Four outstanding Young Farmers who competed with 10 other contestants in four categories — Achievement, Employee, Leader and Excellence — have been announced as winners of Michigan Farm Bureau’s (MFB) 2025 Young Farmer Awards: Jasmine McNary, Abby Vittore, Tera Baker and Zach and Ronna Wagner.
Every year, young Michigan farmers ages 18-35 face off in categories geared toward measuring their agricultural involvement, leadership and achievements.
“Our Young Farmer award winners and finalists represent the future of Michigan agriculture: leaders who advocate, innovate and elevate our farming community,” said MFB Young Farmer Manager Katie Eisenberger. “Their passion and commitment make lasting impacts and we’re proud to celebrate their contributions.”
Employee
The Young Agriculture Employee Award recognizes farm employees and ag professionals for their contributions to the success and long-term profitability of their workplace. Nominees are also judged on their leadership involvement in Farm Bureau, agriculture and the local community.
Your 2025 winner in the Employee category is Sanilac County agricultural education teacher Jasmine McNary. For her high-school juniors and seniors, McNary maintains a livestock inventory including five head of cattle, 16 sheep, 30 egg-laying chickens, 150 meat chickens, 24 meat rabbits, two sows, eight fair hogs and four goats.
“I’m proud of improving animal health and increasing herd sizes within the program, as well as increasing the number of students involved,” she said. “One of my ambitions for the future is to increase student involvement within Farm Bureau during and after high school. A second goal is to increase our success in FFA competitions as a reflection of improved teaching strategies.”
McNary credits her Farm Bureau membership for helping build a supportive networking for all her agricultural endeavors.
“I like to reap the value in the education and networking opportunities to take back and share with my students,” she said — connections that connect her students with real-world learning opportunities. “Involvement in Farm Bureau has provided me with the tools to be a better agricultural educator.”
Also competing this year in the Employee category were Cameron Cook of Clinton County, Gratiot County’s Olivia Gager and Andrew Littlefield of St. Joseph County.
Leader
The Young Farmer Agriculture Leader Award honors successful young agriculturalists who earn the majority of their income from a farm operation, for their outstanding leadership in Farm Bureau, farming and throughout the agricultural community.
The 2025 Young Farmer Leader Award goes to Lenawee County’s Abby Vittore, who helps maintain an acre of retail greenhouse alongside her parents, brother and husband. Together they raise annuals, perennials and vegetables — until autumn, when the direction shifts toward agritourism, with a corn maze, wagon rides, petting animals and other seasonal attractions. There’s also a few hundred acres of corn, soybeans, wheat and alfalfa, and 35 acres of pumpkins.
“Of all my achievements and involvement, I’m most proud of the time I’ve spent volunteering, presenting and mentoring in our county’s classrooms and with our local 4-H and FFA chapters,” Vittore said. “The lessons and experiences I gained in school and through youth organizations were only possible because an adult chose to invest their time and energy into helping shape the lives of young people.
“I hope to provide students with the same experiences that had such a profound impact on me.”
She looks forward to taking part in MFB’s advanced leadership-development program, ProFILE, serve her county Farm Bureau board and ensuring the family farm is successful enough to pass down to a sixth generation.
“Farm Bureau provides a support network unlike any other organization,” she said. “The value of the resources and connections available at our fingertips far surpasses the cost of membership.”
Also competing for this year’s Leader award were Kyle Rasch of Ottawa County and Lenawee County’s Daniel Ringkvist.
Achievement
The Young Farmer Achievement Award recognizes successful young farmers (individuals or couples) who derive a majority of their income from an owned production agriculture enterprise and showcases their achievements in the business of farming.
First-generation farmers Zach and Ronna Wagner from Clinton County earned this year’s Achievement award. The couple raises 3,600 acres of corn, soybeans, wheat and beef cattle. In addition, Ronna works a full-time job with Munters Corporation.
“We’re most proud of growing to where we are today and how hard we worked to get here,” said Ronna Wagner. “Starting from one tractor and 14 acres in four different fields — to farming 3,600 acres today — is an achievement we are humbly proud of.”
Future plans include a grain-handling facility to improve efficiencies and to farm more ground closer to home.
“Through Farm Bureau we have gained a network of like-minded people and resources,” she said. “Being involved on our county board has also increased our community involvement.”
Also vying for this year’s Achievement award were Mecosta County’s Amanda Carey Goodfellow and Blake Gordon of Sanilac County.
Excellence
The Excellence in Agriculture Award is designed to recognize young farmers — individuals or couples — for their involvement in agriculture, leadership ability and participation in Farm Bureau.
Berrien County’s Tera Baker is this year’s Excellence winner. With her husband and parents, Baker owns a cash cropping farm and precision agriculture dealership. By day she’s a marketing manager with Nedap Livestock Management, a leading provider of dairy-farm technology.
“My goals for the future are to grow precision dairy technology adoption rate and implementation,” she said. “I also hope to expand the acreage we farm and increase the user base working with our family's precision ag equipment business.”
She credits Farm Bureau’s Young Farmer program for developing her leadership skills and understanding of the legislative process.
“It’s important for farmers to get involved in order to secure our future in business,” she said. “Farm Bureau does a tremendous job implementing programs for members to learn, grow, gain influence and network, and I think any farmer or agribusiness owner who wants to be around for the long term should find a way to get involved.”
Also in the running for this year’s Excellence award were Chase and Samantha Bos of Ottawa County, Saginaw County couple Taylor and Ryan Schomaker and Washtenaw County’s Erica Drake.