Meat+Poultry - August 2019 - 8

C O M M E N TA R Y

Women to watch
Working as a part of the meat
industry (as I have done for more
than 15 years), I am used to being
in the minority. Attending industry
conferences, summits and trade shows
and visiting processing plants around
the country, I tend to stand out a bit
as one of the few women in the room.
But things are changing.
In 2018, we featured a story on
Nicole Makowski, the "Sausage Queen
of Chicago" and fourth-generation
owner of Makowski's Real Sausage
Co. She shared stories of how she took
over her family's business and has
sucessfully led it for the past 20 years.
She had some stumbles along the
way, as every new processor - man or
woman - can have, but she's carved
out her niche during her tenure and has
helped her family business thrive.
"When I first took over the business,
there was some negative chatter in the
industry: 'Jerry's daughter is running
the business - we're not sure about
that.' There wasn't a lot of support,
which was hard. But then again, I was
pretty young," she explained. "But
now that I've been in the business for
years, it no longer bothers me. I feel
very confident in my ability to run the
business now - and I've had some great
successes through the years."

Finding women at the helm in the
meat world is, thankfully, a lot more
common these days. Last September,
Julie Anna Potts took over as the
new president and CEO of the North
American Meat Institute (NAMI),
replacing Barry Carpenter. She joined
NAMI after serving as the executive
vice president and treasurer of the
American Farm Bureau Federation
since 2011. She brings years of deep
legal, legislative and association
experience and a passion for
agriculture to her new role.
"Figuring out how to communicate
the great story of the meat industry
more effectively is something that I feel
very strongly that I want to help lead
and want to continue to work on," she
said at last year's NAMI Fall Forum.
Recently I had the chance to sit
down with another super woman
leading the way in the meat industry -
Johnsonville's new chairwoman, Shelly
Stayer. Taking over the chair role from
her husband Ralph C. Stayer, she has
lofty goals for the sausage company as
it enters its 75th year in 2020. "I'd like
to be the best company in the world
that just happens to make sausage.
I'm always on the lookout for new
talent - I want the best talent in the
world working for me," she explained.
"Women have always had a lot of
important roles in our business."
While I've been lucky enough to
meet women in the meat industry

throughout my years
The Women
of covering the
in Agribusiness
business, including
Summit will be held
Makowski, Potts
Sept. 25-27 in
and Stayer - as well
Minneapolis.
as industry legends
Temple Grandin and
Rosemary Mucklow - it
wasn't until last fall that I found myself
in the unique situation of being at an ag
industry event and being surrounded by
a sea of talented industry women.
The Women in Agribusiness
Summit, hosting its 8th annual event
this September in Minneapolis, brings
together women in the agribusiness
industry to network, discuss industry
topics and issues and most importantly,
learn from each other. The 3-day
event showcases how much expertise,
knowledge and talent there is in the
agriculture industry from its female
representatives. By holding an
exclusive "women in agribusiness"
conference, more women are given the
chance to take center stage to show
off their skills, talents and expertise
in a way that may not happen as often
in a typical ag industry setting. Until
the time comes where there are more
female faces in the meat industry and
at business events, I'm glad women
in the industry, including myself, can
benefit from this great summit by
learning from each other.
K I M B E R L I E C LYM A , M A N AG I N G E D I TO R
kc l y m a @ s o s l a n d .c o m

Finding women at the helm in the meat world is,
thankfully, a lot more common these days.

8

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Meat+Poultry - August 2019

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