About us

Mary Powell

Mary has been working in the livestock industry all of her adult life. Raised in rural communities, her desire to work with livestock was realized at a young age. When she was 12, she had the opportunity to work with horses and cattle and her passion for animal agriculture was set.

In high school, her involvement with FFA (Future Farmers of America and Vocational Agriculture brought her opportunities to judge livestock as a member of livestock and poultry teams. She also participated in land and farm management and leadership teams. She also served as Secretary and President of her local FFA Chapter.

After high school and several years in working in the livestock industry, Mary attended Kansas State University where she majored in Animal Science and obtained a Bachelor’s in Animal Science with emphasis in Livestock Production Management.

Mary has worked for cow-calf operations, small feed yards and even worked for a brief time in the meat packing industry.

After an accident prevented her from returning to full-time feed lot work, Mary turned to the growing meat goat industry in 2012 and in 2016 started a goat rental service to add a second income to her meat goat income. From that time forward, Mary has worked hard to promote the meat goat industry through education and providing services related to the industry.

In 2024 through the 2025 grazing seasons, Langston University contracted with Mary to serve as project manager for a research project that introduced minority landowners to the concept of using meat goats as a tool for land management. Mary continues to serve Langston as a workshop presenter, talking about land management with goats and how to start a goat rental service.

When Mary is at home, she enjoys working with her six border collies, riding horses and writing Cowboy Poetry, short stories and writing for agriculture periodicals like Grass & Grain as well as Goat Rancher Magazine. Mary is an award-winning Cowboy Poet and writer, wining the State of Kansas Cowboy Poetry Contest in 2023, for her humorous poem, “Full Moon at Noon”. And more recently has won the 2025 P.W. Conway Award for the cowboy poet who exemplifies the Cowboy Spirit through dress, way of life and code of the cowboy.