GREENWICH, N.Y. — Easton Murray is Outreach Specialist for Agricultural Workforce Development USDA Grant at SUNY Cobleskill. She is originally from Greenwich, NY and attended SUNY Cobleskill, studying Agricultural Equipment Technology.

Easton Murray learned at a young age how to make her way around machinery. Growing up on her family’s beef cattle farm in Easton, NY, she loved helping raise the cattle and horses her family owned. When she got older her favorite part of the farm became driving truck during hay season. In addition to the farm her father ran a repair shop and her uncle operated a metal fabrication shop, which further piqued her interest in the machine and engineering arena of agriculture.

Easton’s involvement in FFA helped further her interest in the field of agriculture. Competing in FFA Career Development Events were especially impactful for her. During her time in FFA she placed in the New York FFA Ag Mechanics competition. She was also a part of a Parliamentary Procedure team which won bronze in the National FFA competition.

Easton went on to attend SUNY Cobleskill earning a degree in Agricultural Equipment Technology. After graduation, she spent time working for John Deere in a number of capacities. One of her roles was as a Territory Customer Support Manager helping construction and forestry dealerships from Pennsylvania to Maine with their service, parts, and warranty departments.

Since then, she has returned to SUNY Cobleskill working in the school’s Agricultural Engineering Technology department. The department was awarded an Agricultural Workforce Development USDA grant and in her current position Easton is leading the development of a newly created 1-year Agricultural Mechanics certificate at the college which will begin in Fall 2023. She is also working with instructors to create more microcredentials within the department that will be offered to the public.

Getting experience in the field of agriculture engineering and machinery can be a very valuable thing for a person interested in the field according to Easton. She shared that her previous experience at John Deere has proven very beneficial in her role now which is more focused on ag education. She said, “If you want to create and aide in educational development, I found that the knowledge and industry insight from my previous career at John Deere helped immensely in having a deep understanding of industry needs and provided ideas of how to appeal to the next generation of heavy equipment technicians.”

Easton also encourages students interested in the field to, “Always keep learning new things, you never know what new doors may open.” If you are interested in the field of agriculture mechanics or engineering feel free to contact Easton at [email protected].

A new column from Morning Ag Clips, “Cultivating Ag Careers” introduces agriculture students and FFAers to the wide variety of careers that exist in agriculture. Each week a new individual will be introduced, who will share their journey: their educational experiences, their work, and what role their job plays in the wide world of agriculture.

Tune in each Wednesday to learn more about the different jobs and personalities that make up the ag industry!