Farm Foundation is pleased to announce the 2025 cohort of its Young Agri-Food Leaders Program. This initiative engages emerging leaders aged 25-40 in the food and agribusiness sectors through a yearlong series of interactive learning and networking experiences, aiming to deepen their understanding of the food and agriculture value chain. The program also fosters the development of a robust network among peers in business, farming, and government.

Now in its fifth year, the Young Agri-Food Leaders Program offers participants sponsorship to attend events, engage in virtual discussions, and access exclusive learning and networking opportunities. Each participant is paired with a senior agri-food mentor to support their career growth and development. Additionally, members of the cohort have the opportunity to participate in various Farm Foundation programs, including attending at least one Farm Foundation Round Table meeting.

The 2025 Young Agri-Food Leaders are:

Mary Akinyuwa
Biochemist and Molecular Biologist, Corteva Agriscience
Mary is dedicated to sustainable agriculture and global food security. At Corteva Agriscience, she investigates the mechanisms of pesticides to ensure their long-term efficacy and accessibility for growers worldwide.

Molly Grotjan
Supply Management Specialist, John Deere
Molly supports John Deere’s Construction & Forestry Division as a Supply Management Specialist. She is also pursuing an MBA in Strategy and Marketing at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

Amy Jancewicz
President, CropVue Technologies
As President of CropVue Technologies, Amy leads global business development, operational excellence, and innovation in AgTech, aiming to enhance sustainability and efficiency in agriculture for the benefit of growers and society.

Zachary McGee
Senior Director of Live Operations, Simmons Foods
Zach oversees poultry grow-out operations for one of the largest poultry processing plants in the United States at Simmons Foods Inc. He manages 119 team members, processes 17 million pounds of chicken weekly, and oversees 200 contract poultry farmers in Arkansas and Oklahoma.

Emily Miller
Senior Consulting Operations Manager, Rodale Institute
Emily leads operations for Rodale Institute’s Consulting team, supporting farmers globally in transitioning to regenerative and organic practices. She earned a BA in Economics from Barnard College of Columbia University and is currently pursuing an MS in Sustainability Management from American University’s Kogod School of Business.

Mikayla Mooney
Partner, Ag Startup Engine
Mikayla is a Venture Partner at Ag Startup Engine, where she plays a key role in building and leading the organization’s third fund. Her journey in ag tech began at 19 when she founded KinoSol, a company that developed solar-powered food dehydrators for farmers in developing regions.

Jessi Roesch
Founder & CEO, Downland
Jessi is the founder of Downland, a fintech startup dedicated to ensuring farmland remains in agriculture to feed future generations. With a background spanning finance, operations, and human health, she brings a unique perspective to the intersection of land stewardship, food systems, and business strategy.

Amy Tannhauser
Sustainability Manager, OSI Group
Amy is the Corporate Sustainability Manager at OSI Group. She collaborates with internal teams and customers to implement carbon reduction projects and sustainability initiatives, driving progress toward science-based targets.

For more information about each Young Agri-Food Leader and the program, visit Farm Foundation’s Young Agri-Food Leaders page.

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Farm Foundation, in collaboration with PepsiCo and the PepsiCo Foundation, is proud to announce the launch of the Next Generation Farmers Program, an initiative designed to equip young agricultural entrepreneurs with the skills, education, and resources needed to thrive in today’s farming sector.

Recognizing the growing challenges young farmers face – including limited access to education and training – the Next Generation Farmers Program will provide vital scholarships, training, and mentorship opportunities. This initiative is intended to serve as a critical steppingstone in helping the next generation of U.S. farmers build strong, sustainable businesses to feed the world for years to come.

Gregg Halverson is a farmer from North Dakota who grows potatoes for Frito-Lay and has a long-held affiliation with Farm Foundation. Halverson emphasizes the benefits this program can have for the agricultural community in the U.S. “I believe there is a lot of interest and passion for agriculture among our young people, but the high barriers to entering this field can be discouraging. The programs that Farm Foundation and the PepsiCo Foundation are building will have a direct impact on helping these young agriculturists gain a footing in the production ag sector.”

As a key supporter of this initiative, the PepsiCo Foundation has committed to a multi-year financial investment, furthering its efforts to support the agricultural community. This funding will help provide essential resources to young farmers via the Next Generation Farmers Program, fostering long-term success in an increasingly demanding industry.

“By investing in the future of agriculture, we are ensuring that young farmers have the tools and guidance they need to build viable and resilient businesses,” said Shari Rogge-Fidler, President and CEO at Farm Foundation. “We are proud to partner with the PepsiCo Foundation to drive meaningful change and support the next generation of agricultural leaders.”

“The PepsiCo Foundation’s work focuses on the creation of sustainable and innovative solutions, including ways to support a more resilient, sustainable agricultural system to help feed the world’s growing population,” said C.D. Glin, President of the PepsiCo Foundation and Global Head of Social Impact at PepsiCo. “We are proud to partner with the Farm Foundation once again to further our pep+ (PepsiCo Positive) agenda and to support the next generation of farmers by providing the tools and resources they need to succeed.”

This latest initiative builds on a Farm Foundation, PepsiCo, and the PepsiCo Foundation collaboration, Field to Future, a two-year cohort program designed to create career opportunities within the agriculture industry at large.

Farm Foundation encourages other stakeholders to prioritize building a future for farmers. Through donations and advocacy, individuals and organizations can play a pivotal role in shaping the future of American agriculture and empowering young farmers with the knowledge, resources, and networks necessary for success.

For more information about the Next Generation Farmers Program and how to get involved, please visit https://farmfoundation.org/nextgenfarmer or contact Tim Brennan, Vice President of Programs and Strategic Impact at Farm Foundation at tim@farmfoundation.org

About Farm Foundation:
About Farm Foundation®: Farm Foundation is an accelerator of practical solutions for agriculture. Our mission is to build trust and understanding at the intersections of agriculture and society. We accomplish this by leveraging non‐partisan objective dialogue, information, and training, catalyzing solutions, and creating multi‐stakeholder collaboration. Our vision is to build a future for farmers, our communities, and our world.

About PepsiCo:

PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated nearly $92 billion in net revenue in 2024, driven by a complementary beverage and convenient foods portfolio that includes Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Quaker, and SodaStream. PepsiCo’s product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including many iconic brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales. 

Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Beverages and Convenient Foods by Winning with pep+ (PepsiCo Positive). pep+ is our strategic end-to-end transformation that puts sustainability and human capital at the center of how we will create value and growth by operating within planetary boundaries and inspiring positive change for planet and people. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com, and follow on X (Twitter), Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn @PepsiCo. 

About the PepsiCo Foundation:    
The PepsiCo Foundation, the philanthropic arm of PepsiCo, invests in the essential elements of a sustainable food system with a mission to support thriving communities. Working with non-profits and experts around the globe, we’re focused on helping communities obtain access to food security, safe water and economic opportunity. We strive for tangible impact in the places where we live and work—collaborating with industry peers, local and international organizations, and our employees to affect large-scale change on the issues that matter to us and are of global importance. Learn more at www.pepsicofoundation.com.  Follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn.  

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Farm Foundation’s Meet Your Farmer podcast featured Hannah Borg in season1, episode 5.

Hannah is a sixth-generation farmer from Wakefield, Nebraska. In 2019, she returned home to the family business, Borg Farms. She and her family raise crops, cattle, and chickens for Costco. She holds a degree in agricultural communications from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

In the episode, Hannah discusses what it was like to grow up on the farm, navigating the transitions between generations, how she came to be raising chickens for Costco, among many other topics.

Listen to the episode.

Find Hannah on Instagram: itshannahborg

Music: “Country Roads” by Sergii Pavkin from Pixabay

Reach us at communication@farmfoundation.org.

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Farm Foundation’s Meet Your Farmer podcast featured Steve Kaufman in season 1, episode 3.

Steve is a fifth-generation farmer. He returned to his family’s Idaho farm full time in 2014 when his uncles and father were ready to retire. He and his two brothers farm 14,000 dryland crop acres, growing primarily winter wheat, spring wheat, peas, garbanzo beans, and canola. Prior to that, he worked at Northwest Farm Credit Services while also farming part time. Steve is an alum of Farm Foundation’s Young Farmer Accelerator Program.

In this episode, Steve talks about how gratifying it is to produce enough grain for 30 million loaves of bread on his farm, the hard work of trying to balance life with young kids and farm life, and what the process was like to switch over to no-till.

Listen to the episode.

Music: “Country Roads” by Sergii Pavkin from Pixabay

Reach us at communication@farmfoundation.org.

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Farm Foundation and National 4-H Council recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a focus on a deeper collaboration in leadership, education and youth workforce readiness for young people who seek careers in food and agriculture.

The organizations’ current partnership on the Farm Family Wellness Alliance (FFWA)  provides free access to mental health and wellness services to farm families across the United States, including youth ages 16 and up. Now, the two organizations will align on career exploration, leadership training and skill-building opportunities for youth through Farm Foundation’s Next Generation programs and 4-H’s recently launched Beyond Ready initiative. This collaboration will help strengthen young learners’ interest in food and agriculture career pathways as early as elementary school. Additionally, it will help create a ready pipeline of future leaders as they graduate high school and college.

“Farm Foundation looks forward to closer collaboration with 4-H, which has already been such a wonderful partner in working towards practical solutions for agriculture,” said Shari Rogge-Fidler, president and CEO, Farm Foundation. “There are so many synergies between our two organizations that will lead to a natural multiplier effect in our ability to accelerate young people in their paths into food and agriculture. It is an exciting moment for Farm Foundation, and we look forward to a fruitful and valuable partnership.”

“The extended partnership with Farm Foundation further strengthens our ability to prepare young people for success in agriculture, food science and beyond. Building on the positive impact of the Farm Family Wellness Alliance, our enhanced collaboration will equip youth with the leadership, skills and confidence they need to be Beyond Ready for the workforce of tomorrow,” said Jill Bramble, president and CEO, National 4-H Council.

Farm Foundation
Naomi Millán
Marketing and Communications Manager
naomi@farmfoundation.org

National 4-H Council
Yolanda Stephen
Senior Manager, Public Relations
YStephen@fourhcouncil.edu

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About Farm Foundation:
Farm Foundation® has accelerated practical solutions for agriculture for over 90 years. Farm Foundation’s mission is to build trust and understanding at the intersections of agriculture and society. This is accomplished by leveraging non‐partisan objective dialogue, information, and training, catalyzing solutions, and creating multi‐stakeholder collaboration. Farm Foundation’s vision is to build a future for farmers, our communities, and our world. For more information, visit farmfoundation.org.  

About National 4-H Council:
4-H, the nation’s largest youth development organization, grows confident young people who are empowered for life today and prepared for careers tomorrow. 4-H programs empower nearly six million young people across the U.S. through experiences that develop critical life skills. Through Beyond Ready, 4-H will increase that number to ten million youth annually. 4-H is the youth development program of our nation’s Cooperative Extension System and USDA and serves every county and parish in the U.S. through a network of 110 public universities and more than 3,000 local Extension offices. Globally, 4-H collaborates with independent programs to empower one million youth in 50 countries. The research-backed 4-H experience grows young people who are four times more likely to contribute to their communities; two times more likely to make healthier choices; two times more likely to be civically active; and two times more likely to participate in STEM programs.

Learn more about 4‑H at 4-H.org and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. 

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In the Perspectives guest blog series, Farm Foundation invites participants from among the varied Farm Foundation programs to share their unique viewpoint on a topic relevant to a Farm Foundation focus area. In this post, Gillian Villa discusses the impact of attending a professional conference with her cohort of the Field to Future program. The Farm Foundation Field to Future Program engages underrepresented undergraduate students studying at an accredited university and/or land grant institution in a two year-long program of learning experiences focused on gaining a deeper understanding of production agriculture, food processing, marketing, and agribusiness. Gillian is a sophomore at Kansas State University, studying agribusiness with a secondary major in global food systems leadership and a minor in agronomy. 

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Attending the Women in Agribusiness conference in Denver, Colorado, left a lasting impact on my perspective as a young woman in agriculture. The agricultural sector can often be daunting, and I frequently find myself facing challenges that can feel discouraging, leading me to question my qualifications and value within the field. However, meeting accomplished women from diverse backgrounds in the agricultural industry was incredibly inspiring. Their stories of resilience and success demonstrated the strength of women in this sector and highlighted the vital role we play in feeding, housing, and clothing the world.

I gained a deeper understanding of how innovation is reshaping our industry, from the growing interest in AI and its applications to the advancements in research and development, as well as the vital role of agricultural policy and advocacy in driving innovation forward. Further, I discovered many avenues where I, as a next-gen leader, can contribute meaningfully to the industry.

I felt empowered by the collaboration among like-minded women who share a passion for making a positive difference in agriculture. Back on campus, I am actively fostering conversations about the insights I gained at the conference. I even had the opportunity to connect with a company represented at the conference that has proven to be beneficial to my undergraduate research.

Overall, it’s clear that we must work together to foster innovation that will positively impact our food system. While it was centered around female leadership, it’s essential to recognize that both men and women, regardless of age or experience, must collaborate to drive progress in agriculture and create a sustainable future for all. Sharing knowledge, experiences, and resources is so important to the development of leaders and industry. This conference reaffirmed my commitment to being an advocate for change and a voice for the future of agriculture. I left Denver with not only newfound knowledge and connections but also a sense of purpose and determination to contribute positively to this essential field.

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The 2024 USDA ERS/Farm Foundation Agricultural Scholars recently completed their cohort year, presenting their capstone projects at the U.S. Department of Agriculture to USDA Economic Research Service staff during the second week of September.  

The group of 20 Ag Scholars presented on topics ranging from utility-scale solar energy, to labor markets, supplemental irrigation, and food loss and waste practices.  

After their presentations, the students met with USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics Sanah Baig, USDA Chief Economist Dr. Seth Meyer, and met with the House and Senate Ag Committees.  

At the end of the week, the Ag Scholars also attended the September World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) Lockup. 

The 5th cohort’s productive year connected the students with their field of study in a deeply meaningful way and forged connections across the industry that will serve them well as they continue to develop as leaders.  

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The USDA ERS/Farm Foundation Agricultural Scholars recently travelled to New Orleans to present their research at the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA) Annual Meeting, held July 28 to 30, 2024.

Presentation topics included “Food Price Inflation Forecasting,” “Consumer preferences for Value-Added Foods from Black-Owned Food Companies,” and “Can Grocery Store Food Loss and Waste Reduction Practices Attract Shoppers?” among others.

Several Farm Foundation current program participants and alums won awards for their papers. These included Agricultural Scholar John Robinson of North Carolina State University, who won second place in the graduate student extension competition. January 2024 Cultivator Ryanna Tietje of The Ohio State University won second place in the undergraduate student paper competition.

The AAEA annual meeting brings together agricultural economists from around the world to discuss the biggest issues facing agriculture. The Agricultural Scholars were able to be part of those discussions, meet with USDA ERS staff, and learn about important research happening to improve agriculture.

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In May, students in the first cohort of the Farm Foundation CAFE (Careers in Food and Agriculture Exploration) Student Workshop grew their career readiness skills and explored future options available in food and agriculture. Held May 20 to 21 at North Carolina A&T University Farm Pavilion in Greensboro, North Carolina, the program served 10 undergraduate students from three different 1890 land-grant institutions: North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Southern University and A&M College, and Tennessee State University.

Over the course of two days, students explored career opportunities in agriculture, developed new skills for positioning themselves in the job market, expanded their networks, and left with a transformational experience and new tools to carry them into their future careers. The small group setting allowed for in-depth discussions with presenters from across the industry, such as John Deere, FMC, and National Wheat Growers. In addition, the group was able to visit the Syngenta Crop Protection North America Headquarters to learn more about their global operation.

See the 2024 CAFE program project report for further details on the program, including program elements, topics covered, and key results.

The CAFE workshop is a key part of a five-year project funded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, specifically the SAPLINGS grant in partnership with North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NC A&T).

The Farm Foundation project leads for this program are Martha King, vice president of programs and projects; Jenna Wicks, program manager; and Amanda L. Martin, director of development.  

We are incredibly grateful to everyone at NC A&T, along with the faculty, staff, and guest speakers who shared their expertise with our first CAFE cohort and made this program such a success.

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