Bo Meyering
Applications Developer
Application Developer Bo Meyering lives in Florida but also lived on the northernmost island in Japan after college. Even though it’s not his home country, the mountains and streams near the sleepy seaside village he lived in will always remain near and dear to his heart. Bo graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Southeastern University in 2012 and is currently working towards a Master of Science in Data Analytics at Georgia Tech.
What work experiences are most relevant to your position at The Land Institute?
I’ve had a lot of different jobs throughout my life, from working on a small organic farm, doing molecular work at the USDA, teaching English overseas, to most recently being a lab manager and data analyst at the University of Florida. My role at TLI involves a wide variety of projects that involve data management, programming, and analysis, but I don’t think I could select any experiences as more relevant than others as I routinely have to draw on all of them to understand projects from a more holistic viewpoint. My work and research at the UF stretched and challenged me to become a better programmer and bench scientist, but I also distinctly remember crawling under the canopy of orange trees to measure trunk diameters in the August heat during my summer breaks as an undergrad.
What’s most inspiring about your position?
I love being able to work in plant biology, while getting to code and build things, and work towards a more sustainable agricultural system.
What drew you to work at The Land Institute?
I’ve followed the work at the Land Institute for the past ten years or so, and I’ve always appreciated their dedication to sustainable systems and perennial agriculture. When I saw this position open up, I knew right away it was the right fit for me.
What Land Institute perennial grain crop do you look forward to eating the most and how would you prepare it?
Any of them! Alas, I work remotely far away in another part of the country so I’ve never had the chance to try them. If I had to pick though, I’d really like to try a beer made with Kernza!
What else are you passionate about?
I really love spending time with my wife and three kids, they keep me feeling young AND exhausted at the same time. I spend much of my free time outdoors and working with my hands. Kayaking, camping, hunting, fishing, woodworking, and gardening are just a few hobbies that I have. I really enjoy playing guitar as well. If I had a bit more land, I would love to start a tropical fruit hobby farm so we could grow more mango, avocado, and lychee trees than I am able to fit in our current backyard. I’ve also been trying my hand at growing Arabica coffee for the past few years, which has been a lot of fun!
If you were to write a book, what would it be about?
I’ve always wanted to write a sci-fi novel about a future world where all the crop species on earth slowly evolve to become poisonous to humans and how people overcome the challenges they face as a result. Or an anthropological book about societal and ecological implications of switching from hunter/gatherer societies to agricultural ones.
What were you like at age 10?
I was running around in the neighbor’s hay fields behind our house, playing with legos, climbing trees, and playing in the creek down the road. Really anything that involved building things or being outside.