2020 Spring Farm Outlook

Page 32 2020 Logan County Farm Outlook LINCOLN DAILY NEWS March 19, 2020 By Teena Lowery A griculture is not just a man’s world. The role of women has changed from support on the farm to wide open opportunities in the industry. Women are now finding themselves at the forefront of the Ag industry, making an impact like never before. At Central Illinois Ag in Atlanta, one of the largest family-owned Case IH Dealerships in Illinois, three young women are currently following their passion for agriculture and it’s leading them down a successful career path. Abby Coers, Dawn Irwin and Ashley Zinser all agreed working together in the positive atmosphere with the CIA management allows them to have fun at their job each and every day. Coers has been at CIA the longest of the trio. She began her career in 2013 as the CIA Marketing Coordinator. Coers is originally from Chestnut and grew up on a farm, but her family didn’t farm. She says, “I went into business administration at SIU-Edwardsville... I had a big dream of living in the city doing the city thing.” Then, one of my friends, Brittany Cowan, told me about the Ag Communications program at the U of I. She thought that I would really enjoy it. I had never heard of Ag Communications before, but it was all designing, journalism, advertising, and more of a creative aspect. It was totally up my alley. I found my home at U of I, and then within the Ag Communications program we had to choose a focus, and I chose advertising. Going to school then turned into fun for me because it was everything I enjoyed.” Coers graduated from the U of I in 2011 with a degree in Agricultural Communication with a focus in advertising. She stayed in Champaign Women in Ag: Passion leads this young trio at Central Illinois Ag Continue 4