From chasing barn kittens on a family farm to leading agricultural research in Lacombe, Alberta’s Robyne Davidson reflects on her unconventional path into agriculture and the growing opportunities for women in the industry.
When she was young, summers meant one thing to Robyne Davidson, Pulse and Special Crops Research Scientist, Applied Research at Lakeland College: time on the family farm. It’s something she recalled in an interview last week in Banff, Alta., just a few days before receiving the Agriculture Financial Services Corporation Women in Ag Award in the Innovator category.
“I loved being on the farm because I could drive the tractors and chase the kittens around the barn,” she recalls with a laugh.
But despite those fond memories, agriculture wasn’t always the plan.
Growing up in the small fishing village of Digby, Nova Scotia, her family wasn’t deeply rooted in farming. Her father worked as a teacher and her mother was an accountant, and she spent most of her school years immersed in science.
“I was a science geek,” Davidson says. “I loved science through school.”
Initially, she imagined a future in a laboratory — perhaps in medical testing or even crime scene analysis. She began pursuing a biology-focused diploma, drawn to the idea of analyzing samples and solving problems through research.
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