As the office manager at her
family’s Missouri Valley
Commission Company in
Boonville, Savannah said she often
sees more cattle than people while
on the job. She also backgrounds
cattle with her grandfather, writes a
column in the monthly
Cattlemen’s Advocate newspaper
and helps manage a small trucking
operation.
In the future, Savannah hopes
to focus on expanding her business,
Savannah’s Farm Fresh. Working
with FCS Financial to do that, she
markets locally raised beef in
mid-Missouri.
“I love the idea of raising cattle
from pasture-to-plate, and I think
our local communities have a lot to
gain from this kind of operation,”
she said. “From buying feed at
Shelton’s Seed or spending
processing dollars at Center Locker
Service, I think keeping our money
local does a lot of good.”
Savannah lives in Centralia
with her dog, Bear.
ERIN CHRISTOPHER - CAMERON
Erin received an associate’s degree
before attending North Central
Missouri College’s dental hygiene
program and graduating in 2016.
Currently a dental hygienist at
Brooks Family Dentistry in St.
Joseph, Erin received the Missouri
Dental Hygiene Most Outstanding
Student Award at graduation.
In the future, Erin would like
to further her education and is
considering a career working with
animals. She resides in Kidder,
Missouri.
MALLORY EARLY - LEETON
A May 2015 graduate of Missouri
State University, Mallory received
her bachelor’s degree in agriculture
communications, minor in
photography. She continued her
education at Iowa State University
pursuing a master’s in agriculture
education with an emphasis in
communications.
At both universities, Mallory
was active within the agriculture,
photography and design programs.
She was a member of Block and
Bridle Club, Agriculture
Communicators of Tomorrow and
Photography Club and was a
teacher’s assistant for an agriculture
presentations class.
“My passion is agriculture
photography, and both universities
had wonderful photography
programs that provided unique
opportunities to learn about
different methods of photography
that are not used in the agricultural
industry,” Mallory said. “I was able
to create a portfolio that I am
proud to show to anyone.”
Currently, Mallory is
employed with Liveauctions.tv
where she travels the United States
broadcasting livestock sales on the
Internet. She also owns her own
photography business.
“I get to meet many new
people within the livestock
industry and help them market
their livestock,” she said. “With
Liveauctions.tv, I work with a lot of
technology and getting my degree
in communications prepared me to
work with a variety of technologies.
I also learned a lot about marketing
and helping farmers market their
livestock the right way.”
Mallory also said that being
able to take a variety of
photography classes opened her
eyes to different techniques that
she might not otherwise have been
able to learn.
“Now that I’m out of school I
have more time to build my
photography business,” she said. “I
am getting to use my photography
skills to help farmers promote their
livestock. I am so grateful for how
much my business has grown in
the past six months.”
Mallory’s future goals include
becoming known as one of the best
livestock photographers in the
country. She is also expanding her
cattle operation raising Simmental
and SimAngus. Currently Mallory
resides in south central Iowa. She’s
engaged to Layne Robinson. In
December, both will begin
working on a Red Angus farm in
the area.
RACHEL ECHTERNACHT - LEONARD
A May 2016 graduate of Truman
State University, Rachel received a
B.S. degree in accounting and
finance, minor in agricultural
business. She pursued a master’s
degree in accountancy and
graduated in May 2017. In
addition, Rachel passed four
certified public accountant exams
this past summer and is currently
HEARTBEAT | WINTER 2017 15