Morrisville State College students and their professor pose for a photo at Table Rock Farm. From left; Meghan Hauser DeGolyer, a partner in Table Rock Farm; Sheila Marshman, of Oxford, assistant professor of agricultural business at Morrisville State; and students Magdalene Richmond, of Eden, NY; Shelby Henty, of Oriskany Falls, NY; Jackie Saddlemire, of Berne, NY; Marie Ruther, of Delanson, NY; and Veronique Krohn, of Amsterdam, NY.
(Morrisville, NY – Nov. 25, 2013) Morrisville State professor Sheila Marshman was an invited speaker at the 38th Annual American Agri-Women Convention held recently in Niagara Falls.
Five Morrisville State agricultural business students also participated in the convention.
American Agri-Women is the nation’s largest coalition of farm, ranch and agribusiness women with more than 50 state, commodity and agribusiness affiliate organizations throughout the country.
Marshman delivered a powerful speech, “Lost Without Each Other,” that focused on bringing the consumer and farmer together. “Many have come to the realization that society is not lost and agriculture is not lost, but we are lost without each other,” she said in her speech.
Marshman, of Oxford, is assistant professor of agricultural business at Morrisville State and president of New York Agri-Women.
Throughout the conference, Morrisville State agricultural business students were responsible for managing the hospitality suite where they served products from New York including the college’s Morrisville Fresh products. Morrisville Fresh is the operating entity of the agricultural business program.
Through Morrisville Fresh, students are responsible for making products and seeing them to fruition. Production, labeling and marketing are done by the students with assistance from Nelson Farms, a unique combination of business incubator, food product processing facility and hands-on academic classroom facility run by the Morrisville Auxiliary Corporation (MAC).
The conference helped to broaden students’ agricultural knowledge outside of the classroom and gave them a better perspective and appreciation of women’s role in agribusiness.
“They were also able to network with the best of US and Canada’s agriculture throughout the event,” Marshman said.
The convention also included presentations and a trade show. The trip was funded through sales from Morrisville Fresh.
Agricultural business students participating in the five day seminar are:
Shelby Henty, of Oriskany Falls, NY
Magdalene Richmond, of Eden, NY
Veronique Krohn, of Amsterdam, NY
Marie Ruther, of Delanson, NY
Jackie Saddlemire, of Berne, NY