Successful Agriculture Career of Morgan County Intern

Working with animals is not for the faint hearted. Dr. Michael Penney of Holly Pond Animal Clinic can prove that fact. But, whether it is a little ornery poodle with an itch or a ticked-off bull with a limp, Dr. Penney is ready and willing to help.

Dr. Penney is one of Morgan County NRCS's pride and joys. He came to Morgan County as an intern in the summer of 1999, before completing his degree at Auburn University in veterinarian medicine. Penney heard of the internship through his high school agriculture teacher, Sandy Fields, from Danville—who’s family are long time customers with the Morgan County Soil and Water Conservation District.

"Mr. Fields would take our FFA class to competitions and stockyards for livestock and dairy judging. That is what introduced me to Auburn. I might have never gone to Auburn if Mr. Fields had not taken us there," states Penney, as he reminisces about high school days.

Penney had grown up working with animals, but his parents sold their dairy farm when he was about ten years old. His love for animals and his desire to work in agriculture, helped him chose to study veterinary medicine. "I knew it would be real hard to start a farm from scratch, so I thought if I went into veterinarian medicine, I could still work in agriculture and make a good living for my family at the same time." Penney recently married Amy Early, a veterinary technician at the Hartselle Animal Clinic.

Penney is a veterinarian in the community of Holly Pond.  He shares his knowledge of the conservation practices available through NRCS and recommends NRCS to local farmers. "There are residents around here who have retired from jobs in Birmingham. When they move here to the country to start a farm, they don’t know anything about NRCS," comments Penney. " I always tell them to go up there and talk to you folks, and see what NRCS can do for you." He enjoys seeing the work that NRCS is doing with cost-share practices when he visits farms area farms to "see about a cow," as he puts it. "They may have just put in a pond or completed a stream crossing, and they’ll mention that NRCS cost-shared on it."

Penney’s work requires good communication with the farmer. "My work now is a lot like the work I did with NRCS," states Penney. "Usually you have about 15 minutes of hands-on work and then there’s about thirty minutes of talking with the farmer to find out his concerns and needs." Penney’s genuine personality and his concern for the agricultural society have made him a real asset to the community.

"In 1998 and 1999, NRCS received a pool of money to hire interns (WAE’s) to assist with our workload," states Foy Kirkland, NRCS District Conservationist in the Hartselle field office. "We felt then, and know now, that we were very fortunate to have found these young people that have been highlighted in these success stories."

Other Intern stories: 

Robby Vinsant  - Agriscience teacher at Speake High School in Lawrence County (1st highlighted intern)
Chris Thrasher - Agriscience teacher at Oakman High School (2nd highlighted intern)
 

< Back to Success Stories