By Staff
Local women get hands dirty in agricultural industry
By GREG KATSKI
Staff Writer
SIDNEY/BELHAVEN — Homegrown women have found a way to succeed in a “man’s world” in Beaufort County.
Throughout the county, women hold prominent positions at farms and agricultural agencies.
Some were born into farming, others found their way. All had to earn respect from the opposite sex.
Robin B. Morgan and Marian Keech handle managerial duties at their respective farms.
Morgan is secretary/treasurer at Burbage Farms and Keech is general manager and co-owner of Circle Grove Seeds. Both were born into farming, but did not intend to make a life of it.
Morgan is the only daughter of David Burbage, founder and owner of Burbage Farms, while Keech’s family owns Circle Grove Seeds.
After graduating from high school, Keech was itching to leave the farm, located just outside of Belhaven.
Keech’s father encouraged her, as well as her four sisters, to receive a higher education.
Keech attended Campbell University, while Smith went to Meredith College. For various reasons, the sisters came home after finishing school.
Keech cited family, siblings and high school sweethearts as “what ultimately brings us all back.”
Neither sister had any intention of taking over the family farm when they returned, said Smith. But it was in their blood.
Keech said she got involved with the day-to-day operations of the farm, and was soon taking on “managerial duties.”
The hardest part of the job is finding acceptance in a male-dominated field, said Keech.
But the general manager said, “It made me a stronger person.”
Women working in the business must have a tough exterior, said Keech.
That said, Keech admitted she prefers dealing with men over women because of their decisiveness.
Morgan took over as office manager at Burbage Farms while pregnant with her first child.
Like Keech and Smith, Morgan left the farm and went off to college. After graduating, she came back to Beaufort County, where she took an entry level job with a company in Bath.
Morgan found out she was pregnant and had to take leave from her full-time job. Out of work, Morgan’s father offered her an office position at the farm.
She found her way home to the family farm in 1988, where her husband, Jay Morgan, had already been working for four years.
The farm proved an ideal place to raise a family for the Morgans.
Like Keech and Smith, Morgan found that home on the farm was where she belonged.
In addition to her office duties, Morgan sells the farm’s tobacco.
She said her biggest challenge in sales has been “dealing with men.”
But Morgan said she has seen changes in the attitudes of dealers over the years.
Morgan’s husband, Jay, gives all the credit for keeping the farm’s finances and paperwork organized to his wife.
Morgan said she just tries to “really keep everything straight.”
Morgan, who is also a member of the Beaufort County Agricultural Advisory Board, said that as secretary/treasurer, “you have to wear many hats.”