ExploreAg opens pathways, offers clarity
ExploreAg exposes Ohio high school students to a wide range of careers in agriculture and helps them see where they might fit.
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Cristen Cramer has a knack for logistics and an aptitude for learning.
Both have come in very handy as she’s navigated a career in an industry she had only a tangential knowledge of growing up in Arcadia, Ohio.
Her road to becoming the grain branch manager at Legacy Farmers Cooperative in Fostoria is one she didn’t have any inkling she would embark upon, and the learning curves have been steep.
“I grew up in a rural community, but I was the daughter of a nurse and a contractor,” Cramer said. She was, however, surrounded by 4-H, becoming immersed in the program by showing horses in her youth.
“I grew up in it and the values, education and key factors of 4-H, but I didn’t have market livestock or anything like that,” she said. “I took my horse home after the fair.”
So, when it came time to go to college, charting a career in agriculture wasn’t on her mind. Watching her father work as a contractor, she wanted to design buildings for a living. She entered The Ohio State University as an architecture major.
But, she always kept one boot in the barn as part of the Ohio State Equestrian Team. She also worked as a farm hand and riding instructor at Autumn Rose Farm in Plain City. And, she started to notice some things.
“I realized (architecture) wasn’t for me,” Cramer said, noting that there wasn’t much cohesion between her and her classmates. “They weren’t working in barns and then walking into class in their spurs.”
She knew enough about agriculture to know she liked the people, the sense of community and the lifestyle. So, she dropped architecture as her major and decided on agribusiness with a minor in equine studies and started attending classes with “likeminded people.”
She hasn’t looked back.
She graduated from Ohio State in 2014 with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, going to “every career fair I could” to find a job in agriculture.
Learning on the job
Eventually, Cramer accepted a position as a production supervisor trainee with ag giant Cargill in Kansas. She learned that she didn’t know what she didn’t know – and it was a lot.
“That first day, I had no concept about how a facility worked,” Cramer said. “I didn’t even know what a concrete bin was. I went in completely blind. I understood nothing.”
Cramer had a lot to learn, but she also had people who were willing to teach her. She moved around with Cargill a couple years before Ohio, and Legacy Farmers Cooperative, lured her back home.
First she worked in Custar, Ohio, as a grain marketer and branch manager and has now been the grain branch manager in Fostoria for almost five years. She likes the logistical aspects of the position and variety of the every day, saying no two days are alike.
And those steep learning curves? They’ve also proved to be her superpower.
“The status quo in my job is a 40-60-year-old white male, so when a contractor sees me, I’m not what they’re expecting,” Cramer said. “Mentors were open to teaching me and I want to return the favor.”
She does that in her hiring strategy in Fostoria. Anyone willing to learn the job is an ideal candidate in her view, regardless of what they may or may not know about the agriculture industry.
“You can be a ‘city’ kid and we will teach you all you need to know if you’re willing to learn,” she said. “ I have a diverse group of employees.”
Reaching career highs
The learning has continued as Cramer has advanced in her career.
She graduated from Ohio Farm Bureau’s leadership institute AgriPOWER Class XIV in 2024 and the Ohio AgriBusiness Association’s LAUNCH program in 2022. She earned OABA’s emerging leader award in 2022.
“Cristen is a rising star,” said Melinda Witten, president and CEO, Ohio AgriBusiness Association. “There’s no single path into agribusiness, and while hers wasn’t traditional, she has become a leading voice within our association.”
Even though she has been a member of Ohio Farm Bureau through Legacy Farmers Cooperative’s group membership, Cramer said she didn’t fully comprehend the scope of the organization until she participated in AgriPOWER. Her first day with the class was a doozy.
“That first day we walked through what Farm Bureau is,” she said. “I came into the program with limited Farm Bureau experiences or farm policy knowledge. I was a bit overwhelmed and overstimulated. I was like ‘what IS this organization?’”
She asked a lot of questions of Witten, who was the AgriPOWER director during Cramer’s cohort, soaking up all she could about the organizational structure and what all those ag acronyms meant.
So, when Witten took on her role leading OABA in 2024, it was Cramer’s turn to help sort out the alphabet soup. She was ready and willing to return the favor, having tackled the learning curve in an industry she once knew very little about, but ultimately found a place to learn and grow.
“Ohio agriculture welcomes people who are willing to learn, ask questions and get involved,” Witten said. “Don’t let not having an ag background stop you from exploring the opportunities this industry has to offer.”
KEY POINTS
- A nontraditional path into agriculture, Cramer grew up in a rural community but without a direct farming background. Initially pursuing architecture at Ohio State, she switched to agribusiness after realizing her passion for agriculture and its community.
- Starting with little ag industry knowledge, Cramer embraced career growth through adaptability and learning. Her quest for knowledge became a strength and shaped her inclusive hiring philosophy.
- Cramer advanced through leadership programs like AgriPOWER and LAUNCH, earning recognition as an emerging leader. She now encourages others without ag backgrounds to explore opportunities in the industry.
WHAT’S NEXT
- The current AgriPOWER class began in December 2025. Applications for the next class will be available this summer and due in August.
- Learn more about AgriPOWER.
My first recommendation in your journey is to start out with a local farming friend or mentor along with joining an organization like Ohio Farm Bureau.
We’re just so thankful for the Farm Bureau and the foundation for helping put this together. And of course, the Boyert family for the vision they had with this grant. It’s jumping us forward 10 years. It’s unbelievable.
I could not have done it without the resources I have found through Farm Bureau.
It wasn’t until I joined the Wilmington College Collegiate Farm Bureau that I truly saw how my passion could translate into leadership, advocacy and a career.
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.
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.
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.
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