Elizabeth Lynch

Elizabeth is a native of Martinsburg, West Virginia. She grew up riding horses and raising swine through 4-H and FFA. In 2016, she started her undergraduate degree at Delaware State University. She received the opportunity to study abroad in Belize under a USDA-NIFA internship where she performed air, soil, and water quality research. During her time at DSU, she was an undergraduate research assistant and worked closely with a small ruminant specialist performing research in the parasitology field.

After graduating with her bachelor’s degree in animal and poultry science with a minor in biology in 2020, Elizabeth went on to West Virginia University to pursue her master’s degree as a graduate research assistant. Elizabeth studied under a poultry specialist to facilitate and conduct research in applied poultry nutrition and feed manufacture science.  She helped to teach extension workshops on raising backyard birds throughout the state of West Virginia. While she was at WVU, her thesis research consisted of feed conditioning effects on enzymes, amino acids, and subsequent broiler performance. Upon graduating with an M.S. in food and nutritional science in 2022, Elizabeth received the opportunity of a lifetime.

Elizabeth earned the title of Miss West Virginia 2022 during that summer.  Her social impact initiative, “Growing Up, Growing Ag: Advocating for American Agriculture,” promotes agricultural literacy and raises awareness about the importance of farming and agriculture. At the 2023 Miss America competition, Elizabeth was the first candidate in 101 years of the organization to promote agriculture on the Miss America stage and the first candidate to wear jeans and muck boots.  She became third- runner-up to Miss America 2023, Grace Stanke from Wisconsin. Her advocacy work has allowed her to travel a little over 30,000 miles and has taken her to 15 different states to put agriculturists in the spotlight. Her “Farmer Friday” weekly podcast has over 3,000 viewers and features agriculturists, legislators, and leaders in the agriculture industry.

When she gives up her title in June of 2023, Elizabeth plans to go back to West Virginia University to pursue her Ph.D. in food and nutritional science with the hopes of becoming a professor at a land-grant university. She will continue her advocacy work through the West Virginia and American Farm Bureau Foundation.