Farm Foundation President and CEO Shari Rogge-Fidler reflects on her experience at COP28 as part of the Solutions from the Land farmer delegation to Dubai. It was originally published as a LinkedIn article. Solutions from the Land has published additional comments on COP28 on their blog.

I had the distinct honor and privilege of being part of a delegation of US farmers attending the UN climate conference in Dubai, COP28.   As a 5th-generation farm owner and operator from Nebraska, my ancestors began life on the prairie in a sod house made from the soil.  Little did they know that farming was going to go through a huge transformation.  We have learned so much in the last few decades about the importance of soil and how it can be managed for the benefits of agriculture, humans and the environment, including sequestering carbon.

Farmers provide the basic human needs for people – food, fiber for clothing, energy – and ecosystem services for our planet.

For these reasons, it is critical to have farmers at the table for any discussions on changes in the food and agriculture system, to ensure their expertise is leveraged for increased effectiveness as well as preventing unintended consequences of policies and decisions that might detrimentally affect supplying the world with what they need for life.

I was part of the US delegation of 10 farmers who participated in the broader global farmer constituency of approximately 40-50 people from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and more.  We were part of the official “blue zone” where the negotiations occurred, which had approximately 18,000 people.  There was also a “green zone” and a total of 100, 000 people attending the broader activities of COP28.  The farmer constituency met daily to report on progress with the negotiations, highlight issues, and events where a farmer perspective would be helpful or necessary.

The key issues the farmer constituency focused on were ensuring the negotiation process moved forward for food and agriculture and not letting the wishes of a few countries to establish a new and permanent body delay the progress.  The second issue involved editing some of the key documents to include the word “farmer” in the lists of constituents called out as important in the negotiations and implementation, with the view that farmers need to be involved in providing input and guidance on any commitments and implementation.

The farmer constituency had the opportunity to make a formal statement in the room with the leaders of the negotiations early in the process and at the closing session.  We literally had a place and place card at the formal UN table that said “Farmer.”

We also met directly with other key leaders, including US Secretary Vilsack, as well as our own US negotiator and senior climate advisor to hear firsthand how the process was going and to provide feedback.

These opportunities were set in the context of the food and agriculture declaration launched on day one of COP28, garnering the most recently reported and growing number of 152 countries signing on with support, including the US.  We also experienced the historic milestone of a dedicated food and agriculture day, enabling many of the issues and opportunities to be highlighted through dialogues and presentations across the convention space.

The closing statement of the farmer constituency highlighted the disappointment of the documents not including farmers specifically, while mentioning the food system:

“We deeply believe that farmers’ voices must be heard. We call for a greater consideration of our priorities in all decisions that impact us. Climate finance must deliver for all farmers by involving them directly in the design and governance of climate programmes and targeting them as direct recipients of funds. The next round …must raise credible ambition and action for agriculture through the active engagement of farmers in the definition of goals and objectives. Farmers are part of the solution to climate change, and we stand ready to work with you beyond COP28.”

The negotiations lingered longer than the defined stop date, with countries driving for further alignment and agreement on fossil fuels before departing. Regardless of whether the COP process results in significant agreements, the private sector is driving ongoing change and their own commitments to support both climate mitigation and adaptation.

Much like when my ancestors were in the sod house at the cusp of change, so too are we now experiencing a “21st Century Agriculture Renaissance,” as Solutions from the Land calls it, with innovations and advancements making increased contributions to people and the planet.

Farmer voices and expertise needs to be leveraged for both public and private sector commitments to provide insights into the innovations and implications on farms.

Instead of building a sod house as our ancestors did, our family farm is building soil health and integrating technology and innovation for the benefit of many for generations to come.  Farmers around the world are working to build increased food security and nutrition, along with the many other benefits to society.  We gathered in Dubai to collaborate, build, and advance a vision for a vibrant food and agriculture system sustaining our planet throughout the 21st century and beyond.

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First, thanks to Climate Action for including me here as a farmer. I think that’s an important voice and I’m actually wearing three hats here at COP. The only reason I’m here at COP is because I’m first and foremost a farmer and I’m part of a farmer delegation. I was brought here by Solutions from the Land which I think is a really powerful name because farmers are providing solutions from the land. And then the third hat I’m wearing is with Farm Foundation, a 90-year-old think tank/do tank. I’m a practical farmer and Farm Foundation is trying to drive practical solutions. 

First of all, when we say, “connecting the value chain from farm to fork,” even though we usually say, “farm to fork,” it’s often the farms that are last in the conversation and last to the table and last in the solutions. I think we really need to invert that because as a 5th-generation farmer I’m so passionate about the role of farmers in driving solutions. We’re seeing a tsunami of innovations coming from farms all around the world and including on my own farm, and it’s not because we’ve been told to do this. It’s not because we’ve been told to save the planet. It’s not because we’re trying to hit sustainability goals for companies. It’s because we need to do that on our own operations to sustain it for the next generation. With all these innovations going on, it’s a very exciting time to be involved in agriculture.

I come with hope, despite in my first 24 hours of being here feeling frustrated already about COP as they eliminated the word “farmer” from the documents, for example, from the discussions. But the kind soul in the front row over here encouraged me, saying, “You know we don’t have to wait for COP. We are already doing these innovations in the private sector and can keep moving forward.” However, I would say there are four gaps that all of us collectively need to try to solve to drive innovations forward. Some of them are simple, some of them are more complex. The gaps that I see are language gaps, data gaps, resource gaps, and contract gaps for connecting the farm to fork.

Contract gaps: I’ll start with that one. It’s the easiest. So many farms are fragmented and not part of the contracts going on with the big food companies. Sometimes they want to be involved in those contracts, but they don’t know how to connect to the exciting things going on with the other end of the supply chain.

Language gaps: In our own little echo chambers, I think we all think we understand what regenerative ag is, for example. We talk about it, maybe every day. But in my farm community, if you polled our county, I don’t think anyone would know what the word “regenerative agriculture” means. That’s not the language that we use. That one seems like an easy one that we should be able to solve. I think soil health is the connector for us all so let’s connect solutions to soil health when we talk about regenerative agriculture.

Data gaps is one of the more complex ones to solve for. One of our panelists talked about metrics, but it’s not even just the metrics that matter. It’s the data and the data flow that is so disaggregated, fragmented, and we need data interoperability as well. That’s actually part of what Farm Foundation is trying to help solve, some of those pain points.

The fourth one is resource gaps. On my farm I would consider us early adopters. We’ve been doing no till and cover crops for several years. But I’d say we’ve reached a plateau in our ability to drive that forward. We’re having some problems with the stand of our cover crops. And we lack the resources to help us get to the next level in our solutions. I think that’s just one example of the resource gap that we need to try to fill if we want to continue to drive these solutions forward.

Despite those gaps, I come back to the fact that I am optimistic and hopeful. I think we all have to continue to collaborate to close those gaps to continue to drive innovation and solutions forward.

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Executive Summary

On September 13, 2023, the Farm Foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture hosted a one-day virtual conference, U.S. Farm Households’ Social and Economic Needs and the Future of U.S. Agriculture. The event brought together researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to discuss new interdisciplinary research at the intersection of farm household needs and the farm business and to exchange ideas to better support farm households and U.S. agriculture.

The presentations and discussions highlighted ways that farm household well-being directly influences farm business viability and decision-making. Participants noted that while household factors have not always been a focus of agricultural policy, they require consideration to support family farm production and encourage new farm entrants. Some presentations addressed particular social supports, including access to health insurance, childcare, and financial services that intersect with the goals of strengthening rural economies and communities more generally. Other themes that emerged included the need for data on both farm households and their businesses to study these linkages and the role of non-financial considerations in farm business decision-making. As the structure of agriculture has changed, the needs of farm households have grown increasingly diverse. However, the capacity of rural communities to provide services, such as health care and mental health services, childcare, and other social and economic supports, has often lagged. This conference brought together interested stakeholders to begin a conversation on a more holistic means of supporting U.S. agricultural production by considering household-level support. All authors presenting original research were invited to prepare manuscripts for a special issue of Agriculture and Human Values (a Springer journal) related to the conference theme, to be published in late 2024. 

Conference Overview

On September 13, 2023, the Farm Foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture hosted a one-day virtual conference focused on U.S. farm households’ socioeconomic needs. The event brought together a wide range of social science researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to discuss new research at the intersection of farm household needs and the farm business and to exchange ideas to better support farm households and U.S. agriculture. The day’s agenda, including research paper authors and their affiliations, can be found in Appendix A below.

The conference began with opening remarks from USDA Deputy Secretary Torres Small, highlighting the important but less studied need to support farm households in ways that go beyond programs focused on agricultural production and the farm business. A panel discussion among farmers and farm service providers offered concrete perspectives on how initiatives like strengthening rural communities, promoting mental health, access to childcare and healthcare support farm viability and recruiting new and diverse farmers.

The themes covered in the opening session were revisited throughout the day during research presentations and informal topical discussions among participants. All of the presentations spoke to the conference theme of linkages between farm households’ well-being and farm business success, but a presentation by Douglas Jackson-Smith was perhaps the most direct. He showed evidence that household shocks, including health changes, divorce, and death, were more predictive of farm survival and exit during the pandemic than farm-level financial shocks. A presentation by Renee Wiatt and Maria Marshall echoed these findings by showing that socioemotional wealth influences farm succession decisions in addition to farm financial health.

“Household shocks, including health changes, divorce, and death, were more predictive of farm survival and exit during the pandemic than farm-level financial shocks.”

Many presentations highlighted the role of communities and the rural economy in supporting farm households and businesses – a theme that members of the opening panel returned to repeatedly in their remarks. Analena Bruce discussed the importance of understanding the broader systems that farmers operate in to understand agricultural production and whether farming is viable. Farm viability depends on factors other than income generation, including mental and physical health. Bruce mentioned that low levels of farm income cause farm households to rely on off-farm income to meet health insurance and economic needs. This topic was addressed directly by Allie Bauman’s work showing that the expansion of Medicaid eligibility allowed beginning farmers to work less off-farm and more on-farm, which may increase farm survival rates. Florence Becot conducted a survey of farm households with children and showed that childcare costs and availability are challenges for 74 percent of farm households. While rural childcare is a community-wide issue, farm households indicated direct tradeoffs between caring for children and investing time and money in their farm businesses, suggesting the interplay between strong social supports for rural communities and the ability to make a living farming.

Another theme of the conference was the diversity of farm households in terms of characteristics, farm production, income, and needs. Mary Ahearn’s presentation outlined ways in which the profession has pursued better data collection on both the farm household and farm business as an essential input for assessing farm household economic needs and the linkages with farm business outcomes and agricultural policy. As an example of improved data, she talked about how women operators were not accounted for in official data, which once remedied reflected their large contributions to agricultural production. Two presentations made use of the contemporary USDA dataset Ahearn discussed covering both household and farm-level information. Katherine Lim used the Agricultural and Resource Management Survey (ARMS) to study older farm households’ income sources and retirement savings, finding that many older farm households rely heavily on social security income and private pensions, and that the majority have a private retirement account. Farm operators of color; however, have lower levels of retirement savings and lower levels of income overall. Tia McDonald combined ARMS with bank branch location data to show that being geographically closer to a physical bank branch was associated with increases in savings behavior among farm households again highlighting the intersection of strong rural communities with farm household well-being and farm operation financial performance.

This conference brought together stakeholders to study and address challenges faced by farm households. The throughline theme from the conference is that household needs directly affect farm business viability and decision-making. These linkages have not always been evident to researchers and therefore have not been a focus in the development and analysis of agricultural policy. Household social and economic needs intersect with non-agricultural policy and rural development more generally; however, farm households may face unique challenges associated with their status as agricultural producers. To better understand the challenges faced by the diverse population of farms and farm households, it would be beneficial to continue and expand collection of detailed qualitative and quantitative data.

Katherine Lim is a USDA ERS Agricultural Research Economist.

Appendix A: Conference Agenda

Wednesday, September 13, 2023

9:00 AM – 10:00 AM: Welcome Address & Panel Discussion

Welcome Address: 9:00 – 9:10 a.m.

Shoshanah Inwood, The Ohio State University

USDA Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Xochitl Torres Small

Moderated by:

Martha King, Farm Foundation 

Panel Discussion: 9:10 – 10:00 a.m.

Moderated by:

Matt Russell, USDA Farm Service Agency 

Panel Participants:

Dr. Gabrielle Roesch-McNally, American Farmland Trust

Adam Alson, Alson Farms and Appleseed Childhood Education

Mary Saunders Bulan, Rural Advancement Foundation International – USA

Graham Unangst-Rufenacht, Rural Vermont 

10:00 AM – 11:30 AM: Session One, Farm Families’ Persistence and Well Being

Farm Operator Household Well-Being Measurement And Analysis: The Past 50 Years And Future Directions. Mary Clare Ahearn, National Center for Agricultural Policy, and Ashok Mishra, University of Arizona.  

Factors Associated with Farm Survival and Exit During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Ohio. Douglas Jackson-Smith, Ohio State University, Tiffany Woods, Shoshannah Inwood, Julia Linder, and Lauren Gallander 

Discussion Moderator: Becca Jablonski, Colorado State University 

Break & Networking Lounge

Enjoy your lunch while making new connections, collaborations, and digging deeper into the issues with subject matter experts. Discussion tables will convene conference participants with government representatives, farmers, technical service providers, and researchers on specific social and economic needs and common ground issues.

Participants will be automatically assigned to a specific breakout room table topic. You can leave the room at any time and rejoin the lobby area to switch to a different table topic. 

12:30 PM – 2:00 PM: Session Two, Farm Viability in the Face of Social and Economic Needs

“A Farm is Viable If It Can Keep Its Head Above Water”; Farm Viability, Persistence, And The Sustainability Of Agriculture in New England. Analena Bruce (University of New Hampshire), Cindy Zheng, and Elise Neideker

The Impact of Expanded Health Care Coverage On U.S. Beginning Farmers And Ranchers. Allie Bauman (Colorado State University), and Becca Jablonski

Farm Families’ Challenges Meeting Their Social And Economic Needs And The Consequences On the Farm Business:  The Example of Childcare. Florence Becot (National Farm Medicine Center) and Shoshanah Inwood (Ohio State University) 

Discussion Moderator: Jessica Crowe, USDA-ERS

2:05 PM – 3:35 PM: Session Three, Overcoming Barriers to Meeting Farm Household and Farm Business Goals

Farm Households and Retirement:  Incomes Sources and Savings Behavior. Katherine Lim (USDA Economic Research Service) and Ashley Spalding

“Rich And Ready To Go Or Stay And Grow”?  A Succession Preparedness Study Of U.S. Farmers in the North Central Region. Authors: Renee Wiatt (Purdue University) and Maria I. Marshall

Distance To Commercial Banks And Farm Household Use of Financial Services. Tia McDonald (USDA, Economic Research Service) and Noah Miller 

Discussion Moderator:  Shoshanah Inwood, The Ohio State University 

3:35 PM – 4:00 PM, Closing Remarks

Panel of organizers reflecting on the conference, discussion questions, and concluding thoughts.

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Selected papers to be presented at the U.S. Farm Households’ Social and Economic Needs and the Future of Agriculture Conference, September 2023

Very little is known about how household challenges impact the farm business. Directly connected to this knowledge gap is a limited understanding of the ways in which existing social programs and policies (which are specifically designed to meet these needs) may support farm sector profitability, survivability, and resilience. To help close this knowledge gap, the USDA’s Economic Research Service and Farm Foundation, an accelerator of practical solutions for agriculture, are issuing a call for papers to be submitted for consideration for the U.S. Farm Households’ Social and Economic Needs and the Future of Agriculture virtual conference taking place on September 13, 2023.  

Through a mix of paper presentations and panel discussions, the goal of this one-day conference is to:   

1) Broaden the long-standing body of work seeking to understand why, how, and which farm families are able to cultivate successful farm businesses in the face of on-going changes and the inherent instability of the agricultural sector,  
2) Initiate the scientific debate on the linkages between farm households’ social and economic needs, social policies, and farm business development,  
3) Develop new networks of family farm scholars working on these topics,  
4) Better understand data available to understand these relationships, as well as identify data gaps.  

In particular, Farm Foundation seeks theoretical, empirical, and discussion papers at the intersection of farm households’ social and economic needs, social programs and policies, and farm business viability. The papers can be based on new research or can revisit data previously analyzed with a new eye towards the focus of this conference. 

All abstracts should be limited to 350 words and must be submitted through the online application portal by July 14, 2023.  

The conference is being organized by the National Farm Medicine Center, The Ohio State University, Colorado State University, USDA ERS, and Farm Foundation.  

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The panel represented a wide variety of view points, covering the legal, policy, and practical sides of water rights and policy. Dan Tarlock, university distinguished professor emeritus and professor of law emeritus at Chicago-Kent College of Law, presented the legal precedent influencing current policy, with a focus on water rights as enacted east of the Missouri River. He was followed by Sarah Porter, director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University’s Morrison Institute for Public Policy. She focused on how water rights and policies are expressed in the Colorado Basin, which impacts five million acres of agriculture across seven states. Round Table Fellow Matt Moreland, owner of Moreland Farms, gave a boots-on-the-ground perspective, discussing how water rights play out on his property in Oklahoma.

The panel was moderated by Farm Foundation Round Table Honorary Life Fellow Richard Morrison, manager of RNM Enterprises.

The presentation materials are linked below.

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Young Farmers engage in a variety of activities, including developing working relationships with peers and a senior agribusiness/farmer mentor, attending Farm Foundation Round Table meetings to network and learn from industry leaders, and other unique opportunities for personal and professional development.

“The Farm Foundation Young Farmer Accelerator program is a great opportunity for producers from across the country to learn from peers with operations that are sometimes very different than their own,” says Jenna Wicks, Farm Foundation program manager. “Coupled with access to Farm Foundation’s broad network of food and ag industry leaders, the program participants have a rich and fruitful year ahead of them.”

The 2023 Farm Foundation Young Farmers

Jake Bailey, Mossy Creek Cattle. Jake Bailey is director of operations at Mossy Creek Cattle in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, where he has worked for the last nine years. Jake is a first-generation farmer and has wanted to be involved in the agricultural industry from a young age.

British Griffis, Harvest OG. British Griffis is the owner and founder of Harvest OG Urban Farm and Goods in Chicago. Harvest OG was established during the pandemic in an effort to provide immediate solutions to food accessibility issues that disproportionately affected communities of color.

Natalie and Matthew Heim, Rowdy Red Ranch. Natalie and Matthew Heim own Rowdy Red Ranch in Covington, Oklahoma. They raise Heartland Highland Cattle and feel passionate about making quality, all-natural, budget-friendly beef and food products available to everyone.

Corey Johnson, Johnson Farms. Corey Johnson is a fifth-generation farmer from Peotone, Illinois. He farms with his father, raising 800 acres of corn and soybeans, with certified organic and conventional acres of both. The operation utilizes cover crops, no-till, and strip-till on all acres.

Blake Lanphier, Historic Wagner Farm. Blake Lanphier is the farm manager at Historic Wagner Farm in Glenview, Illinois, a position he has held since 2016. He oversees daily production, maintenance, and the Glenview Clovers 4-H club, as well as his diverse team.

Darius and Shameeka McKoy, 12:03 Farm. Darius and Shameeka McKoy are first-generation farmers. They own 12:03 Farm, a 38-acre farm in Faison, North Carolina. The farm has been in operation for 75 years.They both recently retired from the United States Air Force: Darius after 22 years of service with seven combat tours, Shameeka after 20 years of service.

Teresa Thomas, Crazy Plant Bae. Teresa Thomas is founder and owner of Crazy Plant Bae, a houseplant business in the Tremé district of New Orleans. In addition to selling plants, the space functions as a community space and as a local artisan showcase.

Learn more about the Young Farmers and the Young Farmer Accelerator Program at https://www.farmfoundation.org/programs-overview/young-farmer-accelerator-program.

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Approaching the five-year deadline for reauthorizing a farm bill offers a moment for review, as well as a chance to speculate on the potential paths for a new farm bill. Among many other things, history teaches that Congress very rarely produces revolutionary changes in policy and that farm bills are no exception. Twenty-two legislative enactments since 1933 can arguably be considered farm bills, but only three can be considered to have produced revolutionary changes; a fourth farm bill comes close.

This report briefly reviews farm bill history to highlight these revolutionary bills and seeks to think through what a revolutionary farm bill in 2023 could include. Congress could take many paths to enact a revolutionary farm bill; out of necessity, this report selects a single path to highlight how climate change could revolutionize a farm bill.

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The research features a variety of topics with a dedicated focus on economic challenges and opportunities experienced by new agriculture professionals. The Farm Foundation conference featured paper presentations and discussions led by researchers in academia and the government, practitioners, policy experts, farmers and ranchers. The event examined issues that hinder or facilitate the entry of beginning farmers, as well as highlighted successful programs, innovative ideas and future solutions to support new professionals in the industry.

“When we organized a research conference, we were impressed with the high level of participation and  knew that we needed to play a role in giving researchers a publishing home for their work,” said Jeffery Hopkins, chief of USDA’s ERS Farm Economy Branch. “We were especially pleased with the range of submissions that treated potential barriers for beginning farmers and ranchers and are hopeful that the special issue of Agricultural Finance Review will continue to inform stakeholders across the agricultural sector and be cited by others carrying out this research.”

The new journal issue includes research and resources that can help young farmers and ranchers, as well as the industry professionals who support them. Research topics include:

• Credit constraints, survival and growth
• Land tenure and profitability
• Management and ownership transfer in small and medium family farms
• The landowner role in land access
• Exploring the adoption of technologies among the specialty crops industry
• The profitability implication of sales through local food markets
• Factors that affect entry and exit

Farm Foundation is proud to support the seminal research which inspired this issue as part of our mission to leverage the power of collaboration between food and agricultural stakeholders to advance agriculture in positive ways. The original conference content that contributed to the journal content is freely available on the Farm Foundation video archive.

While the the full issue of the Agriculture Finance Review is not publicly available, the editorial by Jeffrey W. Hopkins, Department of Farm Economy Branch, USDA Economic Research Service, can be viewed and downloaded here. Additional resources for new farmers are also available on the USDA website.

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The journal issue covers a variety of topics that can help young farmers and ranchers, as well as those who serve them. They include:

• Credit constraints, survival, and growth
• Land tenure and profitability
• Management and ownership transfer in small and medium family farms
• The landowner role in land access
• Exploring the adoption of technologies among the specialty crops industry
• The profitability implication of sales through local food markets
• Factors that affect entry and exit

Farm Foundation is proud to support the seminal research which inspired this issue as part of our mission to leverage the power of collaboration between food and agricultural stakeholders to advance agriculture in positive ways. The original conference content that contributed to the journal content is freely available on the Farm Foundation archive.

More resources for new farmers are also available on the USDA website.

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Young Farmers engage in a variety of activities, including developing working relationships with peers and a senior agribusiness/farmer mentor, attending Farm Foundation Round Table meetings to network and learn from industry leaders, and other unique opportunities for personal and professional development.

“This group of Young Farmers is very diverse in terms of type and scale of operation as well as geography, which will afford them an unparalleled opportunity to share ideas and learn from peers they may not have otherwise met,” says Jenna Wicks, Farm Foundation program manager. “This collaboration and exposure to leaders in the broader industry is an exciting opportunity for all involved.”

The 2022 Young Farmers are:

Brady Brown, Owner/Operator, B&B Brown Farms LLC
Brady Brown is a fourth-generation crop farmer from Michigan, raising 800 acres of corn, soybeans, and sugar beets. He serves on the Michigan Sugar Grower District Board as a director, is past president and board member of his county Farm Bureau, and served on the Michigan Farm Bureau Young Farmer Board.

Michelle Carr, Farm Manager, JO-AR-CA Farms
Michelle Carr is originally from central Illinois where she now helps run her family’s farming operation, JO-AR-CA Farms. In addition to farming, she has worked in the crop insurance industry for twelve years, and currently serves on the Macon County Farm Bureau Board of Directors and the Macon County Farm Bureau Young Leader Committee.

Alicia del Aguila, Owner, Aloha Redland LLC
Alicia del Aguila owns Aloha Redland Farm with her spouse. The women-owned holistic farm implements organic practices, permaculture practices, and regenerative practices to feed the local community. The farm grows seasonal produce and provides CSA membership to 65 members.     

Steve Kaufman, Partner, Kaufman Joint Venture
Steve Kaufman returned to his family’s Idaho farm full-time in 2014 as his uncles and father were ready to retire. Prior to this he worked at Northwest Farm Credit Services. He and his brother are now 50/50 partners in Kaufman Joint Venture, farming 6,500 dryland crop acres. Primary crops are winter wheat, spring wheat, peas, garbanzo beans, and canola.

Roberto Ortez, Agricultural Supervisor, Florida Crystals Corporation
Roberto Ortez is a South Florida farmer, working as an agricultural supervisor at Florida Crystals Corporation, one of the state’s leading producers of sugarcane and rice. He is also currently enrolled as a full-time online student at the University of Florida where he is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in environmental management in agriculture and natural resources.

Zoe Schultz, Farmer, Schultz Farm; Regional Outreach Coordinator, Kansas Corn
Zoe Schultz is actively involved in her family’s fourth-generation row crop farm in Kansas, where they raise corn, soybeans, sorghum, wheat, and sunflowers. In her role with Kansas Corn Growers Association, she focuses on representing other Kansas farmers and industry partners through efforts in advocacy, education, agronomic research, and policy.

Leevi Stump, Manager of Livestock Production and Operations, Greenacres Foundation
Leevi Stump is the manager of livestock production and operations at Greenacres Foundation located in Ohio, where he has worked since 2017. The livestock production team uses humane and low-stress handling techniques to raise grass-fed and finished beef and lamb, woodland raised pork, and pastured poultry that includes laying hens, turkeys, and broilers.

Learn more about the Young Farmers and the Young Farmer Accelerator Program at https://www.farmfoundation.org/programs-overview/young-farmer-accelerator-program.

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