Young Agri-Marketers Compete in National Competition

Members of the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College chapter of the National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) team received sixth place out of 30 teams from across the U.S. and Canada in the student marketing plan competition at the 2025 Agri-Marketing Conference held in Kansas City, April 9-11.

Team members include NAMA President Rachel Wood, a junior agribusiness major; NAMA Team Captain Natalie Wisekal, a senior agribusiness and agriculture-livestock production major; Kam Ammons-Coleman, a senior agriculture-livestock production major; Lexie Bridges, a senior agribusiness major; Bailey Ellison, a junior agribusiness and agricultural technology management major; Nayeli Fernandez, a senior agribusiness major; Faith Railey, a junior agricultural communication major; Colton Sanders, a senior agribusiness major; and Hilton White, a junior agribusiness major. The team is coached by Jennifer Culpepper, Lecturer of Agribusiness in the Department of Agriculture.

For the competition, students decided on a project and developed a plan to successfully bring the product or service to the marketplace. In developing their marketing plan, students followed the same practices and principles used by today’s marketing professionals. Teams submitted a written plan summary prior to the competition and made a formal presentation to a panel of judges. The panel consisted of marketing and agribusiness professionals.

The ABAC NAMA Team began working on its product idea in fall 2024 and spent the academic year developing a thorough marketing plan, employing skills in agribusiness marketing, sales, public relations, advertising, and professional communication. This year, ABAC’s product was ScoutSense, an AI-powered camera system focused on early disease detection in nightshade and cucurbit produce crops. ScoutSense is designed with a mobile data management system, allowing both producers and crop scouts easy access to field and crop data.

“I am so proud of the ABAC NAMA Team,” said Culpepper. “Their accomplishment will be remembered for years to come.”

The ABAC Agripreneurs, formerly the Ag Business Club, is the official club affiliated with the National Agri-Marketing Association. Participation in the competition began in 2009 and continued through 2019. After a brief hiatus from 2020 to 2024, the team returned this spring, and it marked the first time an ABAC team has placed in the top six. Three previous teams (2012, 2017, 2019) advanced to the semifinals, placing them as one of the top 12 marketing teams in the nation. Culpepper was a student team member on the 2019 team.