As executive director of Missouri Farmers Care (MFC), Ashley leads the collaborative effort of Missouri’s agriculture community to stand together for the men and women who provide the food and jobs on which our communities depend. Missouri Farmers Care programs impact all segments of Missouri agriculture.

Through Agri-Ready County Designation, over 80 counties partner with Missouri agriculture to promote agricultural growth and opportunity. Through Agriculture Education on the Move™, one in six Missouri third graders receive ten interactive agricultural literacy lessons each year. Since 2017, the Drive to Feed Kids has raised resources for over 13.7 million meals for food-insecure children. The Missouri Agricultural Stewardship Award celebrates the stewardship ethic and legacy of farmers and ranchers. The Race to the Plate collaboration connects three million consumers with agriculture annually through a partnership with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Previous to leading MFC, Ashley spent a decade working on behalf of farmers with the Missouri Corn Growers Association, Missouri Corn Merchandising Council, and Missouri Department of Agriculture.

She chairs the Missouri Clean Water Commission, overseeing water quality matters in the state as an agriculture, industry and mining representative. She also serves as secretary of Missouri Partnership, a public-private economic development organization focused on attracting new jobs and investment to the state and promoting Missouri’s business strengths.

Ashley is a graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia with a degree in Animal Science. Ashley spends much of her time with her three growing boys and, together with her husband, Patrick, raises horses and commercial Red Angus cattle as McCarty Cattle Company on their century family farm west of Kirksville, Mo. in Agri-Ready Designated Adair County.

Erin leads the MFC’s communications strategy, social media presence, and brand visibility efforts. She drives strategic outreach across Missouri Farmers Care’s programs, including Agri-Ready County Designation, Drive to Feed Kids, Ag Education on the Move™, the Missouri Agriculture Stewardship Award, and the Race to the Plate partnership with the St. Louis Cardinals. She collaborates closely on program direction, planning, and execution to support the success and growth of each initiative.

Erin holds a degree in Agricultural Communications  from Texas Tech University. Her passion for agriculture and communications guides her career, blending creativity with mission-driven purpose.

This Texas native now calls Missouri home. Erin resides in Huntsville, Missouri, where she owns High Caliber Creative & Consulting, offering design and photography services to livestock operations nationwide. She helps to manage Owings Genetics, a diversified livestock venture she and her boyfriend, Matthew, operate with his family, raising competitive show stock. In her free time, Erin enjoys returning to Texas to visit family and lend a hand on her parents’ Red Angus cow/calf operation.

Farmer by trade. Storyteller at heart. Proudly rooted between the rocks of the Ozark Mountains in Southwest Missouri, Emma utilizes her deep agricultural network, grown from a family legacy of farming, to share stories that reflect the diversity, depth, and heart of Missouri agriculture.

Emma oversees MFC’s storytelling and strategies for sharing those stories through MFC channels as well as partnership outlets. From farmer features to program news releases to core messaging design, she collaborates with the MFC team to tie communication, education, and advocacy together with a vibrant, thread that tells the story of Missouri agriculture and promotes its future success. Her original contributions to ‘what’ MFC programs accomplish have developed into extensive knowledge of ‘why’ and ‘how’ MFC programs succeed. Emma is responsible for many hidden details that keep MFC programming on track.

Emma joined the MFC team in 2022 when she “returned to the farm” at the conclusion of an entrepreneurial career in landscape design and care. At home on the farm, she is a livestock producer and has helped diversify and expand the family’s business, CopperTop Legacy Agriculture. Emma leads brand development, marketing, and customer relations for the farm’s direct to consumer program.

Emma is an alum of Missouri State University’s College of Agriculture, Missouri Farm Bureau’s IMPACT Advanced Leadership class, University of Missouri’s Neighborhood Leadership Academy, and American Farm Bureau Women’s Communications Bootcamp. She has served Missouri 4-H as a volunteer leader for more than 20 years.