News Release

Today, the Missouri Department of Agriculture announced 30 high school sophomores were selected to participate in the 2021 Missouri Agribusiness Academy. Students selected will spend several days in June in the Mid-Missouri region exploring careers in agriculture, building leadership skills and learning more about farming, ranching and food production.

“Giving back to agriculture is important and we’re thrilled to contribute to the future of agriculture through MAbA,” said Director of Agriculture Chris Chinn. “I’m so proud of each of these students and the accomplishments they’ve already achieved as leaders. We hope that MAbA helps each of them add value to those skills and ultimately find their future in an agriculture career.” 

Since 1988, the Missouri Agribusiness Academy has awarded more than 990 academy memberships through a competitive application and interview process for high school sophomores interested in pursuing agriculture-related college degrees and careers.

Students selected for the 2021 class are:

• Lauren Bailey of Clinton, Mo. (photo)
• Braden Booth of Fair Grove, Mo. (photo)
• Karson Calvin of Troy, Mo. (photo)
• Emma Cummings of Ste. Genevieve, Mo. (photo)
• Samuel Derks of King City, Mo. (photo)
• Lane Dowell of Gallatin, Mo. (photo)
• Colton Essner of Benton, Mo. (photo)
• Hannah Fehring of Neosho, Mo. (photo)
• Mason Forkner of Richards, Mo. (photo)
• Wyatt Gilmer of Polo, Mo. (photo)
• Noah Graham of Patterson, Mo. (photo)
• Braden Graves of Fairfax, Mo. (photo)
• Olivia Helmig of Linn, Mo. (photo)
• Wyatt Hendley of Bloomfield, Mo. (photo)
• Trey Hoffman of Archie, Mo. (photo)
• Karli James of Appleton City, Mo. (photo)
• Isabella Kamler of Cuba, Mo. (photo)
• Natalie Kientzy of Silex, Mo. (photo)
• Kelsey Miller of Jonesburg, Mo. (photo)
• Alexandra Moore of Cuba, Mo. (photo)
• Josie Moore of Harrisonville, Mo. (photo)
• Owen Neely of South Greenfield, Mo. (photo)
• Kristin Riecke of Linn, Mo. (photo)
• Gabrielle Rohrbach of California, Mo. (photo)
• Audrie Sievers of Poplar Bluff, Mo. (photo)
• Caleb Simpson of Bolivar, Mo. (photo)
• Ashley Sjostrand of Hartsburg, Mo. (photo)
• Gabriel Todd of Mountain Grove, Mo. (photo)
• Lauren Triplett of Rutledge, Mo. (photo)
• Claire Walker of Chillicothe, Mo. (photo)

On Monday, June 7, the MAbA class will convene in Jefferson City. After an overview and tour of the Missouri Department of Agriculture, the students will travel Mid-Missouri over the next several days. During the 2021 Missouri Agribusiness Academy, the students will visit agriculture businesses and learn about career opportunities in animal health, production agriculture and more.

For additional details about the 2021 Missouri Agribusiness Academy, as well as more information on the Department of Agriculture, please visit the Department online at Agriculture.Mo.Gov.