Sustainable agriculture is a part of the agriculture industry that’s rapidly growing in size and importance, and Marin Lonnee has been working to make a difference in this field since elementary school. Lonnee started participating in science fairs when she was a fourth grader, and she said it was her agriculture teacher who encouraged her to take things to the next level a few years later. “The state of Georgia does require students who are in … FFA classes to have a supervised agricultural experience (SAE) project,” Lonnee said. “I was notified by the ag teacher at the time that I could use my agriscience project that I was already presenting at other events as a sixth grader, and so it kind of just built from that. And I was just lucky to have that mentor in my life to tell me that at the time.”
Lonnee, now a member of Oconee County FFA in Georgia, has an SAE focused on multiple areas of research, all generally unified under the banner of sustainability.
“It’s not just plant science and it’s not just animal science,” she said. “All my projects focus on … agriculturally dependent communities and developing them so that they are more productive and sustainable.” These projects include research into bee pollination, hydroponics, plant pathology, plant breeding and even structural development. Despite her years of experiments, Lonnee said what she’s actually most proud of are the connections she’s made with other people in her field. Marin credited her love for community-focused agriculture to the unconventional, ag-focused curriculum of her third-grade teacher, Diane Parr. “We did a lot of growing our own produce that got donated to soup kitchens locally,” Lonnee said. “She made it very community-oriented.”
Lonnee received an undergraduate degree in only three years, and now she’s looking to earn a master’s degree in forage research so she can continue doing what she loves.
“I have never worked in what people would call a normal job,” she said. “I have always worked in a lab, and it’s opened so many doors.”
Lonnee’s advice for FFA members starting their own SAE is twofold: find something that interests you and remember that agriculture is more than just farming.
“Don’t let someone tell you it’s not related to ag because you’re not directly working with cows [or] corn,” she said.
She shares more with Broadcast Desk Intern, Laura Wuebker.
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