Published: May 17, 2007 04:24 pm            

Land Minds: Graduates planting seeds of a career

Originally published in the May 18, 2007, print edition.

Spring is a time of new growth. For students, this time of year marks an end of one path and the beginning of another.

High school seniors are wrapping up an exciting time of their lives. They are the top dogs in their schools, but soon they will be leaving that behind for work or higher education, or both.

Each spring The Land recognizes two high school seniors who have chosen either agriculture or journalism as their path to higher academia. Each of these two youths will be receiving $250 scholarships to help them down that path.

This year, we honor Marissa Jensen of Owatonna High School and Justin Brown of Rushford-Peterson, both who plan to major in agronomy in college. Jensen plans to attend South Dakota State University in Brookings while Brown is heading north to attend the University of Minnesota.

Jensen is the daughter of Michael and Phyllis Jensen of Waseca, and Brown is the son of Keith and Anita Brown of Lanesboro.

Scholarship applicants wrote an essay explaining how they see themselves in the future in the field which they have chosen.

In his essay, Brown wrote of studying plant breeding in college because “the possibilities in biomass energy and fuels, and genetically modified plants are intriguing to me.

“I have seen all the good things these advances have brought to our environment, our economy and our health.” He wrote of the many fascinating developments that have come to agronomy already, and knowing that many more developments are on the horizon.

He wants to be a part of that journey.

Last summer he worked for a local Pioneer dealer scouting fields for disease, pests and populations, and he plans to return this spring and summer as well.

Brown also grows about 40 kinds of vegetables on 1/2 to 3/4 of an acre with the produce being sold at the Lanesboro Farmers Market through October. In addition to selling his produce Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings at the market, he is also on the market’s board of directors.

For the most part he sticks with the “traditional” produce crops. “I’ve found that the people really like the sugar pod peas, the kind where you eat the entire pod,” he said. This year he’s trying black pole beans, but he enjoys growing tomatoes the most. “You can eat them when you’re picking them.”

Even though the Farmers Market stays open through the last Saturday in October, Brown said he stays away from growing gourds or pumpkins for the seasonal interest. “I don’t like growing things that you can’t eat.”

Brown said he does all the work in his garden patch, with occasional watering help from his parents.

The Brown family runs 800 acres of corn, soybeans, oats and alfalfa, plus they have a 25-head beef cow-calf operation. Younger sisters Nikki, a junior in high school, and Taiya, a fifth grader, round out the Brown family.

Jensen, a Steele County dairy princess, wrote about tagging along with her father to the field, even at the age of 5.

Over the years of helping on the farm, her agronomic interest grew, asking her father questions about the crops and the necessary nutrients. Then she went with her father to Central Valley Cooperative where they met with the agronomist. “I was in awe of how Brian (Weller) knew everything possibly imagined about each one of our fields and could solve any pest or yield problems.”

That interest and insight landed Jensen a summer job with Central Valley as an assistant agronomist, a job she hopes to return to this summer.

Jensen looks forward to becoming an agronomist, hopefully staying in Minnesota. “With my background, I’d also like to stay close to dairy,” she said. The Jensens milk 45 Holsteins, out of a total herd of 110. The family also runs 450 acres of corn, beans and alfalfa. Marissa is the youngest of three, with two older brothers, Derek and Adam.

Jensen has finished up her term as chapter FFA reporter, and she is a member of the FFA dairy cattle evaluation team that will be competing in Scotland in June. She also played varsity tennis.

Both Brown and Jensen have their eye on the goal of becoming agronomists, and have been influenced by their experiences.

Though Brown is looking to defend his state Class A discus championship from 2006 and to better his second place finish in the state shot put, he is realistic to recognize where his real success will originate.

“Sports are fun, and you can learn life lessons through sports, and God gave me a lot of talent, but I am not going to be a pro athlete.” Instead, Brown looks to his experiences in FFA and as a member of the defending state Envirothon team as career making. “Envirothon is dear to my heart. ... with all the new technology and emerging technology, Envirothon really teaches you how all that works in the conservation of the land.”

Jensen and Brown see themselves working to improve producers’ bottom lines. “I just want to get out and help people get the most out of their crops,” Jensen said.

“I’ll just like being out in the field every day looking at things and solving farmers’ problems,” Brown said.

With these two in the fields, farmers should be able to see their yields grow right along with Brown and Jensen’s careers.

        

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