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Rae Wagoner, Communications Director, Kentucky Soybean

Rae Wagoner is the Communications Director for Kentucky Soybean and has held her current post for the past decade! Prior to her time with Kentucky Soybean, Rae ran a local weekly rural newspaper and a publishing company and worked in sales/marketing at an event hotel. In her position as Communications Director for Kentucky Soybean, Rae oversees the marketing strategy for her organization and the different mediums that inform consumers about the organization.

Rae has always been interested in agriculture, having grown up in a rural area. Her first "real" job was pulling tobacco plants in Graves County! We asked Rae what she would consider her most significant achievements in the field:

"I would like to believe that our office puts out both high quality and a high volume of information on the activities of the Kentucky Soybean Board, the Kentucky Soybean Association, and the Kentucky Livestock Coalition. I am proud to have a part in that effort. Also, on a more personal note, I think you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who loves her job as much as I do. Working with and for THE best farmers, along with Debbie Ellis and Becky Kinder, here at Kentucky Soybean, is quite rewarding. In addition, building relationships with others in Kentucky agriculture and with those across the nation who I've had the pleasure of getting to know over the years has enabled me to build a network of incredibly high-quality folks."

So what about people looking to get a start in agriculture? Well, Rae has a valuable piece of advice for them and speaks to the variety of the agriculture industry.

"Do it. Find yourself some mentors, ask a lot of questions, and do it. I've never had a job so rewarding or worked with/for a better group of people than Kentucky's agriculture community. Also, you don't have to have an ag degree to have a successful career and make a difference. Agriculture needs communicators, bankers, salespeople, accountants, scientists, and a wide number of other career paths that may not have "agriculture degree required" in the job description."