2024 Awards - Emerging Leader, Tessa Parks

Tessa Parks is a young beginning farmer of color working to transform the landscape in Southern Minnesota. Along with her husband-also a beginning farmer-she owns and operates W.T. Farms, raising Holstein steers from calf to butcher and running a custom haying service. On-farm, Tessa uses livestock to build soil health through regenerative practices like winter bale grazing, but she is also an active advocate for emerging farmers, organic agriculture, and civic engagement.
Over the past two years, Tessa emerged as a well-respected leader and peer at Minnesota Farmers Union. She was chosen to represent her region as a delegate to the National Farmers Union, and while at the conference, she offered successful resolutions to improve the organization’s policy on climate change. Since then, she was selected to serve on the policy committee for the state convention, working with other farmers to incorporate new resolutions into the policy book. She thoughtfully considered the intent and context of each new resolution, even when she may have disagreed with the position, and offered new language to improve and strengthen the policy around organic agriculture and emerging farmers. Recently, Tessa became the president of the Rice County Farmers Union chapter, where she continues to grow the membership and impact of the organization with her community.