Farming Roots Run Deep and Wide for Precision Ag Expert Lindsey Ross

Editor’s Note: The annual CropLife Ag Tech Awards of Excellence are presented each year during the Tech Hub LIVE Conference and Expo. Over the past few months, CropLife^® has profiled each of the 2024 winners to see what they are working on currently and how being recognized as a CropLife Ag Tech Awards of Excellence winner has benefitted them personally and professionally. Below we profile Lindsey Ross, winner of Precision Crop Adviser/Entrepreneur of the Year in 2024.

Now and again, fate seems to play a part in our life journey. For Lindsey Ross, that materialized in the shape of a job change at the beginning of 2025, working for a company that she has known for years.

Wyoming-based Burns Insurance Agency provides western states with a full portfolio of insurance coverage, including farm/ranch, crop, and rangeland coverage. Moving from precision ag into insurance has been a change — and a challenge — but Ross’ deep agriculture experience, particularly in precision ag, has not only made for a quick transition to her role, but a valuable one from the perspective of her employer and her customers.

Ross has been immersed in precision ag and agronomy for 13 years. Working in a new field, particularly insurance, which requires proficiency with an entirely new set of rules and regulations, took a fair amount of effort and commitment on her part.

“It was like going back to school again,” says Ross, “and it definitely pushed me to learn and grow. I’ve also been able to teach other people about precision ag and how it integrates with insurance, so that’s been good.”

Part of Ross’ job is to work with programs administered by the USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and combining them with private insurance to tailor a solution based on each farmer’s or rancher’s needs.

This is where her expertise in precision ag and ag technology is advantageous to customers because she understands how they can maximize the program benefits offered under FSA and NRCS.

“I really try and find that sweet spot for my customers, working with them to understand what subsidies are available through the various programs and policies, and helping them determine the best coverage level,” she says.

According to Ross, she is still executing a lot of the same things she was when she worked for ag retailers.

For example, “I am still calibrating equipment so that the displays read the correct amount when harvesting, plus tracking the correct acres in the correct fields,” she explains.

At the same time, Ross continues to play a significant part in “providing agronomic solutions for farmers who are looking for an unbiased opinion when it comes to working with retailers.”

She has built a sizeable client base over the last decade of her career, “providing trustworthy solutions for farmers to reference when it comes to their agronomic needs and site-specific management and how to accomplish that with the technology they currently have,” she says, which has included “helping them adapt and build their own rigs so that they can apply things themselves without having to get a retailer involved.”

Ross acknowledges this may seem “counter-intuitive” in the industry, “but if my guys have the tools that they need to become successful on their own, then they are in control of where their product comes from, how much they pay, how they apply, and when it gets done,” she emphasizes.

“Everything is in the farmer’s hands, so they maintain total control of their operation with the technology they have.”

During her career, Ross has grown into a true advocate for technology and for empowering farmers.

She says her ag tech career has recently moved in a more solo direction, as that’s where she sees the market demand right now.

“We need more people focused on the farmer and their operation as opposed to making the customer feel they have to rely on the retailers or outfits to get things done, when in reality the farmers can efficiently and affordably do it themselves on their own timelines.”

This model removes the middleman, says Ross, leaving the only thing for the customer to worry about “is where they’re getting their product from.”

Along with her expertise and guidance, that helps them “determine where they want to get their products from. It’s a win-win. I get to do what I love for the people I’m dedicated to without having to worry about selling a certain product or quantity and focus on what the farmers really need.”

Reflecting on her career journey thus far, Ross is quick to point out that any success she’s achieved “is all owed to the mentors who have supplied me with knowledge and helped me gain experience.”

In addition, the farmers that Ross has built relationships with over the years, “trust that I can, and will, do whatever it takes to make them as successful as possible,” she says, “and that I’ll be there for them for whatever they need.”

Running a Farm is a Family Affair

Farming has always been a way of life for Lindsey Ross. Even though she puts in some time behind a desk, contributing her time and talent to a family farm in Potter, NE, keeps her grounded.

The 8,000-acre operation is comprised of a sizeable herd of cows and heifers, and everyone in the family plays an active part, including the kids, who “help with bottle calves and banding young bulls, to helping get heifers in when they’re struggling with delivery, and helping deliver these babies and working calves,” says Ross.

The older boys handle a little more, she says, including tagging calves, feeding calves, cows and heifers, and running equipment harvesting planting: “The whole nine yards and everything the big guys do!”

According to Ross: “It’s an awesome experience for us, our kids, our families, and our employees to play a role in something so much bigger than us, and that’s feeding the world.”
It really does “take a village for every farmer, and the people who stand behind them, to be able to accomplish even the smallest successes,” Ross says.

“It’s so exciting to be part of an operation where we can all work together to get things done safely, quickly, efficiently, and all while having fun and making memories together,” she continues. “It’s truly the experience of a lifetime and something we are proud to do.”