IFB Ag Leaders of Tomorrow graduate

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Twenty-five Illinois Farm Bureau members recently graduated from the Agricultural Leaders of Tomorrow, an extensive leadership development program designed to help participants develop leadership and advocacy skills and to become a voice for Illinois agriculture.

ALOT provides selected IFB members an opportunity to learn a broad range of process and content skills to enrich their leadership abilities and enhance agriculture’s voice in Illinois.

Started in 1979, ALOT is an extensive leadership development program offering more than 80 hours of comprehensive classroom instructions covering the following four major areas of study: communication skills, political process, agricultural economics and global issues.

Sessions are conducted by university educators, business leaders, past ALOT graduates and IFB staff.

The 2025 ALOT graduating class represented 15 Illinois counties and included nine full-time farmers, 10 part-time farmers and participants from other agriculture-related industries.

About The Graduates

• Austin Anderson, Henry County, works on his family farm in Lynn Center, where they raise corn and soybeans. He is a graduate of Augustana College, where he holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and a minor in biochemistry.

• Shane Asher, Henry County, grew up helping his extended family farm growing corn, soybeans and a small beef herd near Quincy. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering. Asher currently works full-time as a weld manufacturing engineer for John Deere, developing and implementing new products for the combine product line. In addition to his off-farm job, Asher and his wife, Sadie, are rebuilding “The Back 20″ as a you-cut Christmas tree farm. In addition to Christmas trees, they also grow and produce luffa gourds packaged with honey from their bees, goat soap, a large vegetable garden and a flower patch with their family and daughter, Judith. Asher is the Henry County Young Leader chair.

• Bridget Bedeker, Grundy County, grew up on a grain farm in northern Illinois while also exhibiting pigs across the country at state and national shows. She attended Iowa State University, where she had the opportunity to study abroad through four agriculture programs. Now back in Illinois, Bedeker lives on a grain farm with her husband, where they own and operate a show pig operation consisting of 30 sows. They market these animals across the country and assist the youth with their projects. In addition to farming, Bedeker also works on the inside sales team at Compeer Financial out of the Ottawa office.

• Kayla Biegel, Cook County, was born and raised in Chicago Heights on her family’s flower, herb and vegetable farm. She began working in high school as a market staff in the Chicagoland area. After graduating from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with a degree in business management and human resources and accounting, Biegel returned to Smits Farms to continue to grow the farm, specifically in markets and wholesale. She is passionate about food access and helping customers connect with the farmers that grow their food and continuing her family’s farm.

• Malena Cook, Bureau County, graduated from University of Wisconsin-Platteville with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural business with an emphasis in management. She has worked for the IFB for the last seven years. Cook lives in Washburn with her husband, Joshua, and their 3-year-old daughter, Cora. After hours, she farms with her dad and grandpa on their seven-generation farm, Wheeler Farms, in Tiskilwa, where they grow corn and soybeans.

• Ellen Day, Bureau County, graduated from Bradley University. She has held several positions in accounting, management and arts administration while lending a hand on the family farm. She is currently the business manager for Heartland Festival Orchestra in Peoria, and she spends time taking care of the produce grown on the farm. She enjoys testing and creating new recipes that highlight the farm’s produce.

• Paige Durham, Madison County, is a graduate of Kaskaskia College and Southern Illinois University Carbondale and has worked for IFB since January 2019. She began her career in Lawrence County as the county Farm Bureau manager from February 2019 to October 2020. It was then that she was able to move back home and serve as the manager of Madison County Farm Bureau, where she works today. Her career passion focuses on serving the agriculture community, specifically in legislative affairs. She and her husband have a small hobby urban hay farm where they sell hay for equine and cattle.

• Matt Englehart, Lee County, was raised on a farm south of Compton. He started helping his father and grandfather around the farm at a young age. He got his first part-time job off the farm as a freshman in high school, graduated high school and then got his first full-time job for a year before going to Kishwaukee College for two years in diesel power technology. Englehart returned to farm full-time in 2023. In 2024, he purchased a building site south of West Brooklyn, which is where he now resides as a full-time grain farmer alongside his father.

• Ashleigh Erbes, Lee County, currently serves as the manager of Lee County Farm Bureau. In this role, she serves LCFB’s 12-member board of directors in addition to the various committees that form the pillars of the county Farm Bureau, such as the Foundation Board and Young Leader Committee. She works diligently for the LCFB membership base and strives to promote and develop strong public relations and partnerships within the local community. Erbes is working on earning an master’s degree in agricultural leadership, education and communication at the U of I. She holds a bachelor’s degree in science from Illinois State University. Erbes and her husband reside in the southern portion of Lee County, where her husband’s family farms on their multigenerational farm.

• Kristen Ewing, Schuyler County, works as a senior research manager at The Maschhoffs LLC, where she leads a team that compiles and analyzes data for their industry-leading research and development department. She is responsible for the trial data management for four wean-to-market technology centers, as well as sow farms that supply pigs to these farms. Prior to joining The Maschhoffs in 2013, she earned her bachelor’s degree in animal science and industry from Kansas State University and a master’s degree in molecular genetics from the U of I. Kristen and her husband, Matt, reside in Rushville with their three children, Thea, Elsie and Boyd, where they raise row crops and purebred Angus cattle.

• John Grant, McLean County, is the agribusiness underwriting operations manager at Country Financial. He grew up in Bloomington. After a short time away after graduating college, he moved back to the area to be closer to his family. He began his career with Country Financial as a farm underwriter and moved to a few positions within the area before ultimately becoming the manager in 2020. While working at Country Financial, he went back to school to get an master’s degree in natural resources and environmental science. He and his wife, Jana, have two girls, Lillie, 5, and Abby, 2, who like to play outdoors, read books and watch movies.

• British Griffis, Cook County, is a Chicago native with a wide range of skills and expertise within the sciences. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in agricultural biotechnology from the University of Kentucky. Upon graduating, she explored various career paths to further her interest in understanding the intersectionality between food systems and health care. Her career path has not been linear, as her expertise ranges from community outreach to pharmacy to scientific research and development. In 2019, after serving as a Peace Corps food security specialist, she became inspired to use her experience to create change within her former neighborhood by launching a community fridge and pantry in response to the pandemic. She furthered her engagement with urban agriculture and worked for a biotech startup as a research associate and spent three years working as a chemist. The culmination of these experiences has allowed her to view the food system through various lenses at different levels. She hopes to bridge the food access gap for BIPOC communities in urban areas.

• Kinsey Hall, Knox County, has worked in the Growmark system for the past six years, with the last five spent as an operations manager at the Alpha Distribution Center. In her role, she oversees daily operations and ensures inventory accuracy at a world class level. Hall’s passion for continuous improvement and process optimization has driven her success, allowing her to thrive in her role and consistently enhance efficiency. Her commitment to agriculture extends far beyond her career. She is deeply involved in several local organizations that promote and support the agricultural industry in her community, including the Knox County Farm Bureau’s Young Leaders and the Knox County Cattlemen’s Association. Outside of work, Hall and her husband, Blake, raise their young family outside Monmouth. Married for five years, they are proud parents to their daughter, Lakin, 2, and 7-month-old son, Beau.

• Brandon Heiman, Lee County, is a farmer in northern Illinois. In his free time, he enjoys hanging out with his close group of friends who help him out with his hay business. The farming and hay business, along with 50 cattle, keep him very occupied pretty much year-round. Farming is something he has always loved doing, and he is glad he was able to pursue it. With this, he has developed a great deal of leadership and communication skills, which he hopes to be able to guide others with.

• Addison Hopkins, Lee County, is the northern Illinois district sales manager with Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance, working closely with insurance agents to assist farmers. She grew up on a row crop and livestock operation along with raising breeding sheep and cattle. Spending summers at shows locally and nationally grew her passion for breeding show sheep and cattle with her husband in Oregon.

• Kacie Kaufman, McLean County, is a safety and environmental engagement specialist at Growmark. In her role, she works to engage the FS System with safety initiatives and challenges the standard to drive continuous improvement. She holds a master’s degree in business administration from Illinois State University and has earned certifications in Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt and Lean Leader. Outside of work, Kacie is an animal lover with three dogs, two cats and a handful of reptiles. She and her partner love exploring zoos and never pass up the chance to visit a new one.

• Jay Long, Lee County, is originally from Ashton. Growing up, he was heavily involved with his local FFA program, and with the help of an ag teacher, he began showing and raising pigs. Long went to the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, where he was a part of Alpha Gamma Rho, a men’s agricultural fraternity. While at UW-P, Long held several leadership positions in clubs and organizations. He was also a member of the Crops Team, where the team placed third in both national contests. Long graduated with a bachelor’s degree in soil and crop science. He spent a year with Corteva Agriscience in Michigan as an agronomist. He now resides in northern Illinois and is the commercial agronomist for Pivot Bio, which supports northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin.

• Tim Marten, Montgomery County, grew up on a grain farm outside Raymond, with his two older sisters. Through school he took a strong interest in computers and pursued a degree in computer information systems at SIU Edwardsville. While in college, he assisted a small orchard with their information systems, where he met his wife, Kateri, and developed a new appreciation for agriculture. After college, he worked as a software engineer at AT&T for three years before returning home in 2019 to join his family’s grain farm and help Kateri with the orchard. In his dwindling free time, Marten enjoys cooking, bicycling and volunteering at his parish. He and Kateri are expecting their first baby in July.

• Hannah McKee, McHenry County, owns and operates Rush-Mar Farms with her husband and five children. McKee has been in the farming industry most of her life. Together, they raise Cornish Cross meat chickens, farrow to finish Berkshire/Duroc Cross hogs and an Angus cow/calf herd. Her focus is farm to table sales. McKee has been able to grow their small meat business to include local grocery stores and farmers markets. In addition, they also have row crops and supply hay to the local horse market. She enjoys spending free time with her husband and children.

• Jenna Meurer’s passion lies in agriculture, specifically in the livestock industry. Meurer, of Lee County, currently works for Pipestone as an account manager on the Farm Stats team, where they work with independent pig farmers tracking biological and financial performance data, which allows them to make data-driven decisions for their operations. Pigs don’t just stop at work. She and her husband also own and operate Crestview Show pigs. If she is not at work, in the pig barn or farrowing house, you can find Meurer helping with various tasks around the farm, gardening or playing with her dog, Luna.

• Katrina Milton, Cook County, serves as the director of ag literacy for Cook County Farm Bureau. She is from Leland, a small village in rural La Salle County that is known for its annual farm machinery auction and large co-op grain elevator. She earned degrees in English and classical civilization from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and she completed an internship with Catholic Charities. After working for years as a substitute teacher, she studied secondary education at the graduate level at the University of Southern California. Milton spent 10 years working as a reporter and photographer for Shaw Media publications, including The Daily Chronicle, The Valley Life and The MidWeek newspapers, as well as The DeKalb County Ag Mag.

• Alyssa Nelson, Carroll County, joined her family’s farming operation near Chadwick. After graduating from the U of I with her bachelor’s degree in animal science, she continues a legacy of strong focus on cattle health and nutrition, as well as soil health and conservation practices. When she’s not farming, she enjoys flying, hiking and playing the harp. Nelson is also involved in her county’s Farm Bureau Young Leaders and a local flying club.

• Ashlyn Quinn, Warren-Henderson County, was raised in Monmouth and graduated from Monmouth-Roseville High School. She went to Carl Sandburg College for her associate degree before transferring to the U of I, where she graduated in May 2023 with a degree in natural resources and environmental sciences. Quinn is the manager of the Warren-Henderson Farm Bureau. She lives in Monmouth, where she also coaches the Warren County YMCA Waterbug Swim Team.

• Madison Schultz, Kankakee County, grew up in Reddick on her family’s farm. She went to Herscher High School and, from there, went to the U of I. She graduated in May 2022 with a degree in crop science. Schultz began her agronomy career with Advanced Agrilytics and is currently a Precision Ag Specialist for them working in northeast Illinois. She and her husband currently live in Thomasboro with their dog, Margo. When not working or helping on the farm, she enjoys traveling, reading and crafting.

• Matt Wagenecht, Whiteside County, resides in rural Rock Falls, where he is active within the Whiteside County Farm Bureau as a board member and member of the Young Leader organization. Wagenecht is the crop manager for a row crop corn and soybean farm in Rockford. He is an active certified crop adviser in the state of Illinois. He enjoys going to baseball games in his free time.