Justin Rindler

Growing up working in my family’s laying hen operation instilled in me both work ethic and a passion for animal production. I’ve come to know and appreciate the hard work agriculturalists put into producing our food and hope to gain as much knowledge and resources as I can in my time at Ohio State to take back to our poultry operation to implement.
Studying Agribusiness and Applied Economics at Ohio State has had a great impact on my career aspirations. Two of the most impactful experiences I’ve had here include studying agriculture in Brazil and attending Agriculture Future of America’s Leaders Conference. Although neither of these events happened in the classroom, both experiences shaped my academic and professional goals.
While in Brazil, my passion for agriculture was reinvigorated with every farmer I met, every lecture I attended, and every place I visited. My first-hand experiences instilled in me a deeper passion to go out and make an impact on the agriculture industry to improve the welfare of people in developing nations. While touring the nation, we visited cattle breeding farms, beef production research facilities, and even an alligator farm. Although we were unable to tour a poultry operation, which is where my passion for animal agriculture is rooted, it was eye-opening to see how Brazil’s animal food production differs from what we see in the United States. In Brazil, I saw the role agriculture plays in the world and understood how I could fit into the puzzle to make changes that are needed to truly impact people. Overall, seeing Brazil’s progress and transformation sparked my thinking about animal agriculture’s role in economic development, and its potential as a tool for nourishing future generations.
Nonetheless, I realized my need to grow more personally and professionally to make such an impact globally. Which is why Agriculture Future of America’s Leaders Conference made a lasting impression on me. I learned about my personal leadership style under industry leaders and experienced professionals while interacting with the best and brightest students from universities across the nation.
I am incredibly thankful for these experiences for they have pushed me to become more involved in my community, focus globally in my studies, and instilled in me the aspiration to make agriculture practices more sustainable, economical, and accessible in every corner of the globe. I hope to apply these aspirations to my passion for animal production. In doing so my goal is to make livestock products more accessible across the globe, eliminate food insecurity, and decrease caloric deficiencies in the least developed countries and emerging economies.
I am hopeful to return to a laying hen operation upon graduation to share my global perspective and newfound passions. My long-term goal is to find and create ways for my family’s operation to share industry-specific knowledge and resources in a way to help fuel poultry production opportunities in developing nations.