Farm Foundation Awards
Farm Foundation Awards Programs
Celebrating significant achievements in the agriculture and food sector.
Nominations Now OpenNominations for the 2026 Farm Foundation Awards Now Open!
About the Farm Foundation Awards
The official awards recognition will take place at the June 2026 Farm Foundation Round Table meeting in St. Louis, Missouri. Award recipients will be invited to participate in the full Round Table meeting as well as the Chair’s dinner to receive their award in person and to be formally recognized. The awards are open to any candidate involved in the agriculture and food sectors. Anyone may submit a nomination, including a self-nomination..
NOMINATION TIMELINE:
October 20, 2025 – Nominations open
December 8, 2025 – Nomination window closes
June 2026 – Awards presented at the Farm Foundation Round Table Dinner in St. Louis, Missouri
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.
Transformational Leadership Award: Lifetime Achievement Recognition. The purpose of this award is to honor a person who has demonstrated a lifetime of innovative and transformational leadership in food and agriculture.
The Farm Foundation Emerging Leader Award: An individual under 40 making an impact in food or agriculture. As we look to the next generation to carry forward the most meaningful work, this award recognizes the emerging young leaders who are on the trajectory to make transformational change within agriculture and food sectors.
The Farm Foundation Innovator of the Year Award: An individual, company, or organization. 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
+–All nominations will require a resume/CV and at least one supporting letter.
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.
Transformational Leadership Award – Lifetime Achievement Recognition The purpose of this award is to honor a person who has demonstrated a lifetime of innovative and transformational leadership in food and agriculture. Innovator of the Year Award – An individual, company, or organization
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. Emerging Leader Award – An individual under 40 making an impact in food or agriculture. As we look to the next generation to carry forward the most meaningful work, this award recognizes the emerging young leaders who are on the trajectory to make transformational change within agriculture and food sectors.
The 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.
2026 Awards Timeline
+–- October 20, 2025 – Nominations open
- December 19, 2025 – Nomination window closes
- December 29, 2025-February 8, 2026 – Nominations under review by Awards Committee
- February 2026 – Winners are informed via email and given opportunity to formally accept award nomination by March 2, 2026
- March 2026 – Social media announcement and press release
- June 2026 – Awards presented at the Farm Foundation Round Table Dinner in St. Louis, Missouri
2025 Award Recipients
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.
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