Maggie McDonald was only 15 years old when she learned the Montana lab her family used to analyze their doe pregnancy tests would no longer be available. As she researched the blood-based pregnancy testing process and the equipment used, she decided she wouldn’t be needing another lab — she could start her own.
“It was really all an idea, and then I started doing the research and purchased equipment with premium show sales,” she said.
M2 Genetics and Testing opened in May 2020, and while other industries around the world slowed from the COVID pandemic, McDonald’s lab grew faster than she ever imagined.
“Farmers and ranchers still had to feed the world, so the lab was able to open,” she said.
Since its opening, McDonald’s lab has grown to include clientele in 10 states, completing over 8,000 blood-based pregnancy tests. The tests confirm pregnancies after only 30 days post-breeding by scanning blood for glycol, a protein produced by the placenta carried in pregnant ruminant animals such as goats, sheep, and cattle.
As a young woman in a male-dominated industry, McDonald notes that she often encounters clients who doubt her abilities and capabilities.
“I had to learn to talk within a man’s industry as a young woman and learn to be a confident speaker when talking to clients,” she said.
As her business grew, McDonald encountered as a teenager challenges that most young professionals won’t face until after they graduate college. When a dairy farm fell behind their payments and eventually went bankrupt, McDonald had to navigate filing for Title 13, a complex legal proceeding to ensure that she was paid for her work. She also noted that it was her family and other supporters who helped her handle those challenges.
“I thank the Lord for my parents and supporters, especially my dad. He really helped me in the business world,” she said.
Growing up in Magnolia, Arkansas, McDonald was surrounded by agriculture from an early age as both her father and grandparents have cattle herds, and she was thrilled to join FFA in the seventh grade. During her time as a member of the Magnolia FFA chapter, she showed livestock and competed in the Veterinary Science CDE while also serving as president of the chapter for two years. Throughout her high school years, McDonald especially excelled in livestock showing, winning multiple grand champion market lamb and goat titles at shows in several states including Georgia, Arkansas, Arizona, Nevada, and Kentucky.
Now an animal science major at Oklahoma State University, she notes that the same things she learned through her agriculture classes and FFA competitions and experiences are being taught in her biology and entomology classes. “The things you learn through FFA don’t leave you, they stay with you forever,” she said.
In 2022, McDonald was named a National FFA Proficiency Goat Finalist Winner for Arkansas and later represented her state as a finalist at the 95th National FFA Convention. In April of 2023, McDonald was awarded the State Star in Agribusiness and the Arkansas FFA Agricultural Services Proficiency Award and again represented Arkansas at the 96th National FFA Convention. Then, just this past July she was announced as a finalist for the America Star in Agribusiness and will once again compete at the 97th National FFA Convention.
Looking back on all her success, McDonald noted that being a finalist for the Star in Agribusiness is definitely one of her project and career highlights.
“As an FFA student being able to show younger kids that you are capable of anything you set your mind to, and as long as you work hard you can accomplish your biggest goals and your biggest dreams, that’s a big deal,” she said.
Through FFA, McDonald has had opportunities to attend conventions to promote her business, meet new people, and gain new skills. From learning responsibility through stock showing, time management as she balanced school and work, scientific knowledge through her classes and competitions, and business practices from her lab project, FFA has been the key to McDonald’s success.
“FFA shaped me into who I am and led me to where I’m at,” she said.
In the future, McDonald plans to earn a master’s degree in animal reproduction and work on the genetic side of her business to offer practices such as embryo transfer and artificial insemination.
Kate Walker is a student at Georgia College and State University. Originally from Watkinsville, Georgia, she has a passion for writing and all things agriculture.
