Farm Foundation Awards
Farm Foundation Awards Programs
Celebrating significant achievements in the agriculture and food sector.
Congratulations to the 2025 Farm Foundation Award Recipients!
Distinguished leaders in agriculture and food have been honored with prestigious 2025 Farm Foundation Awards. The Farm Foundation Awards celebrate lifetime achievements and innovative efforts that advance Farm Foundation’s mission to foster trust and understanding at the intersection of agriculture and society.
The 2025 Farm Foundation Award recipients are:
RJ Hildreth Public Policy Award: Dr. Keith H. Coble, Vice President, Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine, Mississippi State University
Emerging Leader Award: Dr. Shandrea Stallworth,Senior Agronomist, Global Resource, SME – Regenerative Agriculture,
Innovator of the Year Award: Robbie Dye & Tyler Speer, Our Farms – Our Farms features a growing online directory of over 3,000+ farms and ranches across America.
Book of the Year Award: Land Rich, Cash Poor by Brian Reisinger – An award-winning writer, rural policy expert, speaker, and consultant.
The awards, which originated through a public nomination process, will be presented to the recipients at Farm Foundation’s upcoming Farm Foundation Round Table Dinner in Spokane, Washington on July 17, 2025. Nominations for the 2026 awards program will open in October of this year.
About the Individual Awards
R.J. Hildreth Public Policy Award In the mid-1990s, Farm Foundation began awarding the R.J. Hildreth Award for Career Achievement in Public Policy, an award currently open to those in the field of public policy, through government service, as educators, or those researching agricultural policy.
The Farm Foundation Emerging Leader Award This award recognizes an emerging young leader who is on the trajectory to make transformational change within the agriculture and food sectors.
The Farm Foundation Innovator of the Year Award The focus of this award is to recognize those change makers that are an integral part to solving some of the most influential challenges we face today in the agriculture and food industries.
Farm Foundation Book of the Year Award This award is open to a book published within the last 24 months, that is non-fiction, published in English, and focused on food and/or agriculture.
Nomination Requirements
+–Nominations arc currently closed. Nominations for the 2026 Farm Foundation Awards will open in October 0f 2025.
The awards are open to any candidate involved in the agriculture and food industries. Anyone may submit a nomination, including a self-nomination. Recommendations are also welcome from the Farm Foundation Round Table Fellows and board. Please see individual award pages for required nomination materials. We will follow up with all nominators and nominees throughout the review and selection process.
2025 Awards Timeline
+–October 10, 2024 – Nominations open
November 15, 2024 – Nominations are due
November 19, 2024 – Nominations sent to the Awards Committee for selection
December 17, 2024 – Award recipients notified
January 17, 2025 – Recipients deadline to submit the guest list and photo/biography
April 9, 2025 – Winners and finalists are announced
July 17, 2025 – Awards presented at the Farm Foundation Round Table Dinner in Spokane, Washington
2024 Award Recipients
R.J. Hildreth Public Policy Award: Dr. Jayson Lusk, Vice President and Dean, Oklahoma State University, Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources
The Farm Foundation Transformational Leadership Award: Dr. Robert Fraley, former Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Monsanto Company
The Farm Foundation Emerging Leader Award: Dr. Yangxuan Liu, Professor and Interim Department Head, University of Georgia
The Farm Foundation Innovator of the Year Award: Dr. Stephen Adejoro, Director, Livestock Industry Foundation for Africa
2023 Award Recipients
R.J. Hildreth Public Policy Award: Round Table Honorary Life Fellow Joe Outlaw, Regents Fellow, Professor, and Extension Economist, Texas A&M
The Farm Foundation Transformational Leadership Award: John Foraker, Co-Founder and CEO, Once Upon a Farm
The Farm Foundation Emerging Leader Award: Emily Metz, President and CEO, American Egg Board
The Farm Foundation Innovator of the Year Award: Philip “PJ” Haynie III, Owner/CEO, Haynie Farms/Arkansas River Rice