Michele Payn is an award-winning speaker & author cutting through food myths, helping farmers tell their story, and connecting science on an emotional level
CSP Designation
IPPY Gold Medalist
4 Published Books
25+ Countries
Michele shows up for the people who feed the world – and those who worry about what they eat
Are you looking for a speaker who helps people translate farm to food, communicate science with confidence, or manage stress in agriculture? Michele has spoken for thousands of people across North America, bringing the rare combination of energy, humor, and thought-provoking content. A look at who hires her for motivational keynotes, conference breakouts, and training sessions:
Empowering Voices from Farm to Food
Michele customizes every program to entertain, engage audiences, and evoke thought. You can pick the pieces you like from this menu to create the perfect mix for your conference.
High Energy, Memorable Keynotes
A dairy farm kid turned CSP-credentialed speaker, Michele blends science, story, and hard-won agricultural experience into keynotes that move hearts and change minds. Farm bureaus, commodity groups, and agribusinesses across North America hire her because she touches hearts to move minds of audiences.
- Celebrating Agriculture!:The room-energizing, pride-restoring keynote agricultural organizations book when they want attendees to leave on their feet. A lively celebration of the people, promise, and passion behind every plate of food.
- Grace, Gratitude, & Growth: Women Leading Agriculture Forward: The women in agriculture keynote that goes beyond inspiration. Female ag leaders leave with real self-leadership strategies, mental wellness tools, and the communication confidence to own their seat at the table.
- Take Food Bullying by the Horns: Food misinformation is a neuromarketing problem – and farmers are losing ground. This agricultural mythbuster keynote uses neuroscience to help audiences cut through fear-based food marketing and build genuine consumer trust.
- Resiliency for Agriculture: Surviving the Darkest Storms: The farmer mental health keynote that doesn't flinch. Michele names the chronic stressors – financial pressure, isolation, weather, succession – and gives farm families and rural communities a real path through with practical tools that work in ag.
- Translating Farm to Food: When the conversation turns to GMOs, antibiotics, animal welfare, or pesticides, most farmers go silent or go defensive. This farm-to-consumer communication keynote teaches agricultural advocates to bridge the gap with confidence – not combativeness.
- Leading Forward – Nobody Warned You About This Part: The young farmer and agribusiness leadership keynote built for the next generation inheriting a complicated industry. Communication tools, mental resilience, and agvocacy skills for leaders who didn't get a manual.
Interactive, Insightful Breakouts
Michele's workshops are built for leaders who want a framework they can actually use. She brings thought-provoking content wrapped in humor and real-world agriculture, customizing every session to your goals. If your attendees need to communicate science, agvocate, navigate food misinformation, or lead through stress, Michele has a workshop for that
- Harvesting AI: Predict Food Trends, Protect Farming's Truth: The AI and agriculture workshop that goes beyond the hype. Learn to forecast what consumers will demand next, identify machine-generated misinformation about GMOs, antibiotics, and sustainability – and get ahead of it before it damages agriculture.
- Stress Management for SMART Business: The farm stress workshop that takes the pressure as seriously as agriculture does. Practical strategies to manage chronic stress, protect mental health, and build the kind of resilience that actually holds up through a bad harvest or a down market.
- Science Story Speak: The agricultural and nutrition science communication workshop researchers, Extension professionals, NRCS teams, and scientists hire when data alone isn't moving the needle. Simplify complex science, build a compelling story, and reach consumers, policymakers, and media with credibility.
- Rethinking Sustainable Agriculture: Built for audiences tired of buzzwords and blame, this program helps farmers and agribusinesses make sense of the environmental, economic, and social trade-offs behind real sustainability decisions – and how to lead those conversations confidently.
- Championing Agriculture: The agricultural advocacy workshop that builds real agvocates. A 6.5-step action plan for talking confidently about contentious food and farming issues – on social media, in policy rooms, and face-to-face with skeptical consumers.
Michele has been featured in and quoted by:
What do clients and conference attendees say about keynote speaker Michele Payn, CSP?
You are a gift to agriculture, you do an amazing job connecting non-ag folks to agriculture. You do this in a relatable and logical way that's welcoming and opens the door to a deeper understanding of ag.
Keep doing a fabulous job. I look forward to collaborating with you more."
Michele brought an energetic delivery and valuable insights as our keynote speaker during our annual conference. She challenged us, as scientists, to step outside our "science comfort zone" and actively share our expertise with a broader audience. Her workshop was especially effective, with role-playing exercises that gave us practical tools to handle various communication challenges, making her message truly resonate."
Michele provided a safe, enthusiastic, and understanding environment for our producers to address difficult topics, such as mental health and managing stress. She combined science with reality to connect with the audience and show them the importance of taking care of themselves, just as well as they care for their animals and businesses."
Michele has delivered keynotes and workshops for organizations across North America, including:
- Agriculture Future of America
- AgStar Financial Services, ACA
- Alberta Milk
- Alpha Zeta Conference
- Agricultural CIO Roundtable
- AgChoice Farm Credit
- American Agri-Women
- American Dairy Science Assoc.
- American Farm Bureau Federation
- American Meat Science Assoc.
- American Soybean Assoc.
- Apple Processors Assoc.
- Bayer CropScience
- Canadian Farm Business Management Council
- CNFA/USAID Ukraine
- Commodity Classic
- Dairy & Nutrition Council of Indiana Dietitians Summit
- Elanco Animal Health
- Farm Credit Council of America
- Fastline Publications
- Genome Prairie
- Great Lakes Fruit & Vegetable Expo
- Idaho Dairymen
- Independent Seed Professionals Association
- Indiana Dietetic Assoc. Conference
- International Food Information Council
- Kansas Soybean Assoc.
- Kentucky Agriculture Council
- Legacy Farm Credit
- Manitoba Canola Growers
- MFA Annual Meeting
- Michigan Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics
- Michigan State University Alumni Association
- MUCIA Egypt
- National Association of Ag Extension Agents
- National Council of Farmer Cooperatives
- National Onion Growers
- New York State Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics
- Northwest Farm Credit
- Purdue University
- South Carolina Farm Bureau
- Washington State Hay Growers Association
- Wisconsin Dietetic Association
- Women in Agribusiness









