Farm Bureau Women Leaders Graduate Communications Boot Camp

Apr 30, 2026
By Farms.com

AFBF program trains women farmers to strengthen agriculture advocacy.

Twelve farm and ranch women leaders have completed the spring session of the Women’s Communications Boot Camp hosted by the American Farm Bureau Federation. The four-day program focused on strengthening communication skills that support agriculture advocacy.

“Women play a vital role in advancing agriculture through leadership and engagement,” said Isabella Chism, an Indiana row crop farmer and chair of the AFB Women’s Leadership Committee. “As Boot Camp graduates refine their communications skills, their impact will benefit their communities as well as Farm Bureau at the local, state and national level.”

Participants received hands-on training in public speaking, working with the media, message development, and effective storytelling. The goal of the program is to help women confidently explain farming practices and agricultural issues to a wider audience.

Graduates will use their training by participating in local media interviews, communicating with elected officials, and joining social media campaigns that highlight modern agriculture. These efforts help connect farmers with the public and improve understanding of the agricultural industry.

Isabella Chism, an Indiana row crop farmer and chair of the AFB Women’s Leadership Committee, said women play an important role in advancing agriculture. She noted that stronger communication skills allow participants to benefit their communities and Farm Bureau organizations at all levels.

The 2026 spring session graduates include Kelsey Prothro and Margie Raimondo of Arkansas; LaDonna LaValle of Florida; Sherry Kenney of Louisiana; Jennifer Williams of Mississippi; Nicole Lujan of New Mexico; Michelle Patterson of North Carolina; Caitlyn Barton of Ohio; Mieke deJong of Oregon; Diann Bussell and Haley Brazel of Tennessee; and Natalie Fullmer of Utah.

“Farm Bureau women across the country continue to step up as advocates for agriculture,” said AFBF President Zippy Duvall. “We value their commitment to leadership and lifelong learning.”

This marks the 24th Women’s Communications Boot Camp hosted by AFBF. The program now has 353 graduates and is open to all women involved in Farm Bureau.

“This training let us ‘put our boots to the ground’ through real-life scenarios that prepare us to effectively share with people outside of agriculture,” said graduate Haley Brazel, a farmer and Farm Bureau member in Tennessee who is also an analyst at her local USDA Farm Service Agency office.

The American Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Committee hosts the program twice each year in partnership with AFBF staff. Applications for the fall 2026 session open on June 22.

Photo Credit: American Farm Bureau Federation

Video: Turning Plant Defense Into a Management Strategy

Turning Plant Defense Into a Management Strategy

Understanding how a plant responds to stress is one thing.

Using that knowledge to make better management decisions is another.

Systemic acquired resistance, or SAR, is the plant's more direct defense response. When stress or infection occurs, the plant begins signaling throughout its system and preparing defensive compounds.

But if we know that response exists, can we help prepare the plant before the stress arrives?

The answer starts with understanding what triggers the response and what the plant needs to carry it out.

The Trigger and the Fuel

Salicylic acid plays an important role in triggering the SAR pathway.

Think of it as turning the truck on.

The engine may be running, but it still needs fuel to do the work.

In this case, manganese plays an important role in supporting the enzyme systems involved in the plant's defensive response.

This makes manganese status an important part of the conversation. Whether a producer is using tissue testing, sap analysis, or simply scouting for visible deficiency symptoms, the goal is to make sure the plant has adequate manganese available.

Manganese is required in relatively small amounts, but that does not make its role small.

If the plant receives a signal to defend itself but lacks the nutrition needed to support that response, it may struggle to carry out the process efficiently.

The trigger matters.

The fuel matters too.

Prepare Before the Stress Arrives

The best time to think about stress management is before the plant is overwhelmed.

Once a crop is already struggling, management can quickly turn into a game of catch-up.

This is similar to nitrogen management. Once a plant becomes severely deficient, correcting the problem does not necessarily erase the time and yield potential already lost.

Plant defense can work the same way.

Low-rate, targeted approaches designed to support the SAR pathway may fit best ahead of an expected stress event rather than after significant damage has already occurred.

That requires producers to think about predictable stress.

We may not know exactly what the weather will do tomorrow, but we generally know summer heat is coming. We know certain field conditions increase disease pressure. We know a herbicide application can temporarily stress a crop as the plant processes the chemistry.

Even a properly timed and labeled herbicide application can create a temporary response in the plant.

That does not mean the herbicide is bad.

Weeds can create significantly more yield loss than the temporary stress caused by controlling them.

The question is not whether we should eliminate every stressor.

The question is whether we can better prepare the plant to manage necessary and predictable stress.

Not All Stress Is Bad

Stress is a normal part of plant growth.

A perfectly stress-free environment does not exist in the field.

In fact, some stress is necessary for normal plant development. A plant responds to wind, temperature, moisture, sunlight, and countless other environmental signals throughout the season.

The environment is stress.

The plant's job is to manage it.

Problems begin when the stress load becomes greater than the plant's ability to respond.

Extreme heat, drought, high salt concentrations, disease pressure, and even certain management practices can add to that load.

This is where understanding SAR becomes useful.

Instead of waiting until the plant is visibly struggling, producers can begin identifying periods when stress is likely and make management decisions around those windows.

ISR Starts With the Soil

While SAR is a more direct defense response, induced systemic resistance, or ISR, brings the conversation back to soil health.

The longevity of a farm is closely connected to the health of its soil.

Carbon plays a major role because it supports biological life within the soil. Bacteria, fungi, and other organisms interact with plant roots and influence how the plant grows, accesses nutrients, and prepares for stress.

This is why soil health cannot be reduced to one product or one application.

It is a system.

Keeping living plants in the field longer can support biological activity. Cover crops may fit some operations. Better water management can improve soil conditions.