted into the Master of Science Program at Iowa State University for agronomy and will attend in the fall of 2024.

What will you miss most about college? I’m going to miss the atmosphere the most. People from all over the country come to study the same major and learn from each other. I met some of my best friends through ISU’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Nolan Grove

Hometown: South English

High School: English Valley

Parents: Daniel and Jennifer Grove

Did you grow up on a farm? Yes, my dad and uncle raise beef cattle, forages and row crops.

Colleges: Des Moines Area Community College and Iowa State University

Degree: Agronomy

What attracted you to your field of study? Growing up on a farm is what first created my interest in agriculture. Going to college, I felt a disconnect with the farm life, but this increased my longing to be involved in agriculture on the plant and soil science side.

Job found/job seeking: Conservation agronomist for Heartland Co-op in Central Iowa.

Location preference: Currently in the Ames area but eventually back to the farm in South English.

What will you miss about college? The relationships. Students usually have the time and social bandwidth to make friends; I will miss that about college. I’ve made many friends in college that I will miss, but I will still see some of them in Ames. Finally, I thank God, my family, and my friends for getting me here, and I’m looking forward to the next steps in life. Proverbs 16:9

Wyatt Bailey

Hometown: Mitchellville

High School: Bondurant-Farrar High School

Parents: Dwayne and Kimberly Bailey

Did you grow up on a farm? I grew up on a small acreage where my family and I raised a herd of around 20 beef cattle. We raise chickens for eggs and meat production, and I grew up with our roughly one-acre garden where we also grew much of the food we consumed as a family.

College and degree: I graduated from Iowa State University in December 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in agronomy and seed science. I continued my education at Iowa State where I am currently pursuing a master’s degree with co-majors in entomology and soil science.

What attracted you to your field of study? I grew up in a small Iowa community rich in agriculture. As I got older, the once-small town that I knew had quadrupled in population size, and I watched as field after field on the outskirts of town were destroyed and developed into residential neighborhoods. When I began the search for a college education, I was looking for one that would fulfill my passion for plant science and that would provide many opportunities here in Iowa. Through my experiences in 4-H and FFA, it wasn’t long before I found my future in agronomy. Despite my family not farming row crops, I was surrounded by agronomy from a young age — and now after receiving an education in agronomy, I can say I made the most excellent choice.

Job found/job seeking: I still have roughly two years left of my master’s program, but I am always on the lookout for career opportunities. Although nothing is set in stone, I’m leaving my doors open to either join the agronomic industry someday or further my education in pursuit of a Ph.D. in agronomy or a related field of study.

Location preference: Central Iowa is where I have always called and (ideally) where I intend to always call home.

What will you miss most about college? What I miss most about my undergraduate time in college was the freedom to carve my own path. Every day was unique with every hour being filled with being involved in clubs, studying for classes, hanging out with friends, and pursuing coursework that I, more often than not, truly enjoyed.

The one opportunity that I was actively involved in throughout my time in college was the Iowa State University Crops Judging Team. This single course, which I repeatedly took for six semesters, taught me more agronomic knowledge than I ever thought possible. As a team, we got to travel across the United States to compete in collegiate contests about plant, insect, disease, and seed identification, agronomic math, farmer’s problems, and much more. I met so many friends from Iowa State and beyond that I will continue to have relationships with beyond college. This course: Crops Practicum (Agron3310) at Iowa State is the one course that I will always recommend to every student in any major close to agronomy.