Planting Roots: Melanie Netterville Beavers Finds Her Place in the Field
By Karl Wiggers
Louisiana Farm Bureau News
Melanie Netterville Beavers grew up riding horses on the land she now farms in southern Tensas Parish. That’s where the seed was planted for a future she once only dreamed about.
“And I always thought, you know, how cool would it be to be the farmer?” she said.
As a young girl, Melanie had no idea how to make that dream a reality.
Beavers continues, “Like, how do you go from ‘Mom, I want to wear my boots to work every day’ to a career — especially being a woman trying to get into agriculture? That step was scary to me.”
After earning a degree in ag business, working with the LSU AgCenter, and meeting her husband Kody, that dream finally took shape.
“When I met Kody, it got a lot easier of a decision, because I found somebody that was willing to build that life with me. And then it got fun.”
Today, Melanie and Kody share in every part of their operation, farming land in both Tensas and Franklin Parishes. For Melanie, there’s no such thing as a “typical day” — and that’s part of what she loves about it.
“It’s so hard to define that because it’s the same as any other farmer, you know? I don’t have a different role. Me and Kody share in every decision 50-50 and every role 50-50. Whether it’s driving the equipment or mixing chemicals or picking up seed or picking up parts or delivering lunches.”
Kody agrees — her presence on the farm is essential.
Kody says, “She’s been a pillar of this farm’s success. Just to have her here and have her working alongside us every day.”
They divide responsibilities based on strengths — a balance that’s made them stronger as a team.
“I will give him more credit. Being the mechanic of the operation, I’d say he’s the mechanic, and I’m more the agronomist,” Melanie said.
“We equally share our parts on there and play to each other’s strengths,” Kody added. “Which is, at the end of the day, all we can ask to do.”
Right now, that teamwork is focused on planting their corn crop — loading seed, checking depths, and adjusting seeding rates as they go. But Melanie is also preparing for another big change: she and Kody are expecting a baby girl.
Farming through pregnancy has brought a new awareness to her role as a woman in agriculture.
“You don’t have to be pregnant to experience being a woman in agriculture. But I will say, having to experience work while pregnant has been an eye opener. I feel like, wow, I’m actually doing this thing. I’m choosing to be a woman in this industry and farm every day — even though I still have to face woman-type struggles. And that’s when it kind of hit me more so than it has in the past years. The past years, I really don’t think about it at all.”
As they plant their next crop and prepare for their growing family, Melanie and Kody are building more than a farm — they’re building a legacy.