When I started going to their home towns, I really liked the passion and commitment I saw in the people living there. It was her future husband, Kirk who was an engineering student, who most influenced her attitudes towards rural Missourians. His parents were farmers. Today, Karen and her husband assist his parents several times a year when farm workload is heavy, such as during the planting and harvesting seasons. After Karen completed her master's degree in Guidance and Counseling the couple moved to Columbia, where Karen began working at the University of Missouri's Agricultural Engineering Department.
Agriculture is one of Missouri's biggest and most diversified sources of revenue.
Texas is the only state that has more farms than Missouri. As a result, Funkenbusch's efforts to keep agricultural workers healthy not only helps farmers, it benefits Missouri's economy as well. Funkenbusch explained that farming is physically demanding work. It potentially exposes farmers to harsh elements and chemicals, plus working with livestock and giant farm machinery is sometimes deadly. In the 1980's, more than 200 Missouri farmers died from farming accidents according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.