The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that about 795 million people of the 7.3 billion people in the world were suffering from chronic undernourishment in 2014-2106.
That number equates to one in nine people.
For Hannah Boatright, ending that hunger is a goal she has been focused on for most of her life.
Boatright, a junior at the University of Missouri-Columbia is an agriculture (plant science) major who, through her studies at the university and summer internships, is hoping to reduce the number of malnourished and hungry people in both the United States and the worldwide population.
“My upbringing played a huge role on entering ag in college,” Boatright said. “I was raised on a farm and believe that a farm is one of the best places to raise a family.
“I love agriculture and hope to instill that same passion into my future family and those I work with and for,” she added. “After graduation I hope to use my degree to become a crop consultant, obtaining a CCA (Certified Crop Advisor) and work for a crop consulting company or as an agronomist for a seed company.”
Teaching for a year with AgriCorps, a company that sends recent ag graduates around the world to impoverished countries to teach agriculture in villages, is also something Boatright is considering.
Boatright’s roots in agriculture are deep.
Her parents, Matt and Jennifer Boatright, and her older brother David Boatright, are graduates of MU’s College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR.)
“Continuing that heritage is important to me,” Boatright said.
As a commitment to her heritage, Boatright spent last summer in Decatur, Illinois as a corn production research intern for AgReliant Genetics.
“I worked in the inbred corn division, taking notes on each inbred in the company to be used for grower recommendations, weed and pest control, herbicide tolerance and disease resistance,” Boatright explained. “This upcoming summer I will be in Montezuma, Kansas working as a crop consulting intern for CropQuest, a crop consulting company located throughout the high plains.”
This summer’s internship is not a continuation of last summer’s but will provide Boatright additional opportunities for study.
Boatright is a CAFNR undergraduate research intern, vice president of the plant breeding and genetics club and a Litton Leader’s Scholar at MU.
She was also named the recipient of a $1,000 scholarship from the Missouri Corn Growers Association and the Missouri Corn Merchandising Council on April 12.
Earlier this year she was selected as a $2,000 scholarship recipient from the MU Ag Alumni Association for her efforts.
“The opportunity to work, learn, and make connections in a research lab during both my freshman and sophomore years have been my favorite experience at Mizzou,” Boatright said. “Most of my time not spent in class is spent working in a crop physiology lab or molecular biology lab on campus.”
Boatright, who admits she is a “little biased” about her chosen field offered this advice to future students considering the study of agriculture.
“Regardless of the field you choose, pursue your dreams,” Boatright said. “You have to love what you do every day.
“To any student that is considering ag, I would encourage you to work hard, don’t’ take what you have for granted, and use college as the resource that it is,” she added. “Don’t waste your college years.”
