Indianapolis (Monday, July 14, 2025) –The 2025 New Century Farmer Conference will take place July 20-24 in Indianapolis, bringing together 50 elite FFA alumni from 22 states to advance their leadership and career skills while learning about working in the industry of agriculture from several different experts. Nearly a third of the participants are first-generation producers, with the majority of them being interested in farm ownership or entrepreneurship as potential career paths.

“There’s something powerful that happens when our New Century Farmers from across the country come together to learn about agriculture from people who live and breathe it every day,” said Emma Mendez, National FFA Program Manager, Alumni and Supporters. “These connections spark curiosity, build confidence, and open doors to the future. It’s not just about learning; it’s about feeling a part of something bigger.”

As part of the conference, participants will visit two local farms – Flanders A-Maizing Grain and Sheller Family Farms, both of which are in Noblesville. Flanders A-Maizing Grain is run by FFA alum Jim Flanders, who has also created other ag-related spin-offs, such as Simply from Scratch, a farm-to-table business which features dairy, produce, home-baked items, and more. They incorporate offerings from other local farmers to provide products they don’t make on their own, further lifting up their local community as they take products to farmers markets and other pop-up locations. The Flanders family looks forward to sharing their entrepreneurial journey with FFA students when they visit in July.

Students at this year’s New Century Farmer Conference will also travel the state to visit Corteva Agriscience, CNH Industrial, Reynolds Farm Equipment and Beck’s Hybrids to learn from the experts at each of these businesses.

Those attending the conference this year include:

Alabama
Robert Bush

Arizona
Trenton Castro
Victoria Gonzalez
Tiffany Gooszen
Katherine Meade
Keston Zimmerman

California
Brady Amarel

Colorado
Kayla Rossi
Elizabeth Shown

Connecticut
Paige Lacerenza
Amy Wiknik

Florida
Austin Manning
Jayden Weil

Illinois
Kendra Downing

Indiana
Cale Williams

Kansas
Bricen Benyshek

Kentucky
Luke Mullins

Maryland
Mia McGuffin

Michigan
Olivia Coffey
Miriam Cook
Alexander Scovill
Jaren Waldschmidt
Andersen Zachar

Minnesota
Connor Ballman
Amanda Sauder
Elaine Sauder

Mississippi
Ella Mills

Montana
Bradley Fields
Sheridan Johnson Hoyer

New York
Andrew Curtis Szalach

North Carolina
Caden Robinette

Ohio
Ruth Beery

South Carolina
Lyle Fulmer
Rachel Gentry
Porter Hand
Matthew McSwain

South Dakota
Kaeden Bitterman
Carter Hofer
Nathan Linke
Aaron Linke

Texas
Cayden Caston
Reva Mosley
Matthew Payne
Alexa Rohe

Wisconsin
Victoria Havlik
John Rambatt
Bekka Shemak
Allis Teska
Jescey Thompson
Brooke Wittrock

Corporate support for the conference comes from Case IH, Corteva Agriscience, John Deere, Farm Credit, Firestone Ag, Syngenta and Tractor Supply Company.

Learn more about the New Century Farmer program at www.ffa.org/participate/conference/new-century-farmer.

The National FFA Organization is a school-based national youth leadership development organization of more than 1,027,200 student members as part of 9,235 local FFA chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

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About National FFA Organization
The National FFA Organization is a school-based national youth leadership development organization of more than 1,027,200 student members as part of 9,235 local FFA chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The FFA mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education. For more, visit the National FFA Organization online at FFA.org and on Facebook and Twitter.

About National FFA Foundation
The National FFA Foundation builds partnerships with industry, education, government, other foundations, and individuals to secure financial resources that recognize FFA member achievements, develop student leaders, and support the future of agricultural education. Governed by a 19-member board of trustees composed of educators, business leaders, individual donors and FFA Alumni, the foundation is a separately registered nonprofit organization. About 82 percent of every dollar received by the foundation supports FFA members and agricultural education opportunities. For more, visit FFA.org/Give.