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WIA names 2026 Demeter Award recipients ahead of agribusiness summit
The honor is WIA’s highest recognition and will be presented Sept. 22-24 in New Orleans.
Women in Agribusiness, or WIA, has announced the 2026 recipients of its Demeter Award of Excellence, its highest honor recognizing women for exceptional performance and contributions to agribusiness. The Demeter Award is presented during the annual Women in Agribusiness Summit, and this year’s honorees will be recognized on stage at the event in New Orleans.
The 2026 recipients are Krysta Harden, president and CEO of the US Dairy Export Council; Magan Lewis, PhD, senior director of Innovation and Enterprise Operations at Bayer Crop Science; Emily Metz, president and CEO of the American Egg Board; and Terri Hawbaker, named WIA’s first Female Farmer of the Year in celebration of the International Year of the Woman Farmer.
World Grain reports that the Demeter Award, named for the Greek goddess of the harvest, is in its 14th year and has recognized more than 40 women for professional achievements and for advancing opportunities for women across the food and agriculture value chain.
WIA said the selection drew more than 60 nominations, with some individuals nominated as many as five times, making the field difficult to narrow to four honorees, according to WIA portfolio director Svitlana Synkovska. The summit is scheduled for Sept. 22-24, 2026.