By Stephen Smoot
“Terri has been a great asset to us, in not only our programming, but to Pendleton County agriculture in general” said Brooke Alt, one of Pendleton County’s West Virginia University Extension agents, about Terri McCoy. McCoy is one of six women across the Mountain State honored this year by the West Virginia Department of Agriculture.
McCoy spent her childhood until the age of 12 on her grandparents’ farm just off of US 33 between Ripley and Evans in Jackson County. “I was born into it,” she shared, going on to say that “My dad [Terry Boggess] has been heavily involved in agriculture. I was always surrounded by it from day one.”
Her first farming experience, though all the way across the state, was one that many in Pendleton County would find familiar. Just as in Pendleton, many of the farmers in that Ohio River Valley county work in cattle and hay.
She got involved in exhibiting early in life, showing her first sheep at the remarkable age of three, then her first calf at eight. In Jackson County, McCoy also joined 4-H. There, she says she learned “responsibility and accountability.”
McCoy was involved in all phases of farm life, saying “I learned to drive a tractor before I learned to drive the truck.”
At the age of 12, McCoy’s family moved to Greenbrier County, where she later attended Greenbrier East High School. She continued with 4-H and also joined the Future Farmers of America there. As part of their FFA, she remembered that “you kind of learn how to utilize everyone’s different assets to do well as a team.”
After graduating from Greenbrier East in 1990, McCoy attended Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. There, she continued showing livestock while also majoring in animal science.
After college, McCoy found the second love of her life (after farming.) Not surprisingly, she met her husband, John, at a fairground’s sheep barn. Together, they now own and operate Brookwood Farms.
At Brookwood Farms, the McCoys maintain centuries old Pendleton County traditions of livestock excellence while also utilizing the most advanced technology and techniques in the field.
According to the Brookwood Farms website, “our goal is to create cattle that can excel in both the commercial and purebred industries.” There, they place a heavy focus on achieving excellence through genetics. “We emphasize a balance between phenotypic and genotypic attributes and don’t sacrifice quality by chasing fads and numbers.”
“Genotype” refers to the genetic traits, both dominant and recessive and also expressed and not expressed. The animal’s properties, including physical development and behavior, fall under “phenotype.”
Brookwood Farms carries 130 purebred Angus cows, 25 Herefords, and 200 crossbred club lamb-producing sheep and also co-hosts the Genetic Alliance Bull Sale.
Proof of the excellence of their work came in 2023 when their animals won Grand Champion Market Lamb at the Iowa State Fair, Missouri State Fair, and State Fair of West Virginia – all in the same week!
The McCoys also work to help support the learning of the next generation of farmers. Alt shared that 4-H kids have been allowed to practice for their judging contests on Brookwood Farm’s lambs. They also sell lambs to young people for raising and showing.
That said, McCoy explained that “it’s very hard to start from the ground up and make it” in farming today. She went on to add that the cost of land alone can keep young people out of farming, but not necessarily out of agriculture.
“Agriculture is such a diverse area,” McCoy explained, also saying that with creativity, almost anyone can get involved in the field in some fashion. She cited the fact that technologically and scientifically savvy young people can work with the latest advancements in the field.
On their own farm, for example, the McCoys employ the latest techniques in artificial insemination and embryo transfer. According to the Mississippi State Extension Service, embryo transfer, or ET, “allows a producer to quickly multiply the genetics of the top females in the herd. When artificially inseminated with semen from bulls with high genetic merit, these top females produce calves with superior genetics.”
“The technological advancements in the past 10 years,” McCoy says, “are just incredible.”
Preparing the next generation of farmers started at home with the McCoys. “Our greatest accomplishment is that both of our sons are interested in agriculture and are pursuing it,” McCoy stated. She went on to say that her oldest, Billy, is currently studying agriculture science at Iowa State and that their other son, Braden, studies agriculture business at Oklahoma State.
“That means a lot to us,” she proudly shared, and added “it’s wide open what they can do with their degrees.”
Others honored were Esther Allen from Marshall County, Heather Duncan from Jefferson County, Cindy Jenks from Hardy County, Corinne Powell from Mason County, and the Honorable Carol Miller, who serves in the United States House of Representatives and hails from Cabell County.
