The Fruit + Vegetable 40 Under 40 Awards honor 40 outstanding individuals making their marks in the industry.

These 40 young professionals represent the best in the industry. The Fruit + Vegetable 40 Under 40 Class of 2023 will be honored at the Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable & Farm Market EXPO, and recognized in the October 2023 issues of Fruit Growers News and Vegetable Growers News.

Thank you to the sponsors who support the 40 Under 40 recognition program: AgBiome Innovations, Miller Chemical, Stokes Seeds and Huma.



Class of 2023

Amy Rial
MyLand- A Soil Health Company

Andrew DeGroot
DeGroot's Vegetable Farms

Andrew Kirk
Ohio State University-Ashtabula Agricultural Research Station

Andrew Ochs
The Veggie Boys

Anna Testen
USDA-ARS

Bill Groenink
Endeavor Ag & Energy

Brent Christensen
Blake's Orchard and Cider Mill

Chad Reenders
Blue Mitten Winery LLC

Cliff Riner
G&R Farms

Cory Justus
Justus Orchard

Courtney Hamilton Griffin
Southern Valley Fruit & Vegetable, Inc.

Dane Hauser
Hauser's Superior View Farm and Apfelhaus Cidery

Emily Gant
AgroFresh Solutions Inc.

Emily Grabemeyer
Wilbur-Ellis Company

Erin Doughtie
Syngenta Vegetable Seeds

Ethan Rosen
Pure Line Seeds, Inc.

George Zhuang
University of California Cooperative Extension at Fresno County

Jake Emling
Emling Agricultural Services LLC

Jason Stanton
Stanton Farms

Jeremy Shank
Central Produce Sales, Inc.

Joseph Sutton
Sutton Agricultural Enterprises

Joshua Duley
Hartung Brothers, Inc

Justin Ballew
Clemson University

Kelly Liberator
AgBiome

Kyle Rasch
Third Leaf Farm/ Tom Rasch & Son Orchards

Leonard Burger III
Burger's Farm

Leslie Holland
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Luke DeHaan
Crossroads Blueberry Farm

Marcio Resende
University of Florida

Matthew Macrie
Macrie Brothers Blueberry Farm

Mike Basedow
Cornell Cooperative Extension

Rachel Itle
University of Georgia

Rebekah Alstede Modery
Alstede Farms LLC

Tara Oomen
BASF

Travis Torrey
Torrey Farms Inc

Troy Bland
Bland Farms

Ty Torrance
UGA Extension

Valerie Ramsburg
Rice Fruit Company

Zach Wortiska
Seedway

Current Issue

FGN March 2024

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Pest update: Efforts continue to control SWD, SLF

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