Co-op manager one of growing number of women executives in agriculture

By MONETTE TAYLOR | South Central Texas Edition

Jean Wehmeyer, manager of Farmers' Co-op of El Campo and Port Lavaca, has climbed the ladder of ag industry success. -Staff photo by Taylor

July 18, 2002 -- Jean Wehmeyer is an ag-related statistic.

Although she admits wasn't always interested in agriculture, she is now manager of Farmers' Co-op of El Campo and Port Lavaca; and was the first woman (as of the 1959 records) to serve on the Texas Grain and Feed Association's board of directors.

Statistics show female executives in the agricultural business industries have been rising in the past few years. About half of all management positions fall to women - a real change from previous years.

Wehmeyer offices out of Port Lavaca, where she is pretty much a "one woman office." She joined the co-op in 1981 as secretary to the co-op president.

Because the closest she had ever come to "agriculture" was when her family visited her grandparents' sheep farm, Wehmeyer admits she had to learn fast when she came to work at the co-op. The rest of her education has come by direct contact with producers, and training through the Farmland Management Program out of Kansas City.

Now, an old-pro, Wehmeyer says she can tell by the sound of the truck in the co-op's weigh station who the truck belongs to, and if it is full or empty.

As manager of the Farmers' Co-op, she says she never has two days alike. Some days, that's good, and some days, it's not.

"We are a very small co-op ... down to five or six families, but these people own a lot of acreage," said Wehmeyer. "We probably handle 10,000 to 15,000 acres" of the area's crop production.

Wehmeyer covers the business with the help of one full-time employee, and said it's not always easy, but they get the work done.

"The hard part, now, since I don't have anybody working outside, is the physical labor. I don't particularly care for that!" she added. Wehmeyer is responsible for all things inside the co-op, yet she also helps load and unload trucks of corn, milo, and soybeans.

"When you're facing economic hard times, like we are, this year, it's hard to justify, even though we need somebody, another salary," said Wehmeyer.

When she started working in 1981, she said the price of milo was $7.50 per hundredweight and corn went for $5 a bushel. Now, the prices are down to $3.50 for milo and $2 a bushel for corn.

Like many other ag-related professionals, she says it's no wonder producers have to give up farming, in order to make a living.

With corn being a major crop in the area, she said the biggest worry among producers is aflatoxin, a disease which can crop up in corn during times of drought. Although there is a test required of all corn by the Federal Grain Inspection Service, she said it leaves a lot to be desired. But, it's the best they have, now. This test includes taking random samples of 10 pounds from truckloads of corn. If the sample happens to have the disease, the entire truck load is lost.

Although the co-op handles some rice, Wehmeyer says it is less and less, each year. They average between 70 and 100 cars of corn a year.

While there is always an annual meeting of co-op members, she said most of them are in close contact, anyway.

"There's a bunch that meets for breakfast in the morning, at the coffee shop, then there's another little group that meets at lunch, so we're pretty well in touch with each other," said Wehmeyer.

While she is hopeful agriculture's future will improve, she feels as long as there are imports and regulations, producers will still leave the fields.

"It's perplexing. There's so much politics involved," she added. "The future of agriculture ... it's always going to be here, as long as we eat and wear clothing, but I don't think our public understands the importance of agriculture in the world and the part it does play in their lives."

Wehmeyer cited her own statistics: The last good crop year was 2000, with the '01 crop down and this year's crop expected to be even worse, due to drought conditions, along with the politics.

For now, Wehmeyer will continue being there for the producers, answering phone calls, checking over invoices, and shipping and loading trucks. After all, she's one of a new breed of women in agriculture.