How Dr. Mariah Squire found her way back to farming (.com)

“I grew up on a dairy farm” has long been my favorite fun fact in situations where you have to introduce yourself to a room full of people. It’s definitely been useful in college courses. This little fact usually elicits a positive response, similar to when I tell people I drive a manual car.

But growing up on a small dairy and grain farm in southwest Ohio has shaped my life more than just the opportunity to introduce myself.

Besides my faith and my family, “the farm,” as we simply call it, was the most formative thing in my life.

Most farm children can relate to having to work from a young age, and my four siblings and I were no exception. From elementary school through high school, we were homeschooled and worked alongside close relatives on the farm. This meant that we – especially us siblings – were more cohesive than the average family, for better or for worse.

We’ve had some “worse” times too, like when my older sister and I fought like cats and dogs as kids, but the “better” times far outweighed them. I have memories of driving tractors long before we could drive, watching our favorite bottle-fed calves grow and eventually have calves of their own, and eating our weight in ice cream after working all night around the house.

Three of my siblings still work on the farm and live within a mile of it. The fourth is a large animal veterinarian and comes there regularly as one of the primary vets, but more often just to visit.

I myself have often joked that I am the “forgotten” sibling, since I am both geographically and professionally the furthest removed from the farming industry that is so closely linked to the family name.

On science and beyond

After graduating high school, I studied biology at Indiana University East, just across the Ohio-Indiana border. I continued to work on the farm, and that overlap not only shaped my work ethic, but also influenced my decision on a major. The core courses I took for my biology degree allowed me to connect everyday aspects of farming, from silage fermentation to animal development, to the underlying scientific processes.

Even more than learning about science, I loved writing about it. My first English professor noticed my talent for writing and encouraged me to join the IU East Honors Program, which ultimately provided me with the best platform to combine agriculture with my academic experience.

The highlight of my time in the Honors program was a final thesis entitled “From Soil to Fork: The Role of Microorganisms in Yogurt Production.” I had the opportunity to present this project not only at my alma mater but also at a regional conference, bridging the gap between agriculture and science in front of a diverse audience.

One of my fondest memories of this experience is that I brought a Holstein calf to campus as a visual aid for the presentation of my project. I later learned that an uninformed bystander had mistaken the animal for a large dog.

After I got my bachelor’s degree, I continued working on the farm, but knew I still wanted to pursue a formal education. After a year, I decided to pursue a PhD in microbiology at Miami University – not the one in Florida (it would have taken me more to move from that corner of the Midwest) but the one in Oxford, Ohio. My research was devoted to studying a pathogen that causes, among other things, pneumonia in humans.

In graduate school, I noticed the same pattern as in undergraduate studies: Although I liked basic research and discovering things that were previously unknown, I enjoyed writing about scientific topics and creating a story about my discoveries the most.

I’m not lying. I didn’t enjoy every moment of writing my dissertation as I neared the end – that can happen when you’re condensing years of research into one long document. But ultimately, it was so fulfilling to see what initially started as seemingly incongruous bits of data come together into a final, well-rounded story.

After completing my PhD, I immediately took a job as a medical writer, primarily writing protocols for a company that conducts clinical trials in Cincinnati, Ohio. Among other things, my time as a medical writer gave me the opportunity to hone my technical writing skills and gain experience outside of an academic setting.

I worked with a wonderful group of colleagues and truly envisioned myself remaining in this position after I retired. However, after unexpected personal events, that path changed when I decided to leave the company. Although I left on good terms, at the end of the day I was still unemployed and in a difficult job market.

An unexpected return to my roots

Although I tried several jobs as a medical writer, nothing stuck. To pass the time, or so I thought, I started freelancing for Successful agriculture® magazine on Agriculture.com. As it turned out, I found myself surrounded by a great group of people doing work that I unexpectedly enjoyed.

Most of my freelance work was writing articles on the USDA’s Crop Progress Report, so I was able to make good use of both my agricultural background and my experience as a writer and researcher. When the opportunity arose to join the team full-time, my experience as a freelancer made the decision an easy one. What a blessing to have been selected for this role.

I’ve learned a lot in the last month of my time at SF. I’ll spare you the details and focus on two main topics.

Firstly, this group of colleagues has confirmed the wonderful things I’ve heard during my time as a freelancer and during the application process. And then some. I look forward to learning more about them and a lot from them.

Second, I’m learning a lot of brand new processes (and shortcuts) every day as I dive into this new world of journalism and media. But when it comes to creating valuable content for farmers, my farming background and experience as a writer means I’m pretty well equipped to hit the ground running.

It turned out that, much like the stories I have long enjoyed writing, my seemingly disparate backgrounds and experiences were a good fit for this new chapter of my life.

I just love seeing a story come together.