Ag scholarship recipient has passion for soil

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on January 19, 2023.

Herald photo by Alejandra Pulido-Guzman Emma Knodel is one of three recipients of the Agri-food Futures Scholarship.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com

SouthGrow and partners have awarded three $2500 scholarships to agri-food students in the Lethbridge region, and one is Lethbridge College student Emma Knodel.

Knodel is in her third year of Bachelors of Agriculture Science program at Lethbridge College, and said the scholarship helped her immensely to cover tuition fees and textbooks.

“I’m really passionate about my program, so being able to take my degree right here at the college and have the financial support from the scholarship to back me up it’s really great,” said Knodel.

Knodel said her interest in agriculture comes from growing up on a farm just outside of Lethbridge.

“That farm has been in our family for many generations, I’m quite passionate about the agriculture industry and what I can do to further it both socially and agronomically,” said Knodel.

She said it makes her really happy to be able to take what she learns at school back to her farm to be able to keep the farm up to date with the industry and to be able to have it run for many more generations.

“It’s really fun to work alongside my family and my brother and I will be working on the family farm together,” said Knodel.

She said their farm is a dryland grain operation where they grow barley, durum, spring wheat, winter wheat, peas and canola and she said some of the courses she has taken already, have helped her understand the grains better.

“Field crops in my second year was a really good one, that was a really broad overview of all the main types of crops that we grow, and I also really like soil fertility. I’m pretty passionate about soil. Those are the big ones that are definitely useful and very applicable,” said Knodel.

She said she was also able to utilize her newly-acquired knowledge during her last two summers while employed at Corteva in the canola seed production side in 2021, and in sales last summer.

Knodel said another goal she has long term besides working on her family farm is to become an agronomist.

“I will be getting my CCA here right after I am done school and work as an agronomist or get involved with soils in some way,” said Knodel.

When it comes to finding out about being one of the scholarship recipients she said she was very excited to share the news with her parents, and also for what the scholarship symbolized.

“It’s really nice to be recognized. I work really hard on my school work and keeping my grades up through all these years, and even during COVID when it was tough not being on campus, but I made it work and got really involved in the community,” said Knodel.

She said she is the president of the Ag Club at Lethbridge College and it is her second year in that role.

“Seeing all of that hard work and effort being rewarded in the form of a scholarship is very exciting and also very motivating to keep doing what you’re doing,” said Knodel.

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