The Cultivator program provides awards for up to eight undergraduate or graduate-level students from accredited agricultural programs in the United States to participate in a Farm Foundation Round Table meeting.

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. Since 1933, we have connected leaders across agricultural sectors–farming, business, academia, organizations and government.

A program of Farm Foundation, the Round Table is an invitational group of agricultural leaders who meet semi-annually to discuss issues of importance to agribusiness, the food system and rural communities. The sessions are intended to provide ideas and a learning experience that participants may use in their own activities.

Only a dean, director, or department chair from a participating institution can nominate a student for the Cultivator program. Farm Foundation encourages the sponsoring institution to choose students who have a direct interest in the subject on which the Round Table meeting program will be focused.

Students are expected to attend each Round Table session. They are expected to actively engage with Round Table participants throughout the meeting.

Importantly, Cultivators will be required to prepare a (1) brief (approximately 5-8 minute) presentation to be shared during the meeting and (2) prepare a related poster to be displayed throughout the meeting. During select meeting networking breaks, students will have the opportunity to discuss their posters and research with fellow attendees. Posters should be 36”x48”. They will be affixed to a hard backing.

A Round Table participant will be assigned as a host/mentor for each Cultivator. Mentors will reach out to the students before the event to let them know what to expect, etc. During the meeting, Mentors will ensure that the Cultivators are meeting other Round Table members, students, speakers, and guests. They will also be introduced and integrated among the Round Table participants throughout the event.

Only a dean, director, or department chair from a participating institution can nominate a student for the Cultivator program. Nominators or their designees should complete the online nomination form located on the Farm Foundation Cultivators webpage at: www.farmfoundation.org/cultivators . To nominate a student, please submit an online nomination form by Monday, November 18, 2024. Selectees will be notified by Monday December 2, 2024, if they have been selected.

Please note: Contact information and a current resume/CV for the student will be required, in addition to a brief description of the student’s proposed presentation.

Students selected for the Cultivator Program will receive an award that will cover all hotel and registration expenses. The nominating university or college will be responsible for the student’s other travel expenses*, including flights, other transportation, and incidental travel expenses. If a selected student from a nominating school is unable to attend the Round Table for any reason, another student will be named in their place.

Cooper Cable, North Carolina State University
Ashton Dalton, Louisiana State University
Amanda Lay-Walters, University of Arkansas
Grace May, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Yasmeen Saleem, University of Florida
Raymond Yan   Penn State University

Rachel Combs-Giroir, The Ohio State University
Awatif El Abdellaouy, Texas A&M University
Alayna Gerhardt, Oklahoma State University
Kayla Grey, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, (SIUC)
Stephanie Gripp, Oklahoma State University
Kiara Ivy, Florida A&M University
Brynn Johnson, University of Florida
Nafisa Lubna, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Robert Meireis, Colorado State University
Ashton Redd, University of Arizona
Kayla Scott, The Ohio State University
Ivan Solomon, Tuskegee University
Ryanna Tietje, The Ohio State University

Sophia Darrow, Oklahoma State University
Tais de Menezes, Colorado State University
Gustavo Castro Garcia, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Elizabeth Lynch, West Virginia University
Milosh McAdoo, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
Joseph Oboamah, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Prayash Pathak Chalise, University of Minnesota
Maria Filipa Seara e Pereira, Purdue University
Guang Tian, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Carolina Vargas, Michigan State University
Kelli Wicks, Oklahoma State University
Carlos Zurita, Purdue University

Rio Bonham, University of Florida
Nipuna Chamara, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Chloe Eggert, Auburn University
Payton Flower, University of Arkansas School of Law-Fayetteville
Elizabeth Haymaker, Oklahoma State University
Adam Knoblock, Iowa State University
Justin Leslie, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
Hope Miller, University of Florida
Kirsten Nickles, The Ohio State University
Robert Ortez, University of Florida
Kantilata Thapa, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Alyssa Vander Woude, California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo

Shweta Adhikari, University of Georgia
Carson Edge, Auburn University
Ailie Elmore, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Octavio Guimaraes, Colorado State University
Jacob Lehman, University of Florida
Lacey Lingelbach, Indiana University-Bloomington
Morgan Mathison Slee, Michigan State University
Javier Medina Sanchez, The Ohio State University
Laura van der Pol, Colorado State University
Vivian Vuong, University of California, Davis
Janeva Williams, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University

Adam Bittner, Iowa State University
Heidi Borg, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Abigail Cox, Cornell University
Michael Fioretto, University of Florida
Sara Gammon, Kansas State University
Becky Hawkins, Auburn University
Sarah Klopatek, University of California, Davis
Matthias Kunerth, South Dakota State University
Conner McDaniel, Oklahoma State University
Joni Shaffery, California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
Chloe Smith Lopez, University of Florida
Kevin Zhang, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Trevon Andrews, South Carolina State University
Kory Bowman, Oklahoma State University
Kalyn Diederich, University of California, Davis
Danielle Gelardi, University of California, Davis
Jerad Jaborek, The Ohio State University
Dethon Kistler, Pennsylvania State University
Will Moreland, Kansas State University
Kylie Philipps, University of Florida
Jenny Presgraves, Clemson University
Tony Rice, The Johns Hopkins University
Beverly Torres, University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez
Clara Wicoff, Kansas State University
Heather Yoder, University of Florida

Braden Campbell, The Ohio State University
Wesley Davis, Purdue University
Claudia Hissong, Kansas State University
Heather Meador, Oklahoma State University
Kerry Mullins, Cornell University
Jacob Parsons, Oregon State University
Jansen Penny, Kansas State University
Jonathan Price, Cornell University
Daniel Rath, University of California, Davis
Katie Schrodt, Oklahoma State University
Yanghao Wang, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Logan Zeisler, University of Arizona

Kalenga Banda, Cornell University
Sarah Coffman, Cornell University
Crystal Conner, University of Florida
Mark Gee, Purdue University
Krystal Helm, West Virginia University
Rice Klauke, West Virginia University
Kelsey Litchfield, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Rebecca Lucas, Tufts University
Ethan Snyder, University of Kentucky
Joseph Stefenoni, Oklahoma State University
Coleman Stivers, University of Kentucky
Betty Thomas, Mississippi State University

Karmella Borchers, University of Kentucky
Logan Britton, Oklahoma State University
Chloe Cantor, Mississippi State University
Myra Dean, West Virginia University
Will Dezern, University of Florida
Nora Faris, Georgetown University Law Center
Johnny Ference, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Trey Forsyth, Iowa State University
Garrett Kays, Washington University School of Law
Rachel Martin, Michigan State University
Mariano Resendiz, California State University East Bay
Jessie Stewart III, University of Kentucky

Kade Beck, Texas A&M University
Julie Anna Clark, Texas A&M University
Michael Colle, University of Idaho
Sara Kammlade, Colorado State University
Emma Likens, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Yangxuan Liu, Purdue University
Stephen Morgan, Michigan State University
Virginia Nichols, Washington State University
Anna Stehle, Oklahoma State University
Andrew Uden, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
David Weisberger, Iowa State University
Alix Yates-Orr, Oklahoma State University

Benjamin Carr, Iowa State University
Duminda Gunawardena, Texas A&M University
Joshua Leirer, Purdue University
Garrett Lister, Kansas State University
Maci Mueller, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Jodie Reisner, University of Missouri-Columbia
EM Sajeev, Purdue University
Luis Secaira, Texas A&M University
Rebecca Shelton, University of Kentucky
Taylor Morgan Truckey, Michigan State University
Stuart Watts, Kansas State University

Mary Down, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Samiul Haque, Purdue University
Lisa Jones, Cornell University
Leslie Lacey, Tennessee State University
Gabrielle Roesch, Iowa State University
Rebekah Shrader, Washington State University