Andrew Lauver joins Farm Journal serving as Director of Business Development, Trust in Food following more than a decade in the ag industry focused on precision agriculture, biotechnology, sustainability, ag policy, and industry relations. In this role, Andrew delivers Trust In Food’s capabilities to support food companies, agribusinesses, nonprofits, and government agencies with their sustainable food and regenerative agriculture goals, strategies, programs and products. Andrew has experience in seed and precision agricultural services in Iowa, Wisconsin and Western Canada. Prior to his most recent role, Andrew led non-profit business development and stakeholder engagement to grow organization membership from family farmers to leading consumer packaged goods companies. Additionally, Andrew has led commercial sales teams in across the industry and served as Manager, Industry Relations for North America at Syngenta managing key commodity and grower group relationships where he developed strategy for investment in industry associations based on commercial and/or public policy objectives and outcomes.
He has worked in the U.S. Senate, the Iowa House of Representatives, and for the American Seed Trade Association. Andrew has volunteer experience with the World Food Prize, Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Iowa Corn Growers, Soy Growers, Cattlemen’s, Farm Bureau, Rotary International and Grow Iowa Ag. Andrew has been active in FFA and 4-H throughout his life and presently serves as the elected President of the Iowa Foundation for Agricultural Advancement and serves as a commissioner on the Commission on the Status of Women, a position to which he was appointed to Governor Kim Reynolds.
Andrew is from a fifth-generation family farm and received his BS from Iowa State University in Agricultural Studies, holds a Master of Agribusiness from Kansas State University with a thesis titled Lauver Family Farms: Utilizing the Conservation Reserve Program as a Risk Management Tool, and a Master of Jurisprudence in Agricultural Law and Sustainability from the Drake University Law School. He has international farm and animal agricultural study experience in Europe, Asia, and South America and has been named a Future Giant of the Seed Industry by Seed World Magazine, was also named to the AgGrad 30 under 30, and Seed World magazine 20 under 30 lists.
Andrew resides in Iowa on his family’s farm with his wife Mary and their two daughters, Doris and Viola.