Todd D. Argall has led Farm Bureau Insurance Company of Idaho for five years, culminating in the company’s recognition as a 2025 Ward’s 50 company — its second consecutive year earning the prestigious national honor based on superior financial performance.

“I’m proud that Farm Bureau Insurance Company of Idaho was named a 2025 Ward’s 50 company,” Argall said. “The award reflects the strength of our company and the broader Idaho Farm Bureau family.”

Argall brings 30 years of Farm Bureau Insurance experience to his role in Pocatello.

His 2025 goals include continuing profitable growth in Idaho, expanding into Washington, modernizing commercial insurance products and upgrading technology platforms. The company serves as Idaho’s largest domiciled property and casualty insurer, employing hundreds in sales and support services.

Argall discovered insurance in 1995 when he accepted a one-year position for relocation assistance, starting in IT at Rural Mutual Insurance Company. “Now, 30 years later, I’m a firm believer that insurance offers one of the most rewarding and stable career paths out there,” he said.

Garrett Lofto has agriculture and food in his blood. Growing up on a farm in Canada, inside of an incredible family, the importance of family and food were instilled in him.

When he began working at the J.R. Simplot company in 1992, it was a natural fit and ever since then, he’s been integrally involved in growing the company and seeing rapid advancements in the industry that he knows so well.

He said, “My work has been aligned with the J.R. Simplot Company since day one and you don’t have to look very hard to see all of the things that Mr. Simplot did and that today’s Simplot Family continues to do, as well as the thousands of employees who have called Simplot home, have done because of their love for the state.”

Outside of this work, Lofto enjoys volunteering in the community and has served as a high school coach, on the board of Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Idaho and more.

Steve Seppi believes dairy has a story to tell and he’s ready to help tell it. Building on his more nearly nine years of experience as the executive director of the Dairy Farmers of Washington, Seppi just stepped into the role of CEO of Dairy West in June 2025. In that position he’s focused on building alignment across the team, board and partners, and grow trust and demand for dairy in both domestic and international markets. Seppi, a graduate of the University of Utah with degree in film/cinema/video studies, previously served as the brand creative director for ZAGG for six years.

He shared, “If I weren’t working for dairy farmers, I might be tempted to try dairying myself. Then again, I am not sure I am cut out for the early mornings and 365-day schedule. The dedication our farmers bring to their work is exactly what makes this role so meaningful.”

Samantha Perez Parrott has spent three years advocating for sugarbeet growers across state lines, with her most significant recent accomplishment being the organization of Oregon’s first-ever Sugarbeet Day in Salem. The milestone event brought together growers, seed producers and allied industry voices in a state critical to U.S. sugarbeet seed production.

“At the core of it all is a simple truth: Food security is national security,” Parrott said. “Supporting Idaho agriculture means supporting strong, resilient communities across our state.”

Parrott holds a bachelor’s degree in agribusiness and master’s degree in adult organizational learning and leadership from the University of Idaho, plus a human resource development certificate. Before joining agriculture advocacy, she spent a decade in fundraising, developing skills in relationship building and strategic communication.

Her current focus includes completing a curriculum kit for third- through sixth-grade students in partnership with the University of Idaho to teach young learners about agriculture and food origins.

“I truly feel blessed to be in my dream job, where I get to advocate for farmers and work at the intersection of agriculture and public policy,” she said.

Whether it’s helping a rancher’s product reach a new market or assisting a rural producer in connecting with a farmer’s market for the first time, Tammie Halcomb’s work as the executive director of FARE Idaho matters.

Over the course of her career, she’s focused her roles on economic development and local business and has also spent time working with city governments. When she was introduced to the role at FARE Idaho, she knew that it would combine her passion for strengthening communities with her deep appreciation for food and agriculture.

In the last year and half, Halcomb has led the organization through a period of rapid growth through increased membership and expanded programs, all without losing sight of each member’s lived experiences and stories. Under her leadership, the organization has increased its visibility statewide.

She said, “By creating opportunities for collaboration, education and advocacy, we’re helping Idaho’s food system become more resilient, connected and sustainable for the long term.”

For the past decade, Cynthia L. Curl has dedicated her career to protecting agricultural workers’ health and safety. Her most significant recent accomplishment involves partnering with the Smithsonian Institute and University of Rwanda to reduce acute pesticide poisonings among Rwandan farmers.

“I think sometimes there can be perceived tension between crop protection and worker safety,” Curl said. “However, I have found everyone in the farming industry to share the goal of creating safe worksites that promote worker health and encourage productive agriculture.”

Curl, who holds a PhD in Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, plans to return to Rwanda in August to document farmers’ experiences and develop programs to improve farmer health. Her work extends locally, where she collaborates with Idaho industry and worker organizations to create safety and educational materials for growers.

Her first job was as a secretary for a Virginia potato farm. “We grow good potatoes in Virginia, but not as good as our Idaho potatoes,” she said.

If not in academia, Curl would pursue her passion for cooking in a restaurant kitchen, drawn to the fast-paced environment.

At 6,000 feet above sea level on Idaho’s dryland frontier, Scott Brown turns challenging high-altitude farming into a platform for national agricultural advocacy. His most significant recent accomplishment was his 2025 induction into the Eastern Idaho Agriculture Hall of Fame, recognizing decades of leadership that includes coining the now-trademarked slogan “No Barley No Beer.”

Brown operates 11,500 acres of Clodhopper Farms in Caribou County, growing barley, winter and spring wheat and mustard alongside his son-in-law and nephew. A fourth-generation farmer and CPA with master’s degrees in accounting from Brigham Young University, he has served as president of both the Idaho Grain Producers Association and National Barley Growers Association while representing grain farmers before congressional committees in Washington, D.C.

Brown advocates for an industry where farmers represent less than 2% of Americans, compared to 25% in 1939. With his leadership philosophy that farmers must “stay vocal and stay involved,” Brown has testified before federal agricultural subcommittees and partnered with the USDA to secure trade aid for barley producers.

At the helm of the Idaho CattleWomen Council, Tay Brackett champions the beef industry, inspiring hundreds of women across the state to cultivate beef education, nurture scholarship programs, and foster community outreach. Her recent ascent to chairwoman, coupled with her simultaneous induction into the Idaho Cattle Association Executive Committee, has dramatically amplified her voice, solidifying her influence in shaping agricultural policy statewide.

Born and raised in southern Idaho, Brackett graduated from the University of Idaho before pursuing diverse career paths as a firefighter, veterinary assistant, horse trainer, horse trader and insurance agent. She works alongside her husband Jared on their fifth-generation family ranch, which operates as a purebred Angus cow-calf operation in Idaho’s high desert region.

Brackett’s biggest challenge has been balancing her leadership responsibilities with hands-on ranch work, from moving cattle between allotments to administering vaccines during branding season.

Under her leadership, the Idaho CattleWomen Council has strengthened partnerships with the Idaho Cattle Association, Idaho Beef Council and Idaho Foodbank through the Beef Counts program, which has provided more than 2 million servings of beef to hungry Idahoans since 2010.

While most wheat farmers hope for 150 bushels per acre, Rick Pearson achieved something that seemed impossible until his combine started filling bins faster than usual. His most significant recent accomplishment was setting the national wheat yield record with an astonishing 211.59 bushels per acre, earning him the Bin Buster Award and recognition as America’s top wheat producer in the National Wheat Foundation’s annual contest.

Pearson and his wife Susan have owned and operated their 1,000-acre farm near Buhl for more than 20 years, growing hay, grain and potatoes on land that includes a historic 1912 barn built by German-Russian immigrant craftsmen. A Leadership Idaho Agriculture graduate, Pearson serves on the Idaho Hay and Forage Association board and has been an Idaho Farm Bureau State Board director since 2001.

Under his leadership, R&S Pearson Farms has become recognized for innovation and growth while maintaining partnerships with local farmers to improve operations. The farm also operates as a wedding venue in their century-old dairy barn, diversifying income streams.

Dunlap Hatchery began in 1918 by Oscar Dunlap, then Ralph and Faye Dunlap took over.

Eventually, Gregg Dunlap took the reins from his parents, alongside his wife, to keep the business running successfully.

Under Dunlap’s leadership today, the hatchery hatches more than 70 breeds of poultry weekly with an annual production of around 2 million baby chicks, ducklings, goslings, turkeys and gamebirds. The company is one of the oldest hatcheries in the United States and they now ship birds to all 50 states to over 600 farm stores.

They employ up to 50 people, many family members, and Dunlap manages the incubation. One of the things that has helped the company continue is the connection to its customers.

“So often nowadays, you call a company and you don’t get to speak to anyone right away,” Dunlap said. “You call our company you talk to a real person. Our office people also work in other aspects of the business during the year so for the most part, they are very knowledgeable about our products and how we operate … we know poultry from the bottom up and grew up in the business.”

When skeptics said 80 acres of Idaho desert would never yield a crop worth selling, Blaine Larsen proved them spectacularly wrong. What they didn’t know was that ancient volcanic forces from nearby Yellowstone had created perfect potato-growing conditions beneath that seemingly barren landscape.

Larsen’s most significant recent accomplishment has been building one of America’s largest potato operations, Larsen Farms, now spanning thousands of acres across Idaho, Colorado and Nebraska with global distribution networks.

Larsen founded the family business in 1966, transforming his initial desert plot into a vertically integrated agricultural empire. The company grows, packs and distributes potatoes under its own brand while also producing processed potato products including crushed, diced, dehydrated and sliced varieties for major food manufacturers like Frito-Lay and Procter & Gamble’s Pringles operation.

Under his leadership, Larsen Farms has developed expertise spanning biochemistry to marketing, operating sophisticated packing facilities that gently clean each potato with fresh water and utilize electronic bagging machinery to meet exacting quality standards for retail and foodservice customers worldwide.