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Each year, Indiana Farm Bureau honors young farmers and agricultural professionals ages 18-35 who have demonstrated leadership and a commitment to farming and Farm Bureau.

Three award winners have been selected this year and will be recognized at INFB’s state convention, to be held Dec. 12-14 in French Lick, Indiana.

All three awards recognize young farmers and ag professionals for leadership and involvement with their state or local Farm Bureau, in addition to their commitment to strengthening agriculture across Indiana.

The winners are:

Isaac and Kyla Schroeder, Perry County, Excellence in Agriculture Award

This award honors Farm Bureau members who in the past three years have not derived the majority of their income from a farming operation but who actively contribute and grow their involvement in Farm Bureau, the agriculture

industry and other community organizations. As winners of this award, the Schroeders will receive an $8,000 cash prize courtesy of Farm Credit Mid-America, a $3,000 cash prize courtesy of Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance and an all-expenses-paid trip to San Antonio, Texas, to compete at the 2025 American Farm Bureau convention in January.

Owners and operators of a registered Angus cattle herd, the Schroeders divide their time and energy between their farm, which also includes a hay operation, and full-time jobs in the community. Isaac is a division agronomist for Superior Ag where he works with the sales team to implement trainings and conducts grower consultations, as well as field research and agronomy problem analysis. Kyla works for Tempo Global Resources, an aluminum supply chain company.

Jayden Simpson, Putnam County, Rising Star Award

The Rising Star Award honors outstanding members who are active in Farm Bureau, their county, their community,

Collegiate Farm Bureau or YF&AP programs, and who display personal and professional growth by participating in those activities. Simpson will receive a $2,000 cash prize and an all-expenses-paid trip to Denver, Colorado, for the 2025 Farm Bureau FUSION Conference in March.

Simpson grew up on his family’s fourth-generation Hereford show cattle operation, where they raise and show Hereford cattle across the country. Now a junior at Purdue University majoring in agricultural economics with a concentration in policy and pre-law, Simpson is involved in Purdue Collegiate Farm Bureau where he currently serves as chapter president. He also acted as the collegiate representative for the INFB state resolutions committee, helping to review policy recommendations submitted by county Farm Bureaus.

Cory and Emily Studebaker, Whitley County, Achievement Award

The Achievement Award recognizes outstanding young Farm Bureau members whose farm management techniques and commitment to their communities set a positive example for others involved in agriculture. Applicants must derive

the majority of their income from a farming operation and are judged on their leadership involvement and farm management techniques. The Studebakers will receive a $6,000 cash prize courtesy of Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, a $5,000 cash prize courtesy of additional sponsors and an all-expenses-paid trip to compete at the 2025 American Farm Bureau convention in San Antonio, Texas, in January. The Studebakers also will be awarded the David L. Leising Memorial Award.

The couple farms with Cory’s father, raising row crops and dairy cows. They also own their own farm, which includes a 24,000-head commercial laying hen operation contracted through Herbruck’s Poultry Ranch, an egg production company based in Michigan.

Find out more about this year’s winners from INFB’s YouTube channel. To find out more about YF&AP or its awards programs, visit www.infb.org/yfap.