Iowa Farm Bureau Federation names Katherine MacKenzie Young Farmer Program Coordinator

The Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF) has named Katherine MacKenzie as its young farmer program coordinator. MacKenzie began her Farm Bureau career on April 20, serving as the primary point of contact for young farmer members and working closely with IFBF's Young Farmer Advisory Committee (YFAC) coordinating events, awards, committees and communication.

"We are very excited to have Katherine join our staff to build lasting relationships and bring fresh energy and innovative thinking to IFBF's Young Farmer Program," said Molly Shannahan, IFBF leadership training manager. "IFBF's Young Farmer Program is vital to our leadership pipeline, and Katherine is well positioned to help our continued growth and development of the program as we serve our young farmer members."

MacKenzie earned her Masters of Agricultural Sciences from East Texas A&M University and a Bachelor of Science in Plant and Soil Sciences from Sam Houston State University. The Texas native previously served as agriculture and natural resources outreach coordinator with Story County's ISU Extension and Outreach, leading county and regional programs serving area farmers and other stakeholders.

"IFBF's Young Farmer Program has a tremendous reputation for developing young farmer leaders and serving our young and beginning farmers, and I'm excited to work with current and future leaders to continue the growth and success of the program," said MacKenzie.

MacKenzie was raised outside of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex in Mansfield, Texas. Her introduction to agriculture began through horseback riding lessons, which led to involvement in 4-H and FFA, where she showed goats and lambs and competed on the horse judging team. She went on to compete in collegiate rodeo for Panola College, Sam Houston State University, and East Texas A&M. MacKenzie now resides in Maxwell, Iowa, where she remains actively involved in agriculture through the startup of a small flower farm.