Delaware Farm Bureau is pleased to have Kali Voshell join the state staff as Program and Foundation Coordinator. She will manage the Delaware Farm Bureau Foundation, serve as National Ag in the Classroom contact and as Young Farmers and Ranchers staff coordinator.
Executive Director Joseph Poppiti said, “We are excited to have Kali join our team. Kali brings a passion for agriculture that will benefit the staff and our membership.”
Voshell is the daughter of Gusty and the late Paula Voshell. She grew up in Felton, not on a farm, but she has worked on one her entire life, she said. She became interested in horses at age 7 or 8 and began taking horseback riding lessons. She was naturally drawn to Wicked R Western Productions Inc. in Camden, where she participated in agritourism events with not only horses but all kinds of livestock and organized field trips and birthday parties for children. “I’ve done planning and organizing at every job I’ve had,” she said.
She put those skills to use at Haass’ Family Butcher Shop in Dover, helping organize events during the five years she worked there.
Voshell was in 4-H for a few years, then FFA at Lake Forest High School, where she was also active in community affairs. She continued riding through all four years of college as part of the Del State Equestrian team.
“They take an individual sport and make it into a team sport,” Voshell explained. “The transition from emphasis on your own achievement to the team’s accomplishments is challenging to understand, but you learn to want your team to win.”
The coach required members to be active, she said. “We rode four days a week and worked out five days a week, plus doing our school work. It was a great experience. When you wanted time off, you were happy just to sit down!”
Majoring in agriculture, she took classes in almost every aspect of the industry, from crops and livestock to weeds and fertilizer. “I learned a little bit of everything,” she said.
As part of her job, Voshell will share her knowledge of agriculture with elementary school children as she takes the Ag Education Mobile Classroom around the state. Voshell said she will have no problem driving the trailer, as she used to pull a 34-foot catering kitchen all over the state. She has also driven horse trailers and livestock trailers.
“Working with kids is exactly what I did at Wicked R, also at Haass. And I love to talk. I’ve never been shy about talking to anybody.”
Voshell is looking forward to furthering the mission of the Delaware Farm Bureau Foundation — to build awareness, understanding and positive public perception about Delaware’s farm operations, promote fresh local food and sponsor the Ag Education Mobile Classroom. One of the events she will be planning is the annual 5K Milk Run/Walk which raises money to help provide milk to hungry children.
Voshell can be reached at kali.voshell@defb.org.
