Erica Olson and her husband, Craig, farm in that Colfax, North Dakota area. Erica is also the manager of market development and research with the North Dakota Wheat Commission. She grew up on a farm at Mohall, which was unique because the family farmed on both sides of the internation border. As a teenager, Erica and her brother had a custom canola swathing business. “When, you one of the producers I was working for complimented me on my work and at that time it was not very common for girls or women to be in the field, it was kind of the boost I needed.” The work at the NDWC includes numerous international trips including one of the first trips that included 14 countries in 23 days. Erica also remembers a NDWC trip to Algeria where she was the only woman at the conference. Her advice? “Don’t be intimidated. Ask the questions, join the conversation, expand your knowledge.” Watch the interview.
