Anna McCain, a former agriculture researcher, began Jan. 16 as the new county agent for the Warren County office of the Mississippi State University Extension Service.

“There’s this thought that agriculture is an old science. That’s not true. There’s all this new stuff happening every single day,” McCain said.

McCain met last week with representatives from extension service groups sharing her plans to get more young people interested in the cutting-edge technology used in today’s agriculture.

“I want to show the community, especially young people in the community, that if they want to pursue a career in agriculture, their only option isn’t to be a farmer,” McCain said. “You can be a scientist, an engineer, an entrepreneur. I want to make people aware of those options.”

That’s a massive culture change for an industry that for the public often conjures up images of old men in straw hats riding tractors.

McCain is the first woman to lead the local extension office, said John Coccaro, a longtime extension agent in Warren and Sharkey counties.

“I think Anna’s going to be a perfect fit for Warren County,” Coccaro said.

Coccarro has been filling in part-time since last summer when county agent Wesley Purvis transferred to Claiborne County. Purvis is from Port Gibson and had been driving to Vicksburg every day, Coccaro said.

McCain said she hopes to serve as a role model for young women considering going into the agriculture field.

“I’ve certainly never felt out of place in agriculture because I’m a woman,” she said.

McCain grew up in the Scott community in Bolivar County, home of Delta & Pine Land Co., the world’s largest cotton breeder and one of the country’s leading plant research facilities. She began working there as a teenager and decided to attend Mississippi State and become agricultural researcher.

“I started off being interested in research because I thought that was the best way for me to serve my community. But when I started interacting more with the public, I thought there’s this gap between what’s going on with the public. Extension really fills that gap,” McCain said.

She graduated in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in horticulture and is currently a candidate for a master’s. Later this year she will defend her thesis exploring theories about leaf whitening in ivy geraniums, and yes, it is as complicated as it sounds.

McCain’s background in horticulture and research makes her knowledge incredibly useful in Warren County, Cocarro said.

“The vast majority of people we get in the office have urban horticulture questions,” he said.

McCain and her husband, Matthew who works at Baxter Wilson, live in Madison, and are planning to move to Vicksburg soon.