Author: Charlie Kerr || Charlie Kerr is a 2026 graduate of the MOFB IMPACT Leadership Academy. He and his family raise corn and soybeans in Livingston County, where he also serves as the county Farm Bureau president.

I collect phone numbers. At the time of this writing, my contacts folder has 523 entries. If I connect with you once, your number gets saved. I don’t communicate with all 523 of my contacts regularly, but the purpose of a contacts folder is to have a line of communication if you ever need it.

This past year, my contacts folder has grown a lot. Eight people from across Missouri, including me, were selected to be a part of the 2026 IMPACT Leadership Academy. The purpose of the academy is to prepare individuals to take on leadership roles throughout the agriculture industry. We all came from a variety of backgrounds, which gave us different perspectives to draw from when doing video calls and meetings with legislators and industry professionals.

We started our year in the program with two days in Jefferson City. During that time, we learned about what many of the state staff members do daily and how the many parts of the organization work together. We completed a strengths assessment and discussed how focusing on our strengths helps us accomplish more. Carah Hart of the Brownfield Network gave us tips for conducting successful media interviews. We also had dinner with President Garrett Hawkins at his residence and heard from former Chief Administrative Officer Blake Rollins. The following day included presentations from executives of FCS Financial and MFA about how leadership works within their organizations.

After this in-person meeting, we transitioned to monthly video calls featuring a variety of leaders from across the country and the agriculture industry. Speakers included AFBF President Zippy Duvall, Agri-Pulse founder Sara Wyant, Missouri Association of Counties Executive Director Steve Hobbs and Missouri Director of Agriculture Chris Chinn. Each leader shared experiences and explained how different events in their lives, decisions they made and even connections from the past helped lead them to their current positions. Each encouraged us to recognize our strengths and put them to use where they were needed.

In August, we made connections at the Missouri State Fair on Governor’s, Legislators’ and Judges’ Day.  We started the morning with the Governor’s Ham Breakfast. Later that morning, we watched Senator Eric Schmitt and others conduct a press conference in the MOFB building before lunch and a conversation with Senator Josh Hawley.

The highlight of our year was the September trip to Washington D.C. Spencer Tuma, MOFB’s senior director of national legislative programs, arranged a full schedule for the four days we were there. We started with a tour of the AFBF headquarters and heard from their staff about their priority issues. From there, we met with staff members for our congressmen and senators, as well as staff from the Senate Agriculture committee. We also met with a couple of native Missourians who now have careers in Washington. On our final morning, we met with several individuals at the USDA who shared current topics of interest and listened to our concerns from Missouri.

During the trip, we had more time to bond as a group, fitting in some sightseeing during our down time and enjoying great food at historic locations.

Now that we are graduates of the program, I have added seven new phone numbers to my collection.   Whether through Farm Bureau, state or local government, commodity organizations or other leadership roles, our paths will likely cross again. In addition to those seven, I’ve added a number of other contacts from all levels of business and government. Whatever the future holds, I know people in places who can make an IMPACT.