Melanie is a graduate of the University of South Carolina with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and a Doctorate in Pharmacy.

She along with her husband Kendt are the owners of Shull Farms which is in Salley, SC, and is a small, first-generation poultry, row crop, and cattle operation.  

As the CEO of Shull Ag, an Ag-centric engineering and consulting firm Melanie has a focus on income and business development for farms and a commitment to advocacy for agriculture.  

Melanie has 12 years of experience working with NRCS on Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) projects. She brings 25 years of experience in customer service, public-facing, and entrepreneurial endeavors, including several years as a clinical pharmacist in a specialty pharmacy. In that role, she developed policies and procedures to comply with federal and state laws as well as implemented and created deliverables needed for national accreditation for the pharmacy. She also worked with South Carolina state regulatory, policy, and advisory groups to provide expertise in such matters as composting, siting and permitting of confined animal facilities, development of a new permit process for DHEC for No-Discharge Determinations (compliance with the Clean Water Act), and in steering and providing input for State Water Planning through several SC River Basin Councils.

Melanie works extensively to advocate for agriculture producers and agricultural interests in South Carolina, the Southeast, and nationally.

She serves as the appointed Commissioner for Aiken Soil and Water Conservation District and is a voting delegate for SC Farm Bureau as well as a Farm Bureau Alternate State Director for Aiken County.  

At a national level she serves in conservation leadership as a part of the Leadership Team and a Co-Chair for NCPP (the National Conservation Planning Partnership). NCPP consists of the five national conservation agencies and exists to strengthen voluntary & locally-led conservation. She represents NACD (National Association of Conservation Districts) in this role and is co-chair of the Performance, Outcomes, and Accountability Team alongside Edwin Martinez, NRCS State Conservationist for Virginia. As Co-Chair of one of NCPP’s four Action Teams, Melanie is one of approximately 15 individuals that meet in-person several times a year and  

She also serves as Shull Ag’s representative as a member of Palmetto AgriBusiness Council and participates on PABC’s Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Team.