15 Minutes With… Marji Guyler-Alaniz, Chief Operating Officer, AgriSompo; President, AgriSompo International

By Michelle Pelletier Marshall, Women in Agribusiness Media (July 23, 2024)

Marji Guyler-Alaniz wears many hats. She is recognized as a TV personality based on her founding of FarmHer in 2013 and subsequent years nurturing the brand to create a movement for women in agriculture across the country, right up to its purchase by RFD-TV in July 2023. Today, Guyler-Alaniz has her sights set on bringing stability and sustainability to farmers and ranchers around the world through global crop insurance offerings in her roles as COO of AgriSompo and president of AgriSompo International.

A company with its beginnings in 1996, and through a series of mergers, AgriSompo has become one of the nation's largest underwriters of Federally sponsored crop insurance. It offers its clients supreme service and effective software options that ensure proactive agricultural risk management for American farmers and ranchers. On the international front, AgriSompo provides a combination of insurance, reinsurance and parametric coverage in countries around the world. The company’s goal internationally is to expand on experience and expertise built in the U.S. to provide crop insurance risk management, globally.

Guyler-Alaniz’s part in this success story is to lead financial and operational attainment through ensuring that the company is driven by mission critical business analysis, premier processing systems, and service that is second to none, all with the goal of helping to positively shape global agricultural policy.

Guyler-Alaniz, already a strong and recognizable voice in the agricultural community through her work with FarmHer (and subsequently RanchHer), is now using that knowledge and network to guide farmers, ranchers, crop insurance agents, and other business partners in safeguarding their livelihoods for generations to come.

At WIA, we’ve known and worked with Guyler-Alaniz since the inception of FarmHer, and last year she was a speaker on our Executive Profiles panel at the Women in Agribusiness Summit in Nashville. We recently caught up with Guyler-Alaniz in AgriSompo’s office in Lenexa, Kansas, to learn what the future holds for her.

(You can also see more of AgriSompo in Denver this fall at the 13th annual Women in Agribusiness Summit, as they are a sponsor of the event.)

1). At AgriSompo, you speak of redefining what is possible for the ag industry. Can you explain this further?

I not only have spent my career in and around agriculture, I grew up surrounded by it in rural Iowa. I have seen firsthand that farming and ranching doesn’t look one way. Agriculture businesses aren’t run the same, and the farmers and ranchers that run them most definitely don’t have a singular set of needs. With that, it is imperative that all farmers and ranchers have the opportunity for a flexible, stable and service-minded partner as they work towards a strong future for their business, for their family legacy, and ultimately, for their dream.

When I came to AgriSompo, I brought an array of experiences and a willingness to see things differently. I brought a strong belief that through constant improvement and considering different ways to view the world, we can provide a superior product that meets our customers where they are. I brought with me a mindset that surrounding myself with the best and the brightest would build a team that is unmatched in seeing our mission and goals come to life. I brought a passion for the security and stability of the next generation of agriculturalists. At AgriSompo we work tirelessly to continuously improve, to provide not only the right tools, but the best service. I see the passion and commitment of our team shine daily. All of this is what I see as redefining what is possible in our industry.

2). Extreme weather has blanketed all parts of the country and the world. How does that alter the outlook, need, and requirements for crop insurance and other risk management products?

Extreme weather mixed with market challenges have highlighted the need for a stable crop insurance program more than ever in recent years. One of the biggest advantages of crop insurance is that it’s created to flex along with weather changes from year to year. Most policies protect producers by using their own yield data from past growing seasons, which helps guarantee certain levels of income when unfavorable weather hits. Along with that, crop insurance helps producers balance out their operations when faced with price volatility due to extreme weather. Even if poor weather conditions don’t directly affect crop health, growers know they’re protected from price fluctuations that could just as easily put their businesses at risk. Crop insurance helps agricultural operations survive and thrive year after year, which is why it’s more important now than ever.

3). Please tell our readers more about ACRE – the American Coalition for Rural Engagement – that AgriSompo spearheaded.

We created ACRE as a platform to educate political officials and the public about crop insurance and how it helps all producers ― farmers and ranchers ― put food on plates every day. Crop insurance is a critical safety net that makes it possible for individuals, families, and businesses to overcome hardships and keep farming the next day, year, or even through the next generation.

We want everyone to understand how crop insurance supports America’s economic growth and stability. Our food and financial security depend upon a strong crop insurance program because it protects supply chains and helps make food more abundant and affordable over time in an economical and predictable way.

That’s why we believe it is so important to serve as stewards of the crop insurance program. We are committed to raising awareness about the difference the program makes, and to promoting policies that safeguard the livelihoods of producers and the rural communities that support them. By coming together and uniting our efforts, we can make the voice of the American farmer heard in Washington, D.C., and beyond.

4). What you created with FarmHer has been highlighted across ag media platforms such as Successful Farming and RFD-TV, and also mainstream publications like Oprah magazine and the Smithsonian. Did you ever think that your photography of women in farming could lead to this, and what is the biggest takeaway from it?

What I started as a passion project and navigated into a movement for women and agriculture most definitely exceeded my wildest dreams. As a woman working in agriculture myself, I knew there was a lack of broad understanding and recognition for what women do to grow food and raise livestock that ultimately puts food on our plates. What I didn’t know was just how important the recognition would be and how women would join the movement with pride and even more promise for their work today and tomorrow. My biggest takeaway is each one of us has the power to positively impact those around us in big and little ways every day. My simple idea lit a fire inside me when I realized the good it did for the women who I celebrated. It sparked a passion that became infectious. It didn’t start big, but it started with an idea and a willingness to try.

5). You have had many roles in ag. How do you think they have led you to where you are today, and what advice would you give to other women moving through the ranks in ag?

Since the day I stepped foot into my first real job out of college, I was focused and intentional about learning, growing and building a career. I was often impatient in that first decade, not feeling like I was progressing fast enough or seeing a clear path on how to get where I wanted to go. Eventually I came to realize that I was going to have to change my path if I wanted to truly see personal and professional growth, so that is when I left crop insurance and started FarmHer. Through the next decade I visited hundreds of farms and ranches around the country, touring countless barns, riding in tractors, walking rows of crops and sharing meals at the kitchen tables of the people who are the literal heartbeat of agriculture. I spent time listening, learning and hearing their stories of success and failure, life and death and everything in between. I truly saw that farming wasn’t just a job, but rather a way of life for most. I gained a broad and unique perspective of the needs farmers and ranchers have.

Equally as important, through those years I started, scaled and eventually sold a business.  Combine those experiences with over 15 years in the U.S. crop insurance market throughout my career, and I am proud to say I bring a different perspective today. What I can see now with clarity is that the diversity of experiences I have had, and what I learned through them, is what has and continues to propel me forward. Those experiences and the winding path they took me on built my confidence, preparing me for each and every next step. I have learned to embrace change and be OK feeling uncomfortable.

For those of you thinking about your path, I can say with certainty: never stop learning, never stop growing. Put your hand up to participate in new initiatives. Try a new role even if you aren’t sure you’re ready (I’ve never quite felt ready). Surround yourself with the best team at work and support network outside of your career. If you hit a roadblock, find a new road. YOU are in the driver’s seat for your career, and the more well-traveled you are, the better driver you will be.

ABOUT MARJI GUYLER-ALANIZ

As president of AgriSompo International, COO of AgriSompo, and founder of FarmHer, Marji Guyler-Alaniz has held fast to her strong belief that agriculture is essential to our families, communities and global sustainability, and remained focused on elevating and strengthening the culture of agriculture throughout her career. 

Guyler-Alaniz has broad experience that spans the industry. In addition to over15 years of crop insurance leadership, through the founding of FarmHer she ushered in a movement that brings women to the forefront of agriculture. 

In her positions with AgriSompo, Guyler-Alaniz leads financial and operational success with oversight of all profit centers. Additionally, Guyler-Alaniz’s passion for celebrating and uplifting women across the agriculture industry sees her working to create inclusive experiences for all stakeholders in the ag sector.