From Livestock Barn to Pageant Stage, the Missouri State Fair Offers Mizzou’s Young Agriculturalists Unique Leadership Roles

Aug 06, 2025

By Elizabeth Owsley

For many students from the University of Missouri’s College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, a highlight of their childhood summers was attending the Missouri State Fair. Whether they were exhibiting livestock or 4-H projects, or helping in the FFA building, memories were made every August in Sedalia, Missouri.

The 11-day agriculture expo hosts thousands of people from across the state each summer, from both inside and outside the agricultural community. An event of that size takes a large team to execute — and many CAFNR students make the transition from exhibitors to event staff at an early age.

Lane Falch grew up showing sheep with 4-H and FFA at the state fair. After graduating from Mizzou in May with a degree in animal sciences, he went to work fulltime as manager of the university’s Rocheford Turkey Research Farm. When Bryon Wiegand, director of the Division of Animal Sciences, offered him the opportunity to be superintendent of this year’s state fair poultry barn, Falch jumped at the chance to learn a new facet of livestock exhibiting.

Source : missouri.edu

Video: CEOs of the Industry: John McIntire, Partner at Pike Pig Systems

CEOs of the Industry, Jim sits down with John McIntire, Partner at Pike Pig Systems, one of the most quietly impressive 26,000-sow operations in the U.S. John shares how he grew from operator to partner, how Pike built a people-first culture with long-tenured managers, and why they’re committed to weaning bigger, stronger pigs at 25+ days.

John breaks down how Pike stays efficient in a tough economic environment, the power of their shareholder-owned farm model, and how their work with PIC and a 240-head boar facility drives genetics and health outcomes. He also opens up about the innovations Pike adopts — and how they decide what’s truly valuable versus industry hype.

From Prop 12 and labor challenges to trade, consumer expectations, and sustainability, John chooses a hot-button issue and shares how Pike is preparing for the future. The episode closes with a rapid-fire “Fast Five” — mindset, leadership, daily habits, and three words that define Pike Pig Systems in 2025.

If you want a look inside a people-driven, purpose-driven, quietly elite pork system, this is an episode you won’t want to miss.