Megan Guy

Diseases, your insects, and your weeds: all of those have a little bit different approach.

A lot of the times I think people don't understand that we're not just spraying, we have to take sustainable steps to make sure that we're not creating a bigger issue because of resistance and spraying more than we need to.

 

Dusty Weis

Welcome to the FARMSMART Podcast, presented by Nutrien Ag Solutions, where every month we're talking to sustainable agriculture experts from throughout the industry. 

As the leading source of insight for growers on evolving their sustainability practices while staying grounded in agronomic proof, FARMSMART is where sustainability meets opportunity.

 

Ryan Adams

We don't just talk change, we're out in the field helping you identify products, practices and technologies that bring the future to your fields faster. I'm Ryan Adams, Director of Digital Sustainability.

 

Sally Flis

And I'm Dr. Sally Flis, Director of Sustainable Ag Programs, and we're joined here today by Megan Guy, Crop Consultant from Dansville, New York for Nutrien Ag Solutions. 

Hi, Megan. 

 

Megan Guy

Good morning, guys.

 

Sally Flis

Megan, we're recording at the New York Farm Show live in Syracuse today. Of course, there's a lot of diversity that you guys deal with here that people probably don't think about when they think about agriculture in New York. What are you looking forward to seeing at the show this weekend?

 

Megan Guy

I’ve been looking forward to kind of branching out. I work with corn and beans and potatoes but being able to talk to some other people that are doing a little bit different than what I do in the small part of New York and Dansville, I've been really excited to talk to those people.

 

Sally Flis

Can you explain a little bit for our listeners where Dansville is located? Because most people when I say I'm from Buffalo still start talking about New York City, which is not anywhere near New York City either.

 

Megan Guy

Yeah, so I usually explain it as an hour south of Rochester, and if you blink you'll miss it, but it's just a small, cute little town and really hilly, so we like it.

 

Ryan Adams

Well, Megan, you're one of the youngest members of our team with Nutrien Ag Solutions and you just graduated from Penn State. Congratulations. 

But you've already got a lot of experience in the field. Could you tell us a little more about your experience and kind of where you came from in your career so far to get you here today?

 

Megan Guy

So, I grew up on a small farm 20 minutes from my location. We raised Herefords and my dad kind of got me into what Ag is just a little bit. And from there I decided to go for plant science at Penn State. I did an internship with Cornell in Western New York Crop Management and then I got hired here and this is kind of the dream.

 

Ryan Adams

As a plant science person myself, I gotta ask, you grew up with cattle, so what drove you to going through plant sciences?

 

Megan Guy

The cattle drove me to go away from the cattle. 

But yeah, I'm into the plants. They don't talk back.

 

Ryan Adams

And you don't have to scoop after them, which is always a plus.

 

Megan Guy

That is definitely a plus.

 

Sally Flis

What are some of the things that you're doing in the field day to day with our grower customers, Megan?

 

Megan Guy

So, I try to balance it out. I love talking to everybody. Just, I check in. You come into the shop, somebody's working on a tractor. What are you doing? You know? 

So, I try to keep in touch with them to understand what they're going through in their day, how busy it is. So, I know when's a good time to talk about certain things but also spend a lot of time in the field looking at the crops and scouting is a huge thing for me. 

So, we like to know not only what the farmer's thinking about what our next move is supposed to be but also being in the field to see what's going on to know what that next move should be.

 

Ryan Adams

You mentioned some of those things you like to talk about with growers. What are some of those things, if we unpack that thing box, what do you talk about?

 

Megan Guy

So knowing where they're at, like you show up and right now it's winter and we were at somebody's place and he was talking about how he was cleaning up this or he had to fix this piece of machinery and knowing that, I can ask questions about, what are we doing with the planter? What can we go further with? Are you doing variable rate? 

Knowing what they're doing today helps me ask more questions about where we can do things different in my side of the aspect.

 

Sally Flis

You mentioned scouting as one of the things you work on with grower customers. Can you explain to us what that is a little bit more for listeners that might not know what we're scouting for when we're out in the field?

 

Megan Guy

Yeah, so diseases, your insects, and your weeds. All of those have a little bit different approach. 

But the huge thing is timing. We need to know when we're going to see these things so we know when we need to go look for them. Because if you're out looking for a certain insect when it's not going to be out yet or it's not in the right stage of its life cycle to find it, that's going to make a huge difference when you miss it later. 

We work a lot on scouting to know when to spray for the weeds, diseases later in the season because if we don't catch those early enough on the plants and then insects as they change life cycles, but it really comes down to you have to know what you're looking for and you have to know where to look. 

You can't just go out in one spot in the field and expect to find it there. You get out Colorado potato beetles you're gonna find on the edge of the field where you might have missed the spray. Flea beetles you'll find coming off when you're in strips next to wheat.

And then certain diseases, like early blight you'll find everywhere in potatoes, but different ones you want to go by the tree line to find those. You have to know where you're looking, when you're looking, and what it looks like. Those are like the main aspects.

 

Ryan Adams

When we were chatting earlier in preparation for the show we were talking about thresholds, and as you're scouting using those thresholds, could you talk a little bit about what thresholds are and what that role is they play in your scouting and recommendations? 
 

Megan Guy

Yeah, so a lot of the times I think people don't understand that we're not just spraying. So, like for weeds, we go out and we identify how many are there in roughly this area and how big are they, what are they, so that we know are we spraying for a broadleaf or are we spraying for a grass. 

And insects are a huge one with thresholds. If you're in alfalfa, you find a lot of different bugs in alfalfa. But when you go with a sweep net even, you're going to sweep up all those bugs. 

You will find the thresholds for aphids is like 50 to 250. You will find anywhere in between that before it even needs to become an issue to actually be addressed and spray for. 

So, we look a lot at that. And then there's a lot of tools for diseases as far as looking at the percentage of the leaf coverage that's there so that you know, OK, we see it, but how big of an impact is it taking from the plant in that aspect?

So thresholds are huge and it makes a difference in explaining it to the grower because if they see one thing and they get nervous about it you can go out there and know I saw it did see it but let's just hold on a minute and we'll see if it gets bad or where it's gonna go so that we know should we spray maybe later would be better so we can catch everything and kill it all.

 

Sally Flis

Yeah, so pest management is not usually something we talk about on the podcast as a pillar of sustainability because we focus a lot on the nutrient management piece. So, it's really interesting to hear about the sustainability aspect of that, because I know our downstream partners want to know are our growers practicing integrated pest management, how are growers using products? 

And I think having the explanation of how you go through that process and give a recommendation is super helpful because they very much think the same thing. We just go out there and spray because we can, and you're really putting a lot of science behind that decision. 

So after you've scouted the field and looked at that threshold, what are some of the conversations you've experienced with growers in making that recommendation? You mentioned sometimes growers want to spray just because they saw one. How do you talk them through getting to the right time and the right product?

 

Megan Guy 

Right, an example with flea beetles, I guess, right now. 

I have a very small area that we find them in, and it is such a pain. We don't have the perfect mix yet because they're really difficult, but the one grower I go to, I go and talk to him and he's like, you found them? And I'm like, yes, I found one. I found one on the edge of the field. 

So why don't we wait? Because I know it's going to get worse. And a lot of time they really understand it. They do. It’s just with specialty crops; you're going to get super nervous over that. Flea beetles can have a huge impact on potatoes. 

And so, a lot of the time, when I do go in and talk to them, they are really understanding. They're like, no, I trust your judgment. We'll wait, because if it does get worse and we already sprayed, you're already working towards building up that resistance against the spray, right? 

So, they know that we have to take sustainable steps to make sure that we're not creating a bigger issue because of resistance and spraying more than we need to because we don't. So they usually really understand it.

 

Ryan Adams

Building on that comment around it being more sustainable. What are some of the sustainability practices that you're seeing catch on with your growers?

 

Megan Guy

So, I'm seeing a lot of cover crops are becoming a big thing. I've seen a lot of guys go to that. No-till is coming up and a lot of guys are planting in strips too. 

A lot of my ground is a lot of hills, but they are stripping it between the corn and the potatoes and the wheat and everything. And it's having a big impact on, I think, our soil erosion and sustaining that and making sure that we have that diversification, which is better for all the organisms in the field, except for flea beetles. It is helping.

I think a lot of guys are open to doing new things. It's where they're at, how far can we go, you know?

 

Sally Flis

Yeah, so when we think about cover crops or tillage changes from a nutrient management standpoint, we're often having the conversations with our downstream partners about what else is going to have to change because people are just like, just do cover crops and it'll be okay and everything's going to be amazing. 

How do the changes like the introduction of a cover crop or a change in tillage practices impact how you approach or what you see for pest management?

 

Megan Guy

That's a good question. So, it can raise some new challenges, but it's also taking away others because you plant corn. If we don't have the right genetics, you're going to get rootworm and stuff, or soybeans, white mold. That stuff stays in the soil. 

And so, by rotating or doing the cover crops or all the strips, that's mitigating the issues that can occur in multiple corn after corn fields.

I think it's helping more than anything and it is creating diversity because you know when you're planting soybeans and then corn those are pulling different nutrients out of the soil and then also releasing different nutrients, you know, if we leave a cover crop on. 

And so, I think it is good for the soil health, and it is making an impact, and I know guys are seeing a difference with that.

 

Sally Flis

Megan, as I was in your position in my first job at the beginning of my career 20 years ago as a young female going out to talk to growers all by myself and trying to convince them that they should listen to my recommendations, how has that experience gone for you in an industry where you're probably dealing almost all with male growers when you show up the first time trying to build that relationship?

 

Megan Guy

It's been a little different. I have found that a lot of these growers are so loyal to Nutrien and they love what we're doing, and I think that's what gains the respect. We are a prestigious company. We are making an impact, and they respect that. 

But as a female in the industry, I've actually, I think, done a lot better than I was expecting. A lot of these guys are great people to work with and they're very open to what recommendations I have and they know I came from the university and they're open to hearing what I have to say and they've been very ready to take on a new generation and I think that's what everybody's excited about. 

We're getting to a point where we're seeing more and more young people coming on, and more women, and so I think everybody's very open-minded and kind of getting excited about it.

 

Ryan Adams

One more thing that popped into mind… during this podcast you've been talking about the knowledge you gained through university and how you apply that to the fields. You'd brought up a scholarship program there while we were chatting. Do you want to touch on that?

 

Megan Guy

So we are working with SUNY Cobleskill to provide a paid scholarship and internship for students interested in plant science, soil science, ag business. 

And that's a $2,500 paid scholarship and internship. So if anyone is interested in more information check out the SUNY Cobleskill website at the Center for Career Development, and you can find that out.

 

Dusty Weis

SUNY Cobleskill, the State University of New York at Cobleskill, which is a perfect segue into what we're going to talk about next here, actually. 

Because, Megan, we talk a lot on this podcast about how sustainability can mean different things to different people. But beyond just the practices and the products, agriculture as an industry simply is not sustainable if there is not an influx of a new generation of young people like you who want to have a career in it. 

So we want to continue this discussion about what is drawing young people like you into this field, how to get more of you, and that is coming up in a moment here on the FARMSMART Podcast.

 

Dusty Weis

This is the FARMSMART Podcast presented by Nutrien Ag Solutions. I'm Dusty Weis along with Sally Flis and Ryan Adams. And we're talking today with Megan Guy, crop consultant in Dansville, New York for Nutrien Ag Solutions. 

And we're also now joined by Deirdre Hickey, instructor of plant science at the State University of New York Cobleskill. 

Deirdre, thank you so much for joining us here at the New York Farm Show.

 

Deirdre Hickey

Well, thank you for the invitation. I do appreciate it.

 

Sally Flis

Deirdre, Cobleskill has been a part of the ag education landscape in New York for a long time. When I was in high school, it was a lot more two-year programs. You guys have a lot of four-year programs now. So, what are the different opportunities available for students looking to look at Cobleskill as an option going into the next couple of semesters coming up?

 

Deirdre Hickey

Well, we do have quite a few different programs as far as coursework goes in the Plant Science department that lends into the agricultural side. And we also, of course, have in our Ag Engineering department our infamous John Deere program, the Agricultural Machinery program. 

And in Plant Science and the Ag Engineering program, we have a course referred to as Precision Ag Applications. And that particular course took a look at the information coming out of our farm and the crops that they were growing and how well they were doing and the nutrients that were in the crops. They did a lot of studying on that along with soil analysis and plant nutrition. 

So, there's quite a few different aspects students can travel down, shall we say, to learn different parts of the agricultural industry. 

One of the courses that I like to refer students to is our Agricultural Chemicals course, which allows them to work with the instructor to gain their licensure in the DEC pesticide programs. So that's available. 

We also have some students right now referring to Megan's information on monitoring. They're working with the New York State IPM of New York program and the Scout School. So, we have two students taking that right now that I'm aware of. So, we do work with Dr. Elizabeth Lamb quite a bit in our program, referring to the different courses that we have. 

We have forage and field, crops, we have weed ID, so there's quite a bit there to choose from. Vegetable crop production, hydroponic production, it's varied. It's always something to do.

 

Sally Flis

Megan, what drew you to stay in ag when you went to Penn State instead of going into something totally different and not being related to agriculture after growing up on the farm?

 

Megan Guy

So I did my internship with Western New York Crop Management, not this past summer but the summer before, and I had never had so much field experience and I think that's kind of what drew me into it was I got to see crops every day scouting and I learned so much so quick even faster I think than I spent the three years in school.

But I think that's kind of where it came from was being able to be out there. The only thing that I missed out on that internship was what I have here in getting to talk to people because that's what I needed.

 

Ryan Adams

So, Deirdre, we hear a lot in the ag industry that it's often hard to find qualified young people to come in and fill the roles. I'm curious what your thoughts are on why that is.

 

Deirdre Hickey

I'm older, so I come from a generation of work hard… work smart but work hard. And we didn't have growing up what students have today growing up, which is the computers and the social networks and things like that. 

And so, I think a lot of it is the fact that they think that there's something there that's going to make them millions and trillions of dollars, but it comes right down to working hard.

 

And being aware of what is available and how to spin what it is they want to do into a degree or area or even into an employment opportunity.

 

Ryan Adams

With your experience, you found any tricks to get some of those young people more engaged or interested in ag as a career?

 

Deirdre Hickey

Interested in ag as a career, yeah, I have all kinds of things that we do.

One of the things that Cobleskill is really famous for is our hands-on applications of everything we try to teach. So, we'll teach something in lecture and turn right around in lab, and we'll do it. 

And I really try hard to bring in my own experience, 40 years in the green industry, and equate it to what they're working on now and showing them, okay, so you tried it this way, let's try it another way. So, I think having that experience in my back pocket has helped immensely.

And the fact that I just… it's plants! I don't care what kind of plants it is, I'll grow it.

 

Ryan Adams

So, you brought up there your 40 plus years of experience that you're drawing on. Over that time, have you noticed a change in students' interest in sustainable practices or conversation around sustainability?

 

Deirdre Hickey

Yes, absolutely. It's talked about. It's one of those buzzwords, you know, we talk about social media and the internet and everything else and that's one of those things that has come along with it. The fact that people are talking about it more and they're making it higher on the list as opposed to, well, yeah, we'll deal with it later. 

Making sure that we're not spraying when we don't have to, making sure that we're feeding the soil, cover crops, things of that nature. That's fabulous, absolutely fabulous.

 

Ryan Adams

Have you seen a shift from being that buzzword into the more substantive practices?

 

Deirdre Hickey

Practices. Absolutely, absolutely. With every conference that I go to. I just did one here not too long ago, and the big subject there were cover crops and how each cover crop worked to help the land in some way.

 

Sally Flis

So, Megan, as a young person just coming into your first year or so working in industry, how do you stay connected to other people in your peer group? What organizations or meetings are you finding the most connection to staying in touch with your classmates or colleagues?

 

Megan Guy

My whole crew was all farm people, so we all had our own experiences and I actually just ran into somebody I know from school and I do see a lot of people that I know at the farm shows the conferences and I meet people that know people that know those people. 

So, I usually end up between New York and Pennsylvania running into everybody somewhere or I get a text message: “Are you coming?” I'm like well if you're going I guess I can come so… It's easier than you think and we're all into ag, so we want to be at these things anyways.

 

Sally Flis

So to both of you guys and whoever wants to go first, what's one thing that all of us who work in ag could do to help encourage more young people to see ag as a career opportunity, especially those that aren't coming from a farm background to see all the different opportunities there are?

 

Deirdre Hickey

I would say start younger, not high school students. Start with the younger students in the elementary grades and show them this is where your food comes from. This is what we need to pay attention to going forward. 

And I think by starting at a younger age, by the time they get to where they're making decisions about what they want to do with their lives, you know, seventh grade, eighth grade, ninth grade, there will be more of a concentration of students, I believe, going into our area.

 

Megan Guy

Yeah, I would agree. I think that's a great take on it and would definitely make an impact. I would say exposure is huge. 

Going to college with a lot of these kids, they have no idea. And anything that they think is not right. So, I think getting people out, and even if we can't start younger, let's teach what farming is, not what you see on TV or what you see on the reels or whatever you're watching or reading that is not accurate. 

Let's bring people out to the farms. I've gotten some people into ag through that and I don't just sell, I want to teach people about what we do. And so I think exposure and getting people out to see what we're really doing would be awesome.

 

Dusty Weis

Boy, Megan, I think there is so much wisdom in that. 

In 2025, the more we can get people to see firsthand where their food is coming from and the less we can get them to learn about it on TikTok and Instagram, I think the better off that we're all going to be. 

And certainly we talk about sustainability a lot on this show. We talk about it from a global perspective. We talk about sustainability from an ROI perspective, but talking about it as a recruitment tool, as an opportunity to get more people interested in careers in agriculture, I think is a discussion that doesn't happen near enough. And we're certainly glad to have had it here today. 

So Megan Guy, crop consultant in Dansville, New York for Nutrien Ag Solutions, and Deirdre Hickey, instructor of plant science at SUNY Cobleskill. Thank you both for joining us on this episode of the FARMSMART Podcast.

 

Megan Guy

Thank you for having us.

 

Dusty Weis

And that is going to conclude this episode of the FARMSMART Podcast. 

New episodes arrive every month, so make sure you subscribe to the FARMSMART Podcast in your favorite app and visit nutrienagsolutions.com/farmsmart to learn more. 

The FARMSMART Podcast is brought to you by Nutrien Ag Solutions, with editing by Emily Kaysinger. 

And the FARMSMART Podcast is produced by Podcamp Media, branded podcast production for businesses, podcampmedia.com. 

For Sally Flis and Ryan Adams from Nutrien Ag Solutions, I'm Dusty Weis. Thanks for listening.