Champions of Change in agriculture to be honored by USDA Tuesday morning

The White House and the U.S. Department of Agriculture will honor 15 Champions of Change in agriculture for their extraordinary work in bringing about change at the local level. The event will be broadcast live at 10 a.m. ET Tuesday. To view it click here. Some of this year's winners include:

Quint Pottinger, New Haven, Ky.: Pottinger owns a mixed row-crop and herb farm called Affinity Farms. The University of Kentucky graduate serves on the Kentucky Soybean Association board, serving in a leadership education capacity and has just started a year of service with the Corn Farmers Coalition.

Jake Carter, McDonough, Ga.: Carter operates Southern Belle Farm, 30 miles outside of Atlanta. This farm has you-pick strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and peaches, as well as a fall corn maze and educational school tours. Jake was recently elected as chair of the American Farm Bureau's Young Farmer and Rancher Committee. (Southern Belle photo: picking berries)

Pierre Sleiman, Encinitas, Calif.; Sleiman is the founder and CEO of Go Green Agriculture, which grows produce inside climate-controlled greenhouses using hydroponics, a method of growing plants without soil. He is a director of the San Diego County Farm Bureau and will graduate this year from the California Farm Bureau leadership program. 

Vena A-dae Romero, Pueblo, N.M.: Romero, who is Cochiti Puebloan and Kiowa Indian, consults for First Nations Development Institute, a leading Native American nonprofit whose mission is to strengthen American Indian economies. (Read more)