Haley Ammann-Ekstrom is a 6th generation cattle farmer in southern Minnesota. Haley’s passion for the agriculture industry blossomed when she was in 4-H and from there grew into the agriculture advocate that she is today. Haley strives to raise a delicious beef product that others can be proud to serve their families around the dinner table. When she isn’t busy working on the farm, her true calling is being a strong advocate in the beef industry and inside classrooms. Haley believes you’re never too old to continue learning and helps promote Agriculture food awareness in classrooms; she believes in the future of agriculture and wants to be a mentor for the next generation of females. Haley has completed a variety of different courses including BQA, NCBA trailblazers, MARL, and various business courses.

Haley Ammann-Ekstrom is a 6th generation cattle farmer in southern Minnesota. Haley’s passion for the agriculture industry blossomed when she was in 4-H and from there grew into the agriculture advocate that she is today. Haley strives to raise a delicious beef product that others can be proud to serve their families around the dinner table. When she isn’t busy working on the farm, her true calling is being a strong advocate in the beef industry and inside classrooms. Haley believes you’re never too old to continue learning and helps promote Agriculture food awareness in classrooms; she believes in the future of agriculture and wants to be a mentor for the next generation of females. Haley has completed a variety of different courses including BQA, NCBA trailblazers, MARL, and various business courses.

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Samuel Cossio was born in Zacatecas, Mexico on a cattle ranch where he learned to work cattle alongside his dad. He moved to California in 1996, and in 1999 moved up to Washington state where he began his career in the cattle industry. Through his first employer he earned the opportunity of feedlot operations through promotions. He started on the maintenance crew, then the cattle processing crew and eventually moved to feeding, doctoring, shipping and receiving, and riding pens. By 2001, he was elevated to cattle supervisor and in 2002, he was an assistant manager at a 12,000 head feedlot. By 2004, he was promoted to general manager. Over a 20-year career in feedlot operations and management, he gained a wealth of knowledge and experience in team building and management all while helping the company grow to a one-time capacity of 90,000 head with three finishing yards and four backgrounding lots.

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Experience

Macey Hurst was born and raised on a cow-calf operation in Mid-Missouri, instilling in her a love for land and livestock. That passion drove her to Missouri State University where she acquired degrees in both agricultural communications and agribusiness marketing and sales with a minor in Spanish to empower her to best tell the story of her family ranch and those in her industry. While in college, Hurst; her mother, Staci; and her younger sister, Emma; established Lady Livestock Company. With around 50 Registered Black Angus cows, they produce calves, finish steers, and develop replacement heifers while telling the story of farm-to-fork to their beef customers and representing women proprietors in agriculture.

Macey Hurst was born and raised on a cow-calf operation in Mid-Missouri, instilling in her a love for land and livestock. That passion drove her to Missouri State University where she acquired degrees in both agricultural communications and agribusiness marketing and sales with a minor in Spanish to empower her to best tell the story of her family ranch and those in her industry. While in college, Hurst; her mother, Staci; and her younger sister, Emma; established Lady Livestock Company. With around 50 Registered Black Angus cows, they produce calves, finish steers, and develop replacement heifers while telling the story of farm-to-fork to their beef customers and representing women proprietors in agriculture. Hurst's drive to serve led to positions as staff for the Missouri Cattlemen's Association, Missouri Beef Industry Council, Missouri Department of Agriculture, and to her current role as Account Executive at Modern Litho, a nationally-awarded and recognized commercial printer based in Jefferson City, MO, where she works with many industry publications and agricultural companies to help them achieve marketing goals, communicate with readers and promote products. She is grateful for the growth the beef community has facilitated within her and is eager to participate in Trailblazers to learn to most effectively reinvest in the future of the industry.

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Experience

Kacy Atkinson was born and raised on a cattle ranch in northern Albany County, Wyoming. As the 5th generation on the land in the Cowboy State, her love and passion for the beef industry has deep roots. While she has been in the cattle business since she was 3 months old, she never intended to end up on the family ranch. She worked for almost a decade in higher education at West Texas A&M, spending time in admissions, student affairs and teaching part-time (everyone’s favorite subject public speaking.) After leaving Texas, she began a career in Extension in Colorado, working with both 4-H youth and adult livestock producers, with a temporary stop between counties working with a leadership, education and development program for those in agriculture in Wyoming. The sudden and unexpected loss of her brother brought her back to the family ranch, where she now works side-by-side with her father raising primarily Angus cattle, with a few of her favorite Charolais cross cows thrown in for a little variety, and to cause her dad a little heartburn.

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Tucker Brown is active in his family's operation, R.A. Brown Ranch and serves on the Leadership Development Committee for Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raiser's Association, as a sixth-generation cattle rancher. As a "farm gates always open" type of person, Brown said he doesn't hesitate to answer hard questions about the beef industry and loves showcasing their West Texas multi-generational ranch. "Our goal is if we can help consumers understand where their food comes from, they will have a deeper sense of trust," said Brown. "Having people come to the ranch and ask questions helps us move forward and do better."

Tucker Brown is active in his family's operation, R.A. Brown Ranch and serves on the Leadership Development Committee for Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raiser's Association, as a sixth-generation cattle rancher.

As a "farm gates always open" type of person, Brown said he doesn't hesitate to answer hard questions about the beef industry and loves showcasing their West Texas multi-generational ranch.

"Our goal is if we can help consumers understand where their food comes from, they will have a deeper sense of trust," said Brown. "Having people come to the ranch and ask questions helps us move forward and do better."

As a modern-day influencer, Brown has a knack for creating intriguing and approachable social media content that bridges the gap between consumers and producers, reaching millions of viewers. With more than 245,000 followers on TikTok and 138,000 followers on Instagram, Brown receives, on average, a combined 5-6 million views per month on his videos and uses his influence to show what it's like to raise beef.

"I like to use a word I call ‘edutainment' which means entertaining viewers so much they didn't realize they learned something until after the video is over," said Brown. "There's so many of us that post about the beef industry, so finding ways to keep viewers watching has been the most fun for me as an advocate."

Brown said along with sharing beef facts and ranching stories, his passion goes beyond simply reaching consumers. He also strives to get more youth involved in the industry. As a graduate of the Masters of Beef Advocacy program and member of the 2023 class of NCBA Trailblazers, a continuing education and development program for industry advocates, Brown emphasized the importance of development programs like these in identifying and preparing the next generation.

"I think it's important to tell our story, but I think much of the industry hasn't been trained on how to do that," said Brown. "With these recent programs it's been easier to get more young people involved and teach them how to be an advocate of truth in a way where more people are willing to listen."

You can follow Tucker Brown on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, or visit his family's ranch website here.

Areas of Expertise

Experience