Dr Annette Kendall

If you’re ever in Ireland, put this on your Must Try list.

Hands down it was the best yoghurt I’ve ever tasted. For a brief second I even considered moving to Ireland because we can’t get it in the US (maybe one day ?)

Glenilen Farm started as a small family dairy farm milking 50 cows. Valerie began making yoghurt from their farm milk and selling it at farmers markets while Alan drove products around in a van.

Today they supply retailers including Harrods, Aldi, and Whole Foods Market.

One of the coolest things they showed us was how they think about the brand like a house:

* Who lives there?
* What music do they listen to?
* What does the kitchen look like?
* What values do they have?
* What would threaten the house?

For ag business students, imagine doing this for a Missouri product.

If your brand was a Missouri beef jerky company:

* Maybe the “house” is practical, outdoorsy, family-oriented, watches college football, listens to country music, and values reliability over trendiness.
* Or maybe it’s younger, gym-focused, protein-conscious, listens to podcasts, shops at Costco, and wants convenience and health.

Two very different brand strategies, even though both products are technically “beef jerky.”

One issue I’m hearing repeatedly while in Northern Ireland and Ireland this week: generation renewal in agriculture.

In Northern Ireland:
• Average farmer age: 59
• 34% of farmers are over 60
• 4 in 10 farmers have no identified successor
• Only 16% of farmers are female

Former EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan made an important point at an Agri-Summit today: before the next generation can take over, the current generation has to feel financially secure enough to step aside.

A lot of discussion around this issue focuses on attracting young people into agriculture. But Phil Hogan’s message is a timely reminder that addressing the issue of generation renewal also requires efforts focused on the financial security and long-term viability of current farmers.

This past weekend some of the MU Agribusiness Management faculty, staff, and students in the Division of Applied Social Sciences- University of Missouri were able to meet with a few of our incoming students for Fall 2026 and their families.

I’m so excited to get to know this future generation of ag leaders and can’t wait for them to experience all that our program and the broader University of Missouri-Columbia has to offer.

I recently asked just shy of 100 of my current students why they chose Mizzou, especially the students from small towns for whom such a big university can seem overwhelming.

Two main themes ran through the responses:
1. Scholarships - many students said the tuition works out to be very affordable just because of the sheer amount of scholarships available; and
2. They wanted to push themselves out of their comfort zone and experience a bigger town and meet new people.

All of them said they’re so glad they chose us. And the main reason why?

Because when they got here they soon learned that in each of Mizzou College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources / DASS / AgBusiness Management there’s the same rural, close-knit vibe that makes it feel just that little bit like home.

In a few short months, each of the incoming students in this photo will soon learn that their advisors and professors care about them as individuals, that they’re just regular people who happen to know a lot about specific subjects, and that the highlight of their advisors and professors day is seeing their faces in class and around Mumford Hall.

Welcome to AgBusiness folks. We can’t wait to learn and create with you.

2026 NAMA Primary Research

Attention Alumni & Sales Professionals!

We’re looking for industry professionals to volunteer with MASEN (Mizzou AgSales Experience Network). MASEN is a program that connects students with real-world sales experience through live practice calls and coaching.
By volunteering, you’ll help develop the next generation of sales leaders while gaining first-hand access to emerging talent. MASEN gives students valuable experience across real sales scenarios and helps companies connect with career-ready graduates.
Interested in getting involved? We’d love to have you be part of the MASEN network!

Contact Dr. Annette Kendall for more information!
[email protected]

Our MASEN (Mizzou AgSales Experience Network) sales calls are continuing this semester and because enrolment more than doubled this year I'm in need of a lot more volunteers to act as customers for our students.

The investment required is 50 minutes and you don't have to sign up for every week, even one or two sessions would be hugely appreciated.

The impact of your participation in helping our students practice and develop their sales skills is immense. As one student wrote in her end-of-semester reflection last year, "The confidence I gained from MASEN played a big role in me landing my internship. I went into the interview prepared and didn’t shy away from it, and I’m proud of myself for that."

And if you need further incentive, the feel-good factor of knowing you made a difference is real. Take it from Sara Fahrenholtz, a trading manager at Archer Daniels Midland with 7 years of experience in commodity trading, who volunteered as one of our MASEN "customer" professionals last year:

"I enjoyed seeing student's resilience, communication, and confidence grow from week to week as they participated in the mock sales calls and I'm excited to hopefully cross paths working alongside these students in the industry in the future."

If you'd like to help us cultivate the next generation of ag industry leaders, please message me and I'll send you all the details including the link to sign-up.

Sometimes when I’m reading students’ work, I come across a passage that literally stops me in my tracks and has me thinking about it for the rest of the day.

This is one of them:

“At the beginning of this semester, sales made me nervous. Now, it makes me hopeful. Not because I think I know all the answers, but because I know how to care enough to ask the right questions. And that’s the kind of seller I want to be.”

🎤🫳