In a "field" of her own... Amy Dowdy

Submitted photo Amy Beth Dowdy of rural Dexter is shown accepting her award for Southern Crop Consultant of the Year from BASF Representative Rick Chamblee (at center) at a recent meeting in Orlando, Fla. At left is Kevin Hollands from Minnesota who was received the Northern Consultant of the Year Award. [Click to enlarge]

The distinction was presented to Dowdy during the group's annual meeting in Orlando, Fla. in late January. Only two are presented nationally, one for the northern section of the country and one for the southern crop area. It is sponsored by BASF.

Amy Dowdy's career as a rice consultant began with a college internship while attending Mississippi State University. She worked as a rice scout for Terra and was offered a position with them upon graduation.

In 1990 at the age of 24, she felt the need to work independently and went out on a limb, beginning her own company, ABD Crop Consulting.

With her vast knowledge in the area of rice scouting and her associations having been born and raised in a farming family, it didn't take long for word to spread that Amy Dowdy was a capable and dependable consultant for the Southeast Missouri farmer.

In a profession typically involving the male element, Dowdy is a unique addition. In spite of being outnumbered, though, she says she is not treated any differently from her male counterpart. While it might at times take longer to win a farmer's confidence, in the long run being the minority sometimes pays off in little ways.

"On especially hot or rainy days, I have farmers who check on me more often than they probably would a man, but that's OK with me," says the five-foot three inch blonde, who credits both her parents with their support over the years as she faced the challenges of a career in agriculture presents.

Dowdy's father was the late David Dowdy who many in the area will recall having died tragically last summer in a grain bin accident at his rural Dexter farm. Her mother is Pam Dowdy who has been influential in not only the family farm, but in several agricultural-related projects in Stoddard County including those of the annual Stoddard County Fair and the Missouri Extension office.

"My parents taught me if you want to succeed, you must work hard," she explains. "My mom has always supported me in my choices. She is my bookkeeper, my driver when I'm too tired to drive safely and sometimes my chef when I need a good meal to keep me going during the busy season."

Dowdy says it was difficult for her father to see her leave a job with a steady paycheck to strike out on her own years ago, but in the end, he told his only daughter he was proud of her choice and was supportive of her efforts.

"In daddy's eyes, I was always his 12-year -old girl following him into the fields to help irrigate or chop weeds or load the planter. When the tables turned, it was difficult for him to take advice about his fields from his little girl. We always joked that he was my worst customer. Today, it's still hard to go into the fields with her father not being a phone call away."

Dowdy's hours in the field begin in April and run through September, with the crucial time being from planting until flood. Her work takes her primarily to Pemiscot and Dunklin Counties, but she work on some farms in Stoddard and New Madrid Counties as well.

"If everything goes well during this time," she says, "we have the potential for high yields, unless Mother Nature throws us a curve."

Her fall months are hers to enjoy, then she stays busy in January and February attending meetings.

"My winter meetings help me further my education and learn about new products available, varieties and farming practices that may be beneficial to my farmers."

Today's farmer, Dowdy explains, wears many hats.

"They have to be accountants, mechanics, grain marketers, manual laborers, truck drivers and computer experts."

If she can grant them more time to focus on other things by providing them beneficial help with their rice operations, then she has done her job well.

"I love the fact that I get to take the rice from seed to grain," says the now 39-year-old whose office is her Jeep equipped with her laptop computer, printer, and cell phone to keep her in constant contact with her customers.

"I farm these acres right alongside the farmers themselves," she says, "and I'm as proud or disgusted with the fields as they are. It's our crop based on the decisions my farmers and I make together."

Those decisions seem to have paved Amy Beth Dowdy a successful path to success with her efforts now recognized on the national level.