Latest News from Farm Journal Foundation

Hello Elizabeth,

We've had a busy start to the year, with our team participating in several high-level events (see more below) and more activities planned in coming months.

Our team continues to engage with members of Congress on the next Farm Bill and during the appropriations process to ensure that agricultural development, research and innovation are prioritized. We are thankful that so many of our Farmer Ambassadors have already made it out to Washington, D.C., this year – Belinda Burrier (Maryland) joined us in February, and in March, we were joined by Stephanie Halcomb (Kentucky), Heather Hampton-Knodle (Illinois), Rick Fruth (Ohio), Kassie Rowland (Indiana), and Rose Tryon (California), with Belinda also joining us again for the Agri-Pulse Summit (pictured).

We are gearing up for lots of activity in May, including the launch of our next policy paper covering global nutrition security, as well as our first Veterinary Ambassador meetings of the year. Stay tuned for more updates coming soon. As always, we are deeply grateful to all of our Ambassadors, partners, and supporters.

Sincerely,

Tricia Beal

CEO, Farm Journal Foundation

Welcoming New Farmer Ambassadors and Staff

We are pleased to welcome new Farmer Ambassadors to our program, and two new staff members to our team.

Sarah Tweeten is our new Farmer Ambassador from Iowa. A corn and soybean farmer, she represents the third generation on her family farm as they begin implementing more climate-smart practices including conservation tillage and nutrient management.

Brad and Joyce Doyle are our new Farmer Ambassadors from Arkansas. Their multi-generational family farm raises soybeans, rice, wheat, and grass hay. They also own Eagle Seed, LLC, a full-service seed processing plant, and Eagle Research, LLC, a breeding and crop research operation.

Karleigh Creighton joins our staff as Communications and Events Manager. Karleigh most recently worked as the senior producer at RFD-TV, developing stories about agriculture and rural America.

Larissa Villegas joins as a staff Communications and Programs Coordinator, managing our partnership with America's Conservation Ag Movement (ACAM). Larissa was previously an intern with the Foundation while studying at Texas A&M University.

Sharing Wisdom for Agriculture's Next Generation

Our Georgia Farmer Ambassador, Ricky Dollison, was featured in a Farm Journal - AgWeb story for Black History Month in February, sharing his insights about what it means to be a Black farmer in the U.S.

In the piece, Ricky offered his advice for young farmers looking to break into the industry, stressing the importance of networking with veteran farmers, knowing your chosen specialty, being proud to work in agriculture, diversifying operations, and being open to new opportunities. You can read more of Ricky's advice at this link.

Farm Journal Foundation Takes the Stage

Farm Journal Foundation's staff has participated in a number of major agricultural events this year, including:

Farm Bureau Convention: Todd Greenwood, our Vice President of Strategic Partnerships, spoke about our Veterinary Workforce Solutions Program at Farm Bureau's annual convention. Watch a recording of Todd speech here (starting at 15:49).

Commodity Classic: Director of Government Affairs Kelsey Barnes moderated a panel with PepsiCo, Walmart, and Ag Outcomes, Inc., about engaging farmers in supply chain commitments.

Farm Bill briefing: Vice President of Government Affairs Katie Lee spoke at a Capitol Hill event organized by Bread for the World about the importance of passing the next Farm Bill.

Recent Highlights

Here are some of the other things we've been up to since our last update:

Farmer Ambassadors AG Kawamura (California) and Brad Doyle (Arkansas) attended last year's COP28 in Dubai. They recently shared their perspectives on the event with Top Producer magazine. Read the story here.

Top Producer Podcast interviewed FJF's Katie Lee about the key takeaways of COP28 for agriculture. Listen here.

Our Senior Policy Adviser Stephanie Mercier spoke at the University of Arkansas to students in the Agricultural and Food Law and Agricultural Economics programs.

What's next? We've got a big month planned for May! Our next policy paper, covering how climate change impacts global nutrition security, will be released May 8. In early May, we are also co-organizing an event in Maryland with legislative staff, as well as organizing meetings with our Veterinary Ambassadors on Capitol Hill. In addition, our new climate-smart grazing program for Native American farmers will host a series of webinars, as well as a potential in-person event in Florida, at the end of the month. Follow us on social media for the most up-to-date information!