Article 4 Profile Final Draft; Morningside sophomore continues to cultivate her passion for agriculture.

Photo Courtesy of Megan Drey

At first glance, sophomore Megan Drey may not seem like your typical farmer. With her long dark hair and the largest grin ever seen on a person, her welcoming attitude and caring tone wouldn’t lead you to believe she spends her day working alone in a field. But, this young and outgoing woman has a passion for land like no other. 

Drey grew up working on her family farm in Early, Iowa, with her parents and two sisters. Since there were no boys, all three daughters would be on call to help her father with the farm chores.

One job Drey helps with is the castrating of the pigs. This last summer, Drey was helping with this chore, holding the pigs as her dad did the cutting. 

“I don’t have any boots so I just wear his and they are a bit big,” Drey said.

She had just put a pig down and was going to catch another one but felt something in her boot. She told her dad to hold the pig she just picked up while she dumped out her boot, because she felt something in it. 

“I found out that he accidentally threw one of the pig’s balls in my boot,” Drey said. “He just laughed because he knows how much I hate doing that job.”

Despite the messy and unpredictable work the farm offers, Drey enjoyed helping her father as a child. 

“Megan has always been so willing to come help me with any chore that needs to be done. Even when she’s on school breaks, she’ll wake up early to come drive the graincart or wagons and spend the day out on the field until about 6 or 7 p.m.,” Dean Drey, Drey’s father, said.

Even though she’s willing to spend her days on the field and in the barn, she never thought that she would be doing any type of agriculture for a career.

“Once I came to college and was away from the farm for the first time, I realized how much I missed it and that’s when I decided that’s what I really like to do,” Drey said.

Drey decided to come to Morningside College, only an hour away from home, to double major in applied agriculture and food studies and accounting, with a minor in business. 

“My dream job after graduation is to potentially work at a Farm Credit of Farm Bureau office, serving farmers either being an insurance agent or being an ag lender,” Drey says. “I really want to be able to have a job that allows me to be flexible so I can go back and work on the family farm.”

Drey’s love for agriculture is so big that she not only works in Agriculture department, but is also the Treasurer of the Ag Club. The club allows her to be a leader on top of working with familiar materials. 

“Megan works well with others and is willing to participate in a variety of activities. She was actually a part of a group of students that represented Morningside at the 2019 National Future Farmers of America convention in Indianapolis, receiving first place in the categories of ‘Community Service’ and ‘Fellowship’ in the Alpha Tau Alpha Conclave. They competed against 10 other schools including Division 1 schools,” Agriculture Club advisor, Daniel Witten, said.

Only on her second year, Drey has some time to go before she can live her dream of working with farmers as well as on her farm. Until then, she plans to continue working on her father’s farm when she goes back home for breaks and weekends, further increasing her love for the independent, diligent work the farm offers her.