08/28/2026
For as long as she can remember, cattle have been an integral part of life for Elizabeth Belew, Ph.D. Growing up in a town of 250 people, agriculture was “just what you did.” And for her family, raising cattle was what they did.
Elizabeth’s family taught her from an early age that farming came with tough moments and that she’d need to learn the business side to be in it for the long haul. This included selling her first heifer, April, affectionately named after the character in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
“But I knew I wanted to be in agriculture, and I was going to do anything I could to get that done,” Elizabeth says. “Now, my path may have changed. I thought I was going to go into ag business, but then I really liked animal science.”
Today, as a Purina nutritionist, her goal is to be a partner and member of her cattle producers’ teams. And because Elizabeth, her husband and her father-in-law also raise cattle on his family’s 192-year-old farm, she knows the realities producers face.
“I understand logistics, I understand all these things that could stack up and why you might be hesitant,” she says. “I get it because these are the same objections that I have at my house.”
This shared understanding helps Elizabeth build trust with producers. And to her, success and some of her best days come when she gets an invite to sit down at their supper table.
“That’s the beauty of agriculture, it’s like-minded people that share the same passion for what you do every day,” she says.
📸: Kelly Cosby Photography
