Nutrien Employee Named Illinois Custom Applicator of the Year
August 27, 2025 
Jeff Reffett from Nutrien Ag Solutions, center, accepts the Applicator of the Year Award from IFCA President Kevin “K.J.” Johnson, left, and IFCA Chair Meg Steward of Yargus Construction.
At the Midwest Ag Industries Exposition (MAGIE) 2025, show organizer the Illinois Fertilizer & Chemical Association (IFCA) chose to honor a select few of the folks at the annual event by bestowing upon them “best of” honors. For a fourth year in a row, the association presented a trophy and recognition for a custom applicator within the state of Illinois that has shown “dedication, achievement, and an overall professional attitude” when applying crop protection product to grower-customer fields. The trade group accepted applications for this award throughout the early summer months of 2025, narrowing the numerous finalists down to four.
The four finalists for Applicator of the Year. From left: Ed Smith from West Central FS; Jeff Reffett from Nutrien Ag Solutions; Cody Miller from United Prairie; and Clint Royer from West Central FS.
“We thought it would be nice to honor these hard-working individuals because they might not receive such widespread recognition elsewhere,” said IFCA President Kevin “K.J.” Johnson of the Applicator of the Year award. “And we further thought that the MAGIE [Midwest AG Industries Exposition] show, dedicated to the ag retail business, would be the natural place for this kind of ceremony to take place.”
At the 2025 MAGIE, Johnson and IFCA’s Leslie Forrest, Director of Programs, Office & Memberships, were on hand to formally announce the winning custom applicator. That ended up being Jeff Reffett from Nutrien Ag Solutions in Galesburg, IL.
According to his entry, Reffett has been spraying for 46 years and is a cancer survivor. Annually, he applies products for growers across 60,000 acres in Illinois. He lives in Oneida, IL.
The other Applicator of the Year finalists were Cody Miller from United Prairie, Cowden, IL; Clint Royer from West Central FS in West Point, IL; and Ed Smith from West Central FS in Adair, IL.
The team from Amazone accepts the 2025 MAGIE Image Award from from IFCA President Kevin “K.J.” Johnson, far left, and IFCA Chair Meg Steward of Yargus Construction, far right.
Having the Right Image
In addition to the state’s top applicator, IFCA also annually recognizes one exhibitor at the MAGIE show that exemplifies the best “booth display.” In 2025, the winner of this honor was Amazone. The company not only had an impressive display of products at its booth, but it also hosted popular ag podcaster Tony Reed.
Subscribe Today For
