Iowa Farm Bureau has named Blake Anderson of Adams County, Randy Francois of Buchanan County and Devon Murray of Floyd County as the 2025 recipients of its Young Farmer Leadership Award. 

The annual recognition honors young farmers who are making a difference through leadership in agriculture, Farm Bureau and their local communities. From building youth mentorship programs to advocating for policy change and connecting consumers with agriculture, these individuals represent the next generation of Iowa farm leaders.

Blake Anderson, Nodaway

You could say teaching is in Blake Anderson’s blood. He laughs that he’s the fourth “Mr. Anderson” to walk the halls of Corning schools, following in the footsteps of his dad and two uncles, who were also educators.

As the agricultural education instructor for grades 7-12 and FFA advisor at Southwest Valley Schools, Anderson is a tireless advocate for youth. He’s received numerous honors, including Agriculturalist of the Year from the local chamber of commerce, the Iowa Association of Career and Technical Educators’ Outstanding Young Teacher award and the Iowa FFA’s Distinguished Service Award and Honorary State Degree.

Anderson’s service extends beyond the classroom. He volunteers through his church, supports booster clubs and serves on rural development boards. As chair of the Adams Community Rural Development Committee, he created a program that partners 4-H and FFA members with farmers to get hands-on experience raising pigs, sheep or chickens, at no cost to the student. Anderson also launched the Rural Growth Scholarship to support young people pursuing ag-related careers in the area.

“I have a goal of developing a solid network of older farmers who are looking for the next generation to take on their farming operation and connect them with young farmers eager to farm full time,” Anderson says. “And for people to see the potential they have within themselves.” 

Outside the classroom, Anderson raises corn, soybeans and hay near Nodaway, working alongside his parents and sister in their cow-calf operation. He is an Iowa Farm Bureau Ag Leaders Institute graduate and Adams County Farm Bureau voting delegate. Through his dual roles with Farm Bureau and ag education, Anderson organizes the Corning Elementary “Watch Me Grow” program, where fourth and fifth graders plant and monitor corn, harvest it in the fall and tour an ethanol plant to see how it becomes fuel and animal feed. In 2026, the program will expand to include tours of a feed blending facility, cattle feedlot, meat processor and beef retail store to show the full journey of the corn they planted.

“It’s fun to get the recognition,” he said, “but I do this stuff because it really needs to get done, and I want to make sure people in Adams County and Montgomery County and Southwest Iowa and Iowa as a whole have the opportunities that they can.”

Randy Francois, Masonville

If you want to get Randy Francois talking, mention sports. If you want to see him swell with pride, mention his family and their farm. 

Francois and his wife, Megan, are raising their three children near Winthrop, where they grow corn and soybeans and operate an independent farrow-to-finish hog farm.

Today, their kids attend the same school Francois once did—where he played sports, built friendships and learned the value of teamwork. Now, he’s coaching his children’s teams and giving back to the community he grew up in.

That same desire to connect and contribute is what drew Randy and Megan to Farm Bureau. They first got involved with Farm Bureau after signing up to become members at Farm Bureau Park during the Iowa State Fair and later attended the Young Farmer Conference in Des Moines.

That experience sparked years of involvement. Francois now serves on the Buchanan County Farm Bureau board and is an Iowa Farm Bureau Ag Leaders Institute graduate. He’s contributed at the state and national level through the State Resolutions Committee and the American Farm Bureau’s Market Study Committee. Randy and Megan also represented their district on Iowa Farm Bureau’s Young Farmer Advisory Committee, with Randy serving as chair.

“Playing sports in high school, I saw ‘Farm Bureau’ all over,” he said. “But I didn’t know it was the farm organization I’d come to love. Being involved in policy, the networking and having good people around—that’s why I’ve stayed involved.”

Locally, Francois has helped lead initiatives like Cram the Cab, which supports food banks, and he’s brought modern planting technology to life for local families through demonstrations at the River Days Festival. “It was really good for families and kids to see it’s not your grandpa’s tractor anymore,” he said. “There’s enough equipment in there to take off an airplane.”

He also makes it a point to share how animal care is a top priority on his farm, ensuring pigs are healthy, comfortable and protected through strict biosecurity practices.

“We take a lot of pride in taking care of everything,” said Francois. “We work really hard, and it’s really important to kind of leave a legacy.” 

Devon Murray, Charles City

If you can’t find Devon Murray at the farm or in his seed shop, chances are he’s at a softball field or on a basketball court, coaching from the sidelines. He and his wife, Sarah, have three children, with their oldest very active in sports. Murray, who jokes “he can’t sit still,” coaches both girls’ softball and basketball in travel and city-leagues. 

“I've always felt my goal is to maybe help with the fundamentals of the sport, but more to be a positive person,” says Murray. “Especially girls' sports, the girls get too down on themselves. You’re going to have tough days, you have a tough play, work through it, bounce back."  

That same steady, encouraging mindset carries over to his family’s multigenerational farm, where he raises corn and soybeans and operates a seed dealership passed down from his grandfather. 

That deep sense of legacy and responsibility drives Murray’s commitment to community leadership. As Floyd County Farm Bureau president, he has hosted everything from farm-to-fork dinners at his farm and ag-related activities at local events to townhall meetings on hot-button ag issues. 

“Policy is kind of a passion of mine,” says Murray, who has served on Iowa Farm Bureau’s State Resolutions Committee. “You get to see everybody does have a voice, and issues can start locally and grow from there.”

Murray also finds it important to be a voice for young people in the community. The Floyd County Farm Bureau board hosted a Q&A with local FFA chapters, allowing students to ask questions about ag-related careers. “One of my messages for them was to find your niche—find your value,” says Murray. “The days of coming home and driving tractor—that’s not what farming is. Maybe it’s crop scouting or soil sampling. And you don’t have to grow up on a farm to be actively involved on a farm.”

He backs up those words with action. Murray has hosted local FFA students on his farm, giving them hands-on experiences to explore ag careers firsthand. “One of them came out—no experience—and that’s the day we chose to rebuild an entire planter,” says Murray. “His eyes were opened to all of that, and now he wants to be involved in ag. Every year you see those new stories come through.”

Award winners select grant money recipients 

As recipients of the award, Anderson, Francois and Murray were given $2,000 to grant to a local nonprofit of their choice. Anderson selected Norvell’s People in Need, which supports a wide range of needs, such as coats for children to travel arrangements for cancer patients going through treatments. Francois selected East Buchanan FFA Alumni and Supporters to support their growing FFA program, and Murray’s grant will purchase respirators for farmers to protect their lungs while cleaning out grain bins or combines. 

Additionally, each receive $1,500 from GROWMARK, $500 from Iowa Farm Bureau, an expense paid trip to the 2026 American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) Convention or AFBF Young Farmers & Ranchers Conference and an expense paid trip to the Iowa Farm Bureau Young Farmer Conference.