Mid General Session

Attend the Mid-General Session to wrap up Sunday with presentations including:

• The Farm Dog of the Year Award
• Distinguished Service Award: the late Bill Northey, former Iowa Secretary of Agriculture
• 2026 Farmer Veteran of the Year
• Shaping the Future with Congressional Agriculture Committee Leadership, hosted by AFBF President Zippy Duvall
• YF&R Discussion Meet Final Four Announcement

Join us on Sunday at 4:00 p.m.

Shaping the Future Panelists:

• U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry
• U.S. Representative Glenn "GT" Thompson (R-PA), Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture
• U.S. Representative Angie Craig (D-MN), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Agriculture

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Speaker Details:

Sen. John Boozman

John Boozman is Arkansas’s senior U.S. Senator and the dean of the state’s Congressional delegation.

A fifth-generation Arkansan, John was raised in Fort Smith and graduated from Northside High School. He went on to play football for the University of Arkansas Razorbacks while completing his pre-optometry requirements. He graduated from the Southern College of Optometry in 1977 and entered private practice that same year co-founding a family business with his brother that would ultimately become a major provider of eye care to Northwest Arkansas.

Decades of experience as a successful healthcare provider and a small business owner guide John’s approach to governing. He is committed to advocating for economic policies that help Arkansas’s small businesses continue to grow and add jobs to our state’s economy. And since agriculture accounts for nearly one-quarter of Arkansas’s economic activity, John has been a consistent champion for our state’s farmers, ranchers and loggers as well as an instrumental voice in the fight for an equitable farm bill.

As the son of an Air Force Master Sergeant, John learned at an early age about the sacrifices of our men and women in uniform, as well as the unique challenges military families face. He brings these values with him to Washington where he is committed to enhancing the quality of life for both our veterans and their families. As a member of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, John has authored provisions to bolster care and services for women veterans, modernize educational benefits under the GI Bill and better reach and provide mental health care and resources to former service members.

John serves as Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, enabling him to play a key role in influencing policy that relates to the agriculture economy, nutrition programs and quality of life in rural America.

John will also continue to serve on the Committee on Appropriations, which is responsible for allocating federal funds, and the Committee on the Environment and Public Works, where much of the nation’s infrastructure policy is developed. He also rejoined the Committee on Rules and Administration in the 119th Congress.

Along with these committees, John serves on the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, commonly referred to as the Helsinki Commission. He serves on the Congressional Study Group on Europe (CSGE), a bipartisan organization dedicated to frank and candid dialogue between American lawmakers and their peers in European capitals and Brussels, and currently chairs the Senate Delegation to the British-American Interparliamentary Group.

In addition, John also serves as one of six Congressional Regents on the Smithsonian Institute's Board of Regents, which governs and administers the organization, as well as one of four congressional members of the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission that facilitates wetland conservation efforts and projects to sustain migratory bird populations.

First elected to the Senate in 2010, John was sworn in for a third term on January 3, 2023. Prior to serving in the Senate, he represented the people of the Third District of Arkansas in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Active in his community, John has served on the Rogers School Board and Benton County Fair Board, established the low vision program at the Arkansas School for the Blind in Little Rock, and worked as a volunteer optometrist at an area clinic that provides medical services to low-income families. He successfully raised Polled Hereford cattle that were competitive in the show ring, as well as in bull testing at Oklahoma State University.

John is married to the former Cathy Marley and they currently reside in Rogers. The couple has three daughters and four grandchildren.

Rep. Glenn "GT" Thompson

A life-long resident of Howard, Pa., Congressman Glenn 'GT' Thompson represents Pennsylvania’s Fifteenth District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Prior to being elected to Pennsylvania’s geographically largest congressional district, GT spent 28 years as a therapist, rehabilitation services manager, and a licensed nursing home administrator. Through his professional experiences, GT has touched the lives of thousands of individuals facing life-altering conditions. As a result, he has learned firsthand the importance of access to quality healthcare and has become a strong advocate for increased access, affordability, quality of care, and patient choice.

An Eagle Scout and 30+ year veteran of the Juniata Valley Boy Scout Council, GT has served as Scoutmaster, Council executive board member, and Council President. He has enriched the lives of youth throughout Central Pennsylvania. Among just 2,000 presented since 1969, GT received the National Distinguished Eagle Scout Award in 2012.

GT is also a former member of the Bald Eagle Area School Board, past vice-chair of the Private Industry Council of the Central Corridor, and a former Workforce Investment Board member. Because of these experiences, he was appointed to the House Committee on Education & Workforce in 2009. For more than a decade, Rep. Thompson has served as Co-Chairman of the bipartisan Congressional Career and Technical Education Caucus. In the 115th Congress, Thompson introduced the Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act which passed the House and Senate unanimously and was signed into law by President Donald Trump.

A community leader and a volunteer firefighter with over three decades of service, GT is acutely aware of the challenges facing Pennsylvania communities. As Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture and a senior member of the Education & Workforce Committee, GT is in a unique position to bring his expertise and knowledge to bear on the issues facing rural businesses, communities, and families, in order to improve the lives of the citizens of the Fifteenth District.

GT is a top speaker on the House floor, he views this as a responsibility to be a strong voice for the citizens of the Fifteenth District and an opportunity to influence the Washington legislative agenda.

GT is a proud graduate of Penn State and Temple Universities, where he earned a B.S. and a Master of Education, respectively. He and his wife, Penny Ammerman-Thompson, have three adult sons, Parker, Logan, and Kale, and two grandsons. GT and Penny reside in Howard, Pa.

Rep. Angie Craig

U.S. Representative Angie Craig represents Minnesota's Second Congressional District. She is fighting for a Minnesota where the middle class, small business owners and family farmers can thrive. Consistently ranked one of the most bipartisan Members of Congress, she'll work with anybody – and take on the Washington establishment – to improve the lives of folks in her district.

The granddaughter of a farm foreman, Angie learned the value of hard work from her family – and in particular, her mother, a single mom who raised three children while earning her teaching degree. Angie worked two jobs to help put herself through college.

She is the former head of Corporate Relations for a major Minnesota manufacturer and a former newspaper reporter. She and her wife Cheryl have four adult sons and three grandsons.

In Congress, Angie is fighting for career and technical training and to make sure that vocational jobs are available to every young person who wants one. She has consistently pushed to fully fund our special education programs in Minnesota schools and to cut bureaucratic red tape and waste in government.

Angie is a strong advocate for cutting taxes on small business and the middle class. She’s worked to lower health care costs by capping the co-pay of certain prescription drugs and expanding health care coverage for all Americans. She has secured major infrastructure investments to improve the roads, highways and bridges in her district and expand high-speed internet connectivity her rural communities.

Angie has led the bipartisan effort to secure the Southern Border and stop the flow of illicit fentanyl into Minnesota communities and she has taken on the social media companies allowing the marketing and sale of drugs on their platforms. She has been a champion for local law enforcement agencies, fire departments and first responders as they work to keep us safe. She remains dedicated to fighting to lower costs for hardworking Minnesotans.

As the top Democrat on the House Committee on Agriculture, Angie is committed to strengthening the farm safety net, improving opportunities for new and beginning farmers as well as protecting access to nutrition programs that feed hungry families and support America’s rural economy. She is working to lower energy costs by investing in an all-of-the-above energy policy that includes renewable fuels.

Angie is dedicated to listening to Minnesotans - and she hopes to hear from you directly about how she can best serve you and your community.