MFA welcomes new conservation specialist

Emily Beck of Cameron, Mo., has joined MFA as the cooperative’s new natural resources conser­vation specialist. She comes to MFA from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in Chillicothe, where she served as soil conservation technician. She replaces Adam Jones, who moved into a new role as an MFA district sales manager.

“Ever since I was little, I had a passion for conserving the land,” Beck said. “I remember collecting monarch and other native caterpillar species, watching them complete their metamorphosis and learning what habi­tats they needed to thrive. I always wanted to travel and provide engaging information about conservation, and with this position I will be able to do a lot of that.”

Beck grew up on a century farm outside Cameron, where her family ran a diversified row-crop and hog operation. She graduated from Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville with a degree in agricultural science and minor in environmental studies.

Initially, Beck worked for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources as an environmental specialist in solid waste. She then took a position as soil technician with the Livingston County Soil and Water Conservation Dis­trict, assisting farmers with funding for resource concerns on their land, before being promoted to her most recent role with NRCS.

She and her husband, Colten, have been married three years and have a 4-year-old German shepherd named Stella and an 11-year-old Bernese mountain dog named Charlie. They have plans to purchase row-crop acreage of their own.

“I am chomping at the bit to be able to bring new ideas and conservation practices to MFA and a larger crowd than I was able to do while working for a single county as a technician,” Beck said. “MFA is partnered with a great wealth of resources and organizations with a vast network of knowledge that I can tap into and bring to the kitchen tables of our MFA constituents.”