Drake Minear (B.S. Agricultural Systems Management ’18) and his wife Kaylee (Michael) Minear (B.S. Elementary Education ’18) graduated from Mizzou and returned to the farm. They now farm in Putnam County, Missouri, on a fifth-generation family operation. They produce an Angus cow-calf herd, background steers, row crop corn and soybeans. Additionally, Drake sells seed for Pioneer and Kaylee teaches elementary at Putnam County R-1 schools. While Kaylee was not a CAFNR student during her time at Mizzou, she was involved in Sigma Alpha Professional Sorority for Women in Agriculture, keeping her connection to the agricultural community in CAFNR.
Q: Why did you choose Mizzou?
A (Kaylee): Even though I always watched Mizzou football and basketball with my family growing up, I never imagined I could actually attend Mizzou. I saw myself attending an A+ school since that’s what most of my classmates did. As I entered high school and met Drake my junior year, I thought why not attend Mizzou with him? I can do that, and I did just that!
A (Drake): My family bleeds black and gold. Both of my grandpas, grandmother, mother, father and brother all attended the University of Missouri. My grandpas, dad and brother all were in the Fraternity of Alpha Gamma Sigma. Growing up every fall we attended about every Mizzou home football game. My grandparents also had season tickets since before my father was in college. It was a rite of passage to attend the University of Missouri and join Alpha Gamma Sigma to keep the family legacy alive. My brother and I now also hold the same season ticket seats that my grandparents had since the ‘80s
Q: Why did you choose your degree program?
A (Kaylee): I loved the idea of being able to give back to a community while helping students learn. There’s nothing that compares to teaching a child and getting to know them while having a positive impact on them and their future. I also love that teaching allows me to have summers off so I can spend them with my family helping on the farm.
A (Drake): Growing up on the family farm, I wanted to stay in the field of agriculture. Leaving my small town at first made me want to pursue an agribusiness management degree and get a job outside of a farm to see the agricultural field from a different view. However, being away from the farm for four years I changed my mind and wanted to return to the farm, so getting the degree in Agricultural Systems Management (now Agricultural Systems Technology) made the most sense to obtain.
Q: How did you decide to go back to the farm after graduation?
A (Kaylee): It worked out well for me to follow Drake because my family roots are in Milan with my family’s farm in Green City, which is only 45 minutes from my husband’s family farm. Being close to family is everything to me. I also knew I wanted my future kids to grow up on a family farm too.
A (Drake): After being in Columbia and living in the city for a few years it made me want to return to the slow life of the country. Going home on weekends to help out only solidified my decision that I wanted to return home once I had my degree to help on the farm.
Q: How did your CAFNR experience help you in making that decision and how does it help you now as you farm full time?
A (Drake): The CAFNR experience gave me so many connections in the field of agriculture, which made my decision to go back home so much easier. I knew I could fall back on so many friends and acquaintances if I ever had questions or hardships that I would face.
Q: What advice would you give a potential CAFNR student that wants to return to the farm after college?
A (Drake): Be active in every organization possible, make friends along the way, don’t be scared to put yourself out there to people you don’t know. Connect with your professors and reach back out to them even after graduating. Those connections may help make your farm the most successful in the future, especially your professors.