Growing up in rural Kenya, farming wasn’t just something we did, it was who we were. My early experiences as a smallholder farmer laid the foundation for who I would later become—a crop protection content writer with a passion for science communication and practical solutions. Like many children in smallholder families, I balanced schoolwork with a long list of farm chores. Whether it was tending to the maize field, raising poultry, or caring for goats, agriculture was a family affair. It wasn’t commercial, but it was life-sustaining.
Today, after more than 30 years of experience in crop protection research and science communication, I help B2B companies connect with their audience through technically sound, story-driven content that speaks to farmers, scientists, and ag professionals alike. As a crop protection content writer, I bring deep technical knowledge and firsthand farming experience to every project.
This is the journey that brought me here.
Early Lessons in Leadership That Shaped Me as a Crop Protection Content Writer
As the eldest son, I was tasked with ensuring farm chores were completed, often by delegating to my younger siblings. And while I tried to lead by example, there were moments when I had to crack the whip (gently!).
We practiced subsistence farming. If we had extra produce, we gave it away to neighbors and relatives. Farming wasn’t about profit, it was about community, resilience, and survival.
One memory stands out vividly: hoeing weeds in the maize field under the hot sun. It was grueling work. That experience, more than anything else, sparked my curiosity about better, more sustainable ways to manage weeds—a curiosity that ultimately led me to become a crop protection expert. Today, I write about solutions that help managers tackle weeds and pests with precision tools, not just hard labor.
From Poultry to Positioning: Agribusiness Lessons for a Crop Protection Content Writer
Everything changed the day my parents brought home 100 broiler chicks. This wasn’t subsistence farming anymore, this was enterprise.
We quickly learned how different this was from raising indigenous chickens. These birds grew fast and were more vulnerable to predators and poultry diseases. That meant understanding pest control in a new context and learning how to manage biosecurity without any formal training.
Marketing, too, was a challenge. With no internet or social media, we relied entirely on word of mouth. Every time we raised a batch, we sold out. That taught me an invaluable B2B lesson: a great product combined with strong relationships builds trust and repeat business.
Eventually, we expanded into turkeys, mostly to serve a small but reliable demand around the holidays, typically from Americans. I hated the birds (back then) because of their demeanor and taste (not now, though), but I learned to respect niche markets. If you can anticipate customer needs and deliver consistent quality, even a tough sell can turn into a winning strategy.
How These Experiences Shaped My Agricultural Career
Inspired by those early lessons, I pursued a diploma in Extension Agriculture and worked as an extension agent. But I soon realized that solving modern farming challenges required deeper knowledge. So I kept learning, earning a BS, MS, and PhD in agriculture with a focus on crop protection.
After completing my BS in agronomy, my entry into crop protection began with an internship in Monsanto’s research and development division. There, I gained hands-on experience evaluating crop protection products before they entered the market. That early exposure to research trials and product efficacy testing shaped the way I understand the value of data-driven solutions in agriculture.
For my master’s research, I studied the competitive nature of one of the most difficult noxious and invasive weeds: johnsongrass. It was a critical lesson in weed biology and management, and it helped me appreciate the complexity of plant competition and the importance of strategic intervention.
For my doctorate, I focused on two notorious corn belt weeds, giant foxtail and shattercane, exploring their emergence dynamics. This work earned me a PhD and led to a postdoctoral fellowship where I applied that weed biology knowledge to modeling systems like WeedCast and decision support tools such as WeedSOFT.
Later, as a university faculty member, I studied the biology and management of biennial wormwood, which had become a growing problem in the upper Midwest and Canada. With colleagues, I helped develop a suite of management options for growers, a prime example of research that directly served producers’ needs.
Over the years, I’ve:
- Conducted and published peer-reviewed research on weed science and integrated pest management
- Taught hundreds of students and extension professionals in both the U.S. and Kenya
- Partnered with ag businesses to test and communicate product performance
Today, through Kegode Copywriting, I specialize in translating technical information into clear, strategic, and relatable content that:
- Highlights your product’s real-world value
- Educates your audience without overselling
- Builds long-term trust in your brand
From communicating climate change impacts to farmers to helping brands explain new biologicals, I draw from a lifetime of experience rooted in both smallholder agriculture and scientific rigor as a crop protection content writer.
Why I Write the Way I Do as a Crop Protection Content Writer
Agriculture is personal to me. I’ve lived it from the inside out—from rural Kenya to university research fields in the U.S. So, when I write for your brand, I’m not just writing for clicks. I’m writing to help farmers, advisors, and buyers understand and trust what you offer.
I believe that effective science writing—especially in the crop protection and ag-tech space—needs to combine:
- Technical accuracy
- Empathy for the end user
- A strong B2B content strategy
If you’re a company working in herbicides, biopesticides, seed treatments, crop inputs, or ag-tech, and you need a science-savvy crop protection content writer who also understands your customers’ reality, I’d love to hear from you.
👉 Contact me to discuss how we can bring your product stories to life.
About the author
George O. Kegode, Ph.D., is a crop protection specialist turned science writer with over three decades of experience in agricultural research and education. He now helps B2B companies in the ag industry create content that informs, builds trust, and supports long-term growth.