Natalie Kovarik
Owner & Operator of Kovarik Cattle Co.
Hometown: Originally born and raised in Southwest MT, but located in Central Nebraska now
Q: Is what you’re doing now what you always pictured you would do?
A: To be quite honest, no. I grew up a proud rancher’s daughter, but never in a million years did I think I’d be a rancher’s wife, ranch mom, or rancher myself. Looking back that is partly because the hardships of Agriculture seemed heavy to my younger self, but also because my parents gave my siblings and me the beautiful gift of choice. They never wanted us to feel obligated to take over the family operation, they wanted that to be a choice of ours. So, I pursued a degree in pharmacy and spent 5 years practicing as a full-time pharmacist living in a bigger city in MT near my family ranch, but not on it. Things came full circle when I met and married my husband and relocated to our operation.
Q: What do you see as the greatest challenges for women in your chosen industry? What are the greatest opportunities?
A: This is a hard question for me to answer. I recognize that if you look hard enough there are gender inequalities in every profession, whether that be against the female or the male. In both my pharmacy profession and my current Ag endeavors I feel lucky to have been surrounded by peers and mentors that always championed me as a woman. As far as opportunities, I think women bring such a needed perspective to Agriculture. Our viewpoints and our voice are needed in the male-dominated industry - and if that isn’t an opportunity I don’t know what is.
Q: Who has inspired you in your life/career?
A: When it comes to inspiration and mentorships questions, I always think of my dad and my grandfather. My grandfather, Jack Cooper, decided to become involved in closed-line breeding during a time when there was little documentation that performance testing was heritable. And I often think of the bravery and belief it took to not only charge a new path but be strong enough in one’s convictions to do so. It inspires me daily both in our operation and in my life.
Q: What advice would you give to an aspiring professional?
A: To take the risk. I think there is a lot of good advice that could be given here. My husband would say to follow your passion because the path to success is never easy and the more you are aligned with what you are passionate about, the easier the obstacles will be. I also think “simply start” is good advice too. Too many people get caught up in analysis paralysis and never actually put one foot on the ground and start walking towards their vision/dreams. But I think if I could only give one piece of advice I would always fall back on the encouragement to take the risk. It’s the risk that turns into the reward.
Q: What’s been your secret to success?
A: I think there have been 2 things that have served me well in my journey of building my online brand. One was my bravery to start something new and the other was my ability to focus on my vision and not get sidetracked by what others thought of it or what others themselves may have been doing. I stand firm in my conviction that bravery and belief will take you far. One of my favorite quotes says “even if you go for it and doesn’t work out, you still win. You still had the guts to head staring into something that frightened you. That type of bravery will take you places”. I’m not sure who said it, but I think they are spot on.
