Despite not growing up on a farm Reagan Bluel wanted to work with animals

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A Journey into Agriculture

By Rachel Harper Reagan Bluel once considered vet school, but soon discovered other interests

Reagan Bluel didn’t grow up on a farm, and her high school in La Monte, Mo., didn’t have an FFA Chapter, but Reagan knew she wanted a career working with

It is 100 percent student-run; then it was myself and one other full-time staff member. We managed 100 Jerseys; my job was to coordinate all the educational efforts of hands-on learning.” animals; she just wasn’t sure what di- From there, Reagan said it became aprection she wanted to go. parent she needed to be home with her

An educator guided her toward the an- aging parents, and she and decided to imal-driven career of a veterinarian and pick the family up and move to Southsuggested she attend the University of Mis- west Missouri, taking a job as a dairy souri, the closest vet school. From there, field specialist in 2014. she began her journey in agriculture. “One of my favorite projects with the

“I needed to learn more about ag be- University of Missouri-Extension has fore I could even consider being a vet. I been my Women in Dairy program that’s thought I wanted to be a large animal vet, specific to dairy producers,” Reagan said, but as soon as I got into the department adding that dairy is different than any of animal sciences, I quickly realized I other commodity. “It really is hard for was much more interested in produc- folks to understand the dairy culture untion agriculture and improving the dairy less you’re in it and around it. The develcow’s health through nutrition rather opment of the Women in Dairy program than always working with sick cows.” created a group of women who under-

She became involved in the College of stood and dealt with daily dairy.” Agriculture at the University of Missou- The group meets for lunch once a ri and later graduated with a bachelor’s month and talks about an emerging topdegree in animal science and a master’s ic They also do periodic farm tours, as in ruminant nutrition. well as hands-on learning.

Today, Reagan lives on a small farm in “I am highly motivated by watching Southwest Missouri with her husband all the women in ag doing great things,” Neal Bluel and their two girls Ada (13) Reagan said. “I really enjoy how ladies and Lily (10), where they raise and cus- in agriculture build each other up and tom graze replacement Holstein heifers. foster a positive community that tranShe is also a University of Missouri-Ex- scends multiple states. It is awesome to tension field specialist in dairy, interim see across the nation all these ladies in superintendent for the Southwest Re- agriculture.” search Center, and education director In August 2020, Reagan was named for Missouri Dairy. interim superintendent of MU’s South-

Following the completion of her mas- west Research Center, where she overter’s, Reagan went to Colum- sees and coordinates all efforts of the bus, Ohio, to manage the 893-acre research farm in Mount Ohio State Waterman Dairy. Vernon, Mo.

“That was an amazing phase “My driving passion for the of my life,” Reagan recalled. last year has been making sure “The university is in the middle that we are providing sound of 1.3 million people, and the Monett, Mo. research for southwest Misdairy is in the center of Colum- sourians. The research farm bus surrounded by boulevards. is 100-percent dedicated to the

University of Missouri-Extension photo

After entering college, University of Missouri-Extension Field Specialist in Dairy Reagan Bluel discovered she was more interested in production agriculture and improving a dairy cow’s health through nutrition than becoming a veterinarian and working with sick cows.

land grant mission of teaching, research, and outreach,” Reagan said. “Extension specialists utilize the facilities for teaching, and local producers can trust the data from the research we conduct there because our soil is similar to their soil. The ability to do true agriculture agronomic research in Ozarkian soils is a huge benefit and perk for the University of Missouri to be able to provide that service for Missourians.”

At the center, Reagan and the staff conduct beef cattle research, which for the last three years has included State Beef Specialist Dr. Eric Bailey’s research behind stocker operations and how producers can best manage stockers throughout the year. The goal, Reagan said, is to try to feed them to the 700-pound mark as affordably as possible, so maximizing grass utilization.

“If you can manage your forage, you almost become a grass farmer more than a cattle producer,” Reagan said. “Dr. Bailey is looking set stock versus rotational stock. We are the boots on the ground for Dr. Bailey’s project, conducting the daily care on-site.”

After the third year, they now have a good idea of the profitability margins, which will have great benefits.

“Some of the things we do on the research farm do not always make sense because it always has that research component to it,” Reagan said. “For example,

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we might run six head of cattle on a 5-acre plot for a period of time so that we can have multiple replications of the same pasture type.”

The center also has many horticulture projects, including nationally-renowned elderberry production and research.

“We also investigate pawpaw production and currently have a tomato research project looking at grafting rootstock and what works better in our Ozarkian soils,” Reagan said.

There is also a high tunnel research facility, which allows them to do a number of vegetable production-type projects working closely with the Extension and Lincoln University.

There is also an extensive walnut grove at the research farm.

“Southwest Missouri is recognized as the home of the black walnut with Hammons Walnut, one of the global leaders for black walnut distribution, located here,” Reagan said. “We also have a pecan grove where we are looking at different organic sprays to see the effectiveness as a fungicide.”

Reagan’s personal passion, however, is animal science and research.

“It’s with great delight to go out there and routinely work with our fall-calving Red Angus herd,” Reagan said. “This year, we have utilized the GrowSafe feed bunks to monitor replacement heifer dry matter intake. It is a unique research project that is a public-private partnership. We have beef producers from across the state who bring their cattle to the research center to determine if their heifer does well in the feed efficiency test.”

In the research herd, the research center is monitoring C-Lock, a pastured device that analyzes the respiration of the animal to determine how much carbon is in its breath.

“When the carbon is expelled in her breath, it is lost, therefore not going toward making meat or milk,” Reagan explained. “We are trying to identify the animals that do a good job of locking carbon into their body, utilizing it for productive potential. If you have an animal that is more efficient with every blade of grass that she eats, then that means that is one less blade of grass she needs to eat to support herself. Those are both cutting-edge projects working on the cow side that could advance our beef herd exponentially.”

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