Women in Agribusiness announced speakers for its Female Producer Panel, featuring farmers from Louisiana to South Dakota at the 15th annual Women in Agribusiness Summit in New Orleans, Sept. 22-24.
Panel focus
The signature panel will open the second day of the summit, showcasing female farmers’ career paths and discussing life on the farm, generational transition planning, securing access to capital, adopting new technology and managing inputs and outputs in changing conditions.
Featured speakers
Amanda Martin, Ph.D., president and CEO of Illinois Agricultural Leadership Foundation, will moderate. Martin directs leadership development initiatives advancing agriculture, food systems and rural communities at state and national levels.
Panelists include Amanda Duhon, co-owner of Bar D Bar Farms LLC in Maurice, Louisiana, a first-generation row crop farmer and fourth-generation cattle producer who farms sugarcane and runs a cow-calf operation.
Amelia Levin Kent, owner and partner of Kent Farms LLC in Clinton, Louisiana, is a fourth-generation farmer who raises cattle and grows ryegrass, Bermuda grass, perennial peanuts and bahia grass with her husband, Russell.
Julie Richard, co-owner of Richard Farms in Kaplan, Louisiana, operates a rice and crawfish farm with her husband Christian while maintaining an active role in their three children’s lives.
Dawn Scheier, owner of Scheier Farms and director with South Dakota Soybean Research and Promotion Council, has farmed corn and soybeans for 42 years in Salem, South Dakota, with her husband, Pat, and son, Ben.
Summit details
The panel joins more than 50 speakers at the 2026 summit, which features 20-plus hours of networking among 700-plus attendees. The summit, first held in New Orleans in 2012, fosters professional environments for women across agribusiness and food sectors.
