Michigan is home to more than 300 Certified Crop Advisers who are certified through the American Society of Agronomy, and during the coming months, MABA is spotlighting their contributions to Michigan agriculture! Michigan’s Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) program provides resources, continuing education and networking opportunities for professional agronomists spanning our state’s agricultural industry. More than 300 Michigan professional agronomists are CCAs, and they bring a wide range of experience and skills to our state’s agricultural industry! One of Michigan’s most recently certified CCAs is Katelyn Frostic Noll, who serves as AGRIntelligence Technician at Helena Agri-Enterprises LLC. Frostic earned her CCA certification late last year. Having grown up farming, Katelyn returned to agriculture after college and brings a passion for technology and innovation to her work serving growers. Originally from Applegate, MI, Katelyn grew up on a cash crop farm that raised corn, sugarbeets, soybeans, dry beans, hay and beef. Her family continues to farm, and her father, Matt Frostic, has also stepped up as an industry leader, being elected last year to the National Corn Growers Association Board. Initially uncertain about whether she would return to the agriculture sector, Katelyn originally attended Bethel University in Indiana on a basketball scholarship. “I had no idea whether to go back into agriculture,” she says. “It was when I went back and interned at Helena in Croswell that I decided that’s what I wanted to do.” Katelyn ultimately returned to Michigan to attend Lansing Community College and Michigan State University and was an intern at additional Helena locations, including in Owensboro, Kentucky. She was hired full-time after graduation. In her current role as an Agri-Intelligence Technician, Katelyn embraces the power of technology to drive agricultural advancements. She helps analyze soil samples, create variable rate technology (VRT) maps, conduct tissue sampling, optimize chemistry application timing, and more – “anything involving technology.” “The industry is progressing so fast – it seems like every year there’s something new to learn. It makes the work challenging, but it makes it fun,” she says. “[In modern agriculture], you can’t get caught up in the same routine. You have to be willing to change and try new things, and recognize sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.” Michigan’s agricultural landscape is also incredibly diverse, featuring a wide range of crops. Katelyn says the CCA program has provided a way to continue learning more about both crop diversity and innovation. The CCA program, she says, ensures “you continue to learn because you have to keep up with your credits, and get experience with the diversity of crops in Michigan. Credit meetings are also great for networking; as big as the industry is, it’s very small, so it’s great to be able to meet people with similar interests.” As one of the more recently certified CCAs in Michigan, Katelyn also says being a recent graduate helped her complete program requirements and exams. “Coming out of college, you’re in that routine of studying for something. As soon as I was able to get it, I got it. I feel like the CCA program has been a great resource. To know you have access to opportunities to continue to learn and grow in your career, in an industry that is changing and progressing so fast, is important.” Katelyn and CCAs across the state are vital to the success of our industry – helping farmers focus on economic success and environmental sustainability, every day. To learn more about the CCA program, visit www.certifiedcropadviser.org.
