Connecting on common ground

Banner image cutline: Ben Brown, senior research associate at University of Missouri’s Food and Policy Research Institute, presented two sessions at the 2025 Emerging Leaders in Agriculture Conference, held Jan. 8-10 in Lake Ozark, Mo. Brown helped the group examine key components of farm financial analysis and discussed strategic commodity marketing.

From cooperative education to carbon markets, farm finances to farm succession, topics at the 2025 Emerging Leaders in Agriculture Conference were designed to help empower up-and-coming professional producers to better manage and grow their agricultural businesses while offering peer networking opportunities. 

The event’s organizers, MFA Incorporated and MFA Oil, selected the group of young producers between the ages of 21 and 45 to attend this fourth annual event, which was held Jan. 8-10 at Camden on the Lake Resort in Lake Ozark, Mo.

“There’s a lot of opportunity in getting to know people who are in the same stage of life, working through the same problems you’re working through,” said program moderator Mitch Majeski, senior consultant with Peak Solutions, a firm specializing in organizational health and effectiveness. “I hope that you get a chance to make a meaningful connection—and then maintain that connection—with some of these folks you get to meet over the next couple of days.”

During the three-day conference, 45 producers from Missouri, Arkansas and Kansas heard from agribusiness experts and discussed issues, opportunities and challenges facing agriculture, cooperatives and rural America. Among the attendees was 26-year-old Jadon Flatt of Centralia, Mo., who took over his family’s farming operation five years ago after his father died and his grandfather retired. Still fairly new in his farming career, Flatt said he welcomed the opportunity to expand his knowledge and meet other like-minded producers at the conference.

“I’m trying to learn as much as I can as quickly as I can,” said Flatt, who serves on the board of directors for Centralia MFA Agri Services. “The markets, the technology, programs like carbon credits—it’s all moving really fast, and there’s always something to educate yourself about.”

The conference kicked off with a reception and dinner followed by a presentation by U.S. Farm Report host and Missouri native Tyne Morgan, who shared an overview of current events in the agricultural industry. She discussed the ongoing challenges farmers face, such as volatile markets, unpredictable weather and the growing disconnect between the public and American agriculture.

Returning to the conference for a second year was Ben Brown, senior research associate with the University of Missouri’s Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute, whose sessions included interactive exercises in building a profitable farm and putting together effective plans that include risk management strategies. He explained grain market fluctuations and demonstrated how to use insurance protection for livestock, pasture, rangeland and forage. He even gave attendees samples of his own farm’s pre-harvest marketing plans to emphasize the importance of making deliberate decisions when it comes to protecting and selling their crops.

“Diversification and specialization can go hand in hand,” Brown said. “If you can specialize in your farming operation, that creates a lot of benefit, but if you have a disease outbreak or something like that, diversification pays off. A balance of the two traditionally makes good farm management.”

Keri Jacobs, University of Missouri associate professor of agriculture and applied economics and Partridge Chair of Cooperative Leadership, discusses how cooperatives play a crucial role in community resilience and equitable growth.

Alan Weber, a consultant with MU’s Center for Regenerative Agriculture, gave the group an overview of carbon markets and biofuel programs, describing the different types of opportunities for producers in this space—voluntary carbon offset and inset markets and compliance markets, which include ethanol, biodiesel and sustainable aviation fuel.

“It’s still the wild west out there in terms of carbon, and the landscape is changing all the time. You’ve got to stay informed on all that’s going on,” Weber said. “Regardless, I see long-term benefits of using some of these practices in terms of resiliency in our soils, and I’m just hoping that carbon payment becomes an additional benefit to do something I’m already doing for other reasons.”

Weber also highlighted two programs the center is spearheading—the Missouri Climate-Resilient Crop and Livestock (CRCL) Project and National Cover Crop Variety Project—that could be other incentive opportunities for producers. The CRCL project, Weber explained, offers eight incentive payment programs for implementing environmentally friendly practices on both row-crop and livestock farms. MFA is one of the key partners in this multifaceted initiative. The cover crop program is designed to help address concerns about insufficient seed supply for further growth and provide more varieties for producers across the country.

“For the first time in history, we’re actually going to test the same set of varieties of cover crops in multiple locations throughout the United States,” Weber said. “We’re working with clovers, vetch, brassica and rye, breeding those to function even more effectively and helping to meet demand for regionally adapted, high-quality cover crop seed.”

Connie Haden, who has participated in all four Emerging Leaders conferences, returned to address the important but often contentious topic of farm business transference. As a partner in the law firm of Haden & Colbert, she specializes in helping farm families prepare for the next generation through succession planning. Haden walked the attendees through different types of farm transitions, key issues in succession planning and how agricultural operations can be structured for simplicity, liability protection and tax advantages.

“There’s a huge need for this in the ag community,” Haden told the group. “It’s not an easy topic to bring up, but putting it off doesn’t make it any better. The more you can have these conversations with your family, the more likely you’ll end up with a good situation to keep that family farm operation going.”

Keri Jacobs, University of Missouri associate professor of agriculture and applied economics and Partridge Chair of Cooperative Leadership, led a discussion on how cooperatives play a crucial role in community resilience and equitable growth.

“I think cooperatives are the most powerful model that we have in business, and the reason that I’m passionate about cooperatives is because I’m passionate about farmers,” Jacobs said. “I think a co-op is the farmer’s best chance of being competitive in the marketplace.”

Jacobs encouraged the attendees to have more engagement with their co-ops, whether simply providing feedback or participating in governance.

“When I first started doing director training, one of the participants said something that stuck with me: ‘My grandparents built the co-op, my parents used the co-op, and this generation will kill the co-op,’” Jacobs said. “I’ve been trying ever since to figure out how we are going to reverse this, and I believe it starts with all of you.”   

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