Ryanna Tietje

Ryanna Tietje is a powerhouse with a warm smile.

The young Henry County Farm Bureau member has packed more into the last four years than most, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in agribusiness and applied economics and minoring in consumer and family financial services from The Ohio State University in May. She also earned a 2024 Distinguished Senior in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences in the process.

Tietje received Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation and county scholarships as she embarked on her Ohio State journey, and those funds were key to her college experience.

“I personally paid for college, so I am so appreciative of the generous support of the foundation,” she said. Tietje now serves on the foundation’s scholarship committee and encourages students to apply.

“Just do it,” she said. “The scholarships helped me focus specifically on my education, honors research, leadership development and not come out of school with a lot of debt.”

Those scholarships were only the tip of the iceberg. These experiences inspired her to make her first gift to the foundation while she was still a student. She further jumped into the world of Farm Bureau opportunities with her whole self as she navigated academics, internships and made scores of connections that are helping mark a path for her future.

Tietje family
Tietje family

Her older brothers, Rex and Ryan, have come back to the family farm, as she did after she earned her degree. She watched them take advantage of opportunities to grow in ag as college students and young professionals. She wanted to follow in their footsteps, but not directly.

She found what she was looking for at Farm Bureau.

While her parents Randy and Becky, were Farm Bureau members, Tietje didn’t become fully engaged until joining the OSU Collegiate Farm Bureau as a member when her roommate invited her to a meeting.

Before she even graduated from college, Tietje had attended Ag Day at the Capital twice, served as a mentor for the Ohio Youth Capital Challenge, attended the Washington, D.C. Leadership Experience, participated in the YAP Winter Leadership Conference three times, and most recently served as Ohio’s winning collegiate discussion meet representative at the national competition in Omaha in February.

As a fourth-generation farmer, Tietje is putting her degree to good use and learning the family business. On a random October day, she can be found in a tillage tractor or running grain cart while also helping with record keeping and financial analysis.

But one of her main passions lies in farm succession planning. Everyone has a unique story of transitioning from one generation to the next, and to her parents, it was thrust upon them at a young age after her father’s parents passed away which changed the trajectory of her family forever.

Ryanna Tietje
Ryanna Tietje

Tietje is passionate about planning for the future and it was the focus of her collegiate academic research, which was featured in the July/August issue of Our Ohio magazine in CFAES Impact.

She said the connections and opportunities she’s had being an active member of Farm Bureau have been important to marking the path forward in her life.

“To grow a network and gain perspective and knowledge in the industry through personal and professional development has been invaluable,” she said. “Every day I learn and grow.”

To support students on their pathway to a future career in agriculture, make your gift today.

 

The issue of property taxation remains as one of the biggest challenges our members face today. Ensuring agricultural property is valued for its agricultural potential and not development is critical to the continued success of Ohio agriculture.
Matt Aultman's avatar
Matt Aultman

Darke County Farm Bureau

Giving farmers a voice
The plan we are on is great. It’s comparable to my previous job's plan, and we are a sole proprietor.
Kevin Holy's avatar
Kevin Holy

Geauga County Farm Bureau

Ohio Farm Bureau Health Benefits Plan
I could not have done it without the resources I have found through Farm Bureau.
Gretchan Francis's avatar
Gretchan Francis

Trumbull County Farm Bureau

Bringing the farm back to life
We really appreciate what Farm Bureau has done to get people interested in this line of work and workforce development and getting people interested in this industry.
Jody Brown Boyd's avatar
Jody Brown Boyd

Brown's Family Farm Market

Finding farm labor
We work terrifically with the Ashtabula County Farm Bureau, hosting at least one to two outreach town hall events every year to educate new farmers and existing farmers on traditional CAUV and woodlands.
David Thomas's avatar
David Thomas

Ashtabula County Auditor

CAUV: Past, present and future
Because we are younger farmers just starting out, Farm Bureau has a lot of good opportunities and resources to help us grow in the future.
Hannah Kiser's avatar
Hannah Kiser

Sandusky County Farm Bureau

Farm Bureau involvement
Through the Select Partner program, we became educated in farm insurance and weren't just selling policies. It became more and more clear why farmers need an advocate like Ohio Farm Bureau.
Chad Ruhl's avatar
Chad Ruhl

Farm manager, CSI Insurance

Select Partner Program
So many of the issues that OFBF and its members are advocating for are important to all Ohioans. I look at OFBF as an agricultural watchdog advocating for farmers and rural communities across Ohio.
Mary Smallsreed's avatar
Mary Smallsreed

Trumbull County Farm Bureau

Advocacy
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