F E AT U R E S TO RY
FEEDING THE FUTURE By Jeff Murphy, ’80, ’95
L
ong before Andrew Beeman, ’16, graduated from the University of Central Missouri, he had already carved out the pathway for his future career. His inspiration and preparation came not only from a slew of educators who contributed to his Bachelor of Science in Agriculture–Business Management, but from generations of family members who instilled in him an appreciation for agricultural life.
“I was in a unique position coming into college because I knew I had a job waiting for me upon graduation,” he says. “I did not go to UCM to get a job; I went to become a wellrounded citizen.” Beeman, who resides on a farm south of Windsor, Missouri, has a life story that may sound familiar to UCM students and alumni who have experienced a tradition of family farming. His early influences in agriculture began with his grandparents, who purchased a farm in the 1950s that they expanded throughout the following two decades.
Upon graduation, he became the thirdgeneration manager of Beeman Farms. This operation includes beef cattle, meat goats, corn, soybean and wheat production. He is in charge of the cattle operation and partial manager of row crops, with other duties that range from feeding cows and treating sick animals to making genetic selections and working with business partners and landlords.
Beeman was immersed in the family agriculture operation from an early age.
“The education I received at UCM taught me how to learn,” Beeman says.
UCM alumnus Andrew Beeman shows his youngest son, Logan, age 3, around the family farm.
4
With aspirations to continue what his grandparents began, he enrolled at UCM and gained a greater understanding of agribusiness as well as many other subjects that help in farm management.
Spring 2022 | www.ucmfoundation.org/magazine
