Bri Kahl
Precision Agronomist & Seed Operations Lead
Seed Catalyst: Sprouting from Intern to Lead
Growing up in Wisconsin
Growing up on a dairy farm in rural Wisconsin, Bri’s family milked around 300 cows and grew cash crops. She and her siblings were very involved in the family dairy as kids and it was there that she gained her love for livestock and agriculture. Bri helped with milking and a variety of other tasks on the farm. Feeding calves was not always Bri’s favorite chore until she realized how important healthy calves are for the farm’s future. Once she realized her impact, feeding and caring for the calves became Bri’s favorite chore. From this point on, Bri knew she wanted to continue her path in becoming a woman in agriculture.
Agriculture is the Dream
From a young age, Bri knew her dream career path laid within agriculture. After high school, she headed to UW-Platteville to major in Animal Science. During a few summers between college semesters, she started at PCE as an intern. She worked as an agronomy intern at our Dakota Co-Op location and decided to come back to the company after attaining her Bachelor of Science from UWP. Currently, Bri works as a Precision Agronomist and as our Seed Operations Lead.
Mentors that Built
Bri grew up to be daddy’s little girl when she was very young and would often escape housework to help her dad outside on the farm. She admires her father for his can-do attitude and his ability to lead by example. The many hours spent together working on the farm allowed Bri to grasp onto many of her dad’s best qualities and life lessons. Through these experiences, Bri believes her father to be her greatest role model through life.
Community Involvement
Into her adult life, Bri began to find joy in giving back to the local community. For the past few years, she has been involved with an event called Food for America, which is held in Bri’s hometown. During this event, educational stations are set up around a local farm for students to cycle through during the day. For the past three years, Bri has led the beef station and educates students on beef production operations. She always finds the kids’ questions to be fun to answer and enjoys teaching them about agriculture.
Personality and Passion
As many coworkers may agree, Bri knows how to have fun but she also knows when a job needs to be completed. She tends to be carefree but understands the value in a job well done. She loves spending time with her family, cooking and enjoying food, and taking care of her 20 head herd of beef cattle. Bri and her husband’s beef cattle herd is an assortment of breeds, and Bri enjoys spending time with and taking care of the herd. If Bri could be anyone in the world, she would choose to be a full-time farmer. Her dream is to own some land and a larger herd of beef cattle. If anyone is interested in helping Bri towards her goal, please consider donating to the “Buy Bri a Farm Fund” which can be found on the front counter of the Dakota Co-Op.
Advice for Women in Agriculture
When thinking of other women in agriculture, Bri advises them to not avoid the hard things. Sometimes a job is difficult, but its important to work through those challenges. Bri also shared one of her favorite sticky note quotes that states, “Fix your ponytail and handle it.” Bri believes that to better the industry for other women, she must do the best she can in order to showcase her capabilities. She hopes that her hard work and determination will inspire young women to work hard toward their own goals. Her most important life lessons learned are that you cannot be everyone’s cup of tea and that things are not always black and white. She encourages young women to be themselves, work hard, and approach situations with an open mind.
Day in the Life: Working with Seed
A typical day for Bri during busy season involves quite a few phone calls to teammates and producers. She heads to our Freeport warehouse where seed treatment takes place. She begins by working on logistics for delivery and treating for the day. Bri helps with sorting seed, assembling maps for seed delivery, treating seed, and counting and organizing inventory. She favors the busy season of her job as she enjoys the hustle and the reward in seeing a hard day of work complete. Watch Bri in seed treating action here!
The #PCECommunity would like to thank Bri for all her hard work and for being such a positive and strong role model for young women in agriculture. You are appreciated!
Learn more about our Agronomy department here!
