Emily Hale has grown up in the fields of Stoddard County helping supply and clean seed and feed for area farmers.
When customers arrive at Stoddard County Seed & Feed, they are met by a 26-year-old slender blonde who is not afraid to get her hands dirty. Hale can easily toss 50 pound bags of feed into the back of pick-up trucks and drive 18-wheelers and tractors.
"This is all I've ever done," Hale said of her role in what some would consider a traditional man's job.
Hale is the manager of Stoddard County Seed & Feed in Dudley. Her father, Gene Rowland, works from the Dexter location, while mother, Pam, oversees the office.
Hale's job roles range from cleaning and treating seed, loading seed and feed for customers, office work, and "pretty much anything else" that needs done.
Farmers bring seed to be dumped into a holding bin at the business. The seed is then cleaned and either loaded back into the truck or bagged.
"We are very proud of her and she's a hard worker," Pam said of her daughter. "You don't find a lot of females in this line of work. There is pretty much nothing she can't do."
Hale began working at 11-years-old baling wheat straw for her uncle and father alongside her sister.
At the rate of $4 per hour, she kept a log of hours worked in a notebook tucked away in her back pocket. The notebook didn't last long with the summer heat.
"It was nasty, sweaty and falling apart from being in my back pocket while working," Hale said.
Once she got older, her dad would leave her alone in the office to handle customers.
"That scared me to death, but I got over it," Hale said. "I think he knew if he just pushed me into something I would figure it out and be fine."
She then began learning the process of cleaning seed and the physical side of the job from her father.
"I get a lot of comments on loading the bags of feed and how small I am," Hale said. "I've also got a lot of comments over the years about being able to load with the bale claws and skid steer."
Customers were not always as accustomed to seeing Hale when arriving at Stoddard County Seed & Feed as they are today.
Pam recalled a time when a customer was met by Hale to load his order. The customer stated "just have one of the boys load the order," but was quickly told and shown Hale was more than capable.
"I can outwork anyone we have had here," she said. "Even the guys."
While lifting the feed bags has been challenging at times, Hale said she doesn't believe anything is physically hard within her job.
"I think it depends what walk of life you come from as far as what's surprising a woman can do," she said. "The customers see me all the time so I don't know if it really surprises them anymore to see me."
The process of making feed is a fairly new concept for Stoddard County Seed & Feed, beginning about 10 years ago.
The purchase of an on-site warehouse made the process a lot more convenient. Before, Hale would travel to a rented building off-site to mix the feed and hauled it back to the store.
"The plus side was we didn't have to work on rainy days because it was outside," she said.
With the purchase of the 108,000-square foot former garment factory, Hale said the additional storage space has helped the business greatly.
"We bought it by accident," she said.
She and her father went to the building auction with only the intention of seeing who would purchase the building. Gene ended up bidding himself and was named the new owner.
"It was definitely a blessing," Hale said of the purchase. "Shortly after, we had a big seed cleaning job and stored it there. We couldn't have dealt with it without the storage."
While working in the feed mill, Hale said the area becomes very dusty.
"Any day here you can get pretty dirty," she said. "Your clothes get stained while treating seed, but luckily I don't sweat much."
Stoddard County Seed & Feed began hulling walnuts for the first time this past fall for Hammons Products Company in Stockton, Mo.
"That's the nastiest part of the job" Hale said of walnut hulling. "It will stain you for weeks."
From September through November, 20,000 pounds of walnuts were hulled at the business.
Hale said she enjoys the physical work, but her favorite part of the job is cleaning seed.
"I like seed and dirt," she said with a smile.
She also enjoys working with the farmers and visiting while loading seed in and out.
"Slow days are definitely awful and the worse part of the job," she said. "I hate just sitting."
After work, Hale continues looking for something to do, as her husband, Ryan Hale, returns from a long day on the farm and is ready to rest.
"He asked me if I ever just rest," Hale said. "I rest when I sleep. I can sit and rest when I'm dead."
To help her husband not spend so many long days on the farm, Hale jumps right in driving the tractor, picking up seed, disking, book work and organization and anything else he needs help doing.
"You don't see a lot of women on the farm," she said. "I can do just about all of it."
Ryan grew up in farming and Hale and her family got the opportunity to get into the business in 2015.
"Farming was always a dream of mine, my husband and dad," she said. "If you have a dream go after it and don't give up on it."
Hale said she's not able to put into words how much of a blessing it is to be able to farm on the big scale opposed to just 100 acres.
Outside of work when time allows, Hale enjoys kayaking, hiking, hunting, fishing and will try her luck with a garden this year.
"I have tried to plant flowers and they didn't live," she said. "You would think I would know all the ways to make something grow, but I haven't given up."
And if considered a hobby, Hale said she enjoys spending time with her husband.
"I love spending time with him and our two dogs just doing anything outside," she said.
When not in the fields or on the farm, Hale said the closest thing she does that might be considered "girly" is getting a massage or foot rub.
"I'm not a girly girl at all," she said.
For other women looking to break the mold in a traditionally male dominated field, Hale encourages all women, that with their own will and God by their side, they can do anything.
"Don't ever let anyone tell you that you can't do something just because you're a woman," she said. "Prove them wrong every time and always remember that your happiness is the most important thing."