Sarah Lee: Director of Agriculture and Business Recruitment/Outreach Coordinator
Published Sunday, February 16, 2025
The agriculture programs at Southwest Minnesota State University contribute greatly to the area, feels Sarah Lee, Director of Agriculture and Business Recruitment/Outreach Coordinator at the University.
Lee began her duties last July and comes to SMSU after teaching ag courses at Springfield, Minn., for five years and, later, at
Galena High School in Galena Ill. She is from Poplar Grove, Ill., one mile south of the Wisconsin state line, and grew up on a
farm. She received her undergraduate degree in Agriculture Education from the University of Minnesota, and a master’s in
Agriculture Education from Iowa State University in Ames.
She was looking to move back to the area when she saw the ad for her current position, and decided to apply.
She’s in charge of recruiting agriculture, business, and culinology and hospitality majors to SMSU, and said “agriculture programs are my number-one priority.”
There are a total of six Bachelor of Science majors at SMSU. They include Agribusiness Management; Agricultural
Communications and Leadership; Agricultural Education; Agriculture; Agronomy; and Sustainable Agricultural Solutions.
Agribusiness Management is offered as an online degree.
Minors include Agribusiness Management, Agricultural Economics, Agronomy and Animal Science.
How did she introduce herself to ag teachers in the state? She hand wrote a note to each of the 336 individuals who teach ag in
Minnesota. She likes “to get in the classroom, in front of the students,” she said. She works with the Office of Admission — “there is some overlap” — and attends some college fairs, also.
“I like helping people,” she said. She was recently preparing for the Ag Bowl Scholarship Invitational, sponsored by Ralco, held
February 7 and which brought over 1,500 Future Farmers of America chapter students to campus for a competition that awards
scholarship dollars to area FFA teams and winners in the 21 various competition categories.
There's 42 part- and full-time majors in the ag programs, Lee said. There are 440 business majors, and 42 culinology and
hospitality management majors.
Lee touts the “one-on-one attention that students receive” at SMSU and said students graduate prepared to take advantage of
the many ag-related opportunities that exist in the breadbasket of Minnesota, and beyond.
“What has struck me coming back is how much the community supports the university,” she said.
Are there certain trends she’s noticed with high school students? “Some are looking at the trades, which is great,” she said.
“There’s a welding challenge competition, a plumbing one. Students are looking at options.”
As far as farming goes, she said precision agriculture is a big part of the process now, and is thankful that students have an
outdoor classroom at test plots available through the SMSU Foundation, on the north edge of town.
A new initiative started a year ago is a three-day ag camp in the summer, said Lee. “Students tour ag businesses and farms, and
it’s geared towards middle-schoolers.” The initial camp drew 22 students, she said, and will be offered this summer, too.
Besides staying in touch with states-wide ag teachers, she also works with Extension youth coordinators, and is an active
member of Minnesota Teach Ag group, which encourages careers in ag education. She is networking and appreciates business
partners like Ralco and other ag-related businesses who give SMSU students part-time jobs, internships and mentor
relationships. “They’ve been so supportive and our students get a hands-on education,” she said.
She also works with the Minnesota Agriculture and Rural Leadership program, tapping into its resources and contacts as she
builds enrollment in her various programs at the university.
This article was written by Jim Tate and appeared in the February 16, 2025 edition of the Marshall Independent. It is republished here with permission: https://www.marshallindependent.com/news/local-news/2025/02/lees-no-1-priority-at-smsu/
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