Janis E. Highley, an Indiana agricultural leader whose career carried her from Indiana Farm Bureau county meetings to the upper ranks of statewide advocacy, died Tuesday, May 19, 2026. She was 57.
Highley, of Warren, Indiana, built a reputation as a pragmatic and collaborative voice for farmers, drawing on experience that spanned agribusiness, grain marketing and grassroots organizing. Though she entered the professional workforce in earnest only after her children were grown, colleagues said she quickly became a steady presence in policy discussions and leadership circles across the state.
Her most visible role came with the Indiana Farm Bureau, where she was elected second vice president in December 2023, prevailing in a three-way race at the group’s annual convention in Fort Wayne. In that position, she joined the organization’s executive leadership team, helping shape advocacy priorities for one of Indiana’s most influential agricultural groups.
Highley often framed her work in terms of listening — to farmers navigating volatile markets, to rural communities balancing tradition with economic pressure, and to policymakers weighing the future of U.S. agriculture. “We are a grassroots organization,” she said at the time of her election. “Making sure we’re supporting members in whatever way they need” was central to her approach.
Born in Huntington, Indiana, Highley graduated from Huntington North High School and later earned a degree in business management from Huntington University. She married her husband, Larry, in April 1988; the couple marked 38 years of marriage this spring.
Although she did not grow up on a farm, agriculture was a constant presence in her early life — her grandparents were dairy farmers, and her mother worked for a fertilizer company. After marrying into a fifth-generation farm family, Highley helped raise corn and soybeans while also holding off-farm jobs in the agricultural sector, including seasonal work at fertilizer and grain facilities.
That dual perspective — both on the farm and in agribusiness — would later define her professional identity. Highley held roles with Salamonie Mills, Weaver Popcorn and Strategic Grain Hedge, where she worked as a grain analyst assistant helping farmers manage risk through cash sales and hedging on the Chicago Board of Trade.
Her involvement in organized agriculture deepened over time. She served as a district education and outreach coordinator for Indiana Farm Bureau beginning in 2018, representing 10 counties across north-central Indiana. Earlier, she had been active at the county level, including on the Huntington County Farm Bureau board.
Highley also played a significant role in commodity organizations. She was first elected to the Indiana Corn Marketing Council board in 2021 and later won a second term, contributing to efforts to expand markets for Indiana corn. Through that work, she collaborated with national groups including the National Corn Growers Association and the U.S. Grains Council, participating in leadership programs and international trade outreach.
In 2022, Highley joined a delegation of farmers traveling to Mexico to meet with buyers and observe export logistics, an experience she later described as essential to understanding the long-term value of developing overseas markets. She often emphasized that such relationships, while slow to build, were critical to stabilizing prices for farmers at home.
Her leadership extended beyond economics and policy. Within Indiana Farm Bureau, she was closely associated with the organization’s Women’s Leadership Committee, where she championed professional development and sought to broaden opportunities for women in agriculture. She frequently spoke about her own path into the industry as evidence that entry points were not limited to those raised on farms.
“My passion is helping farmers,” she said in 2024, describing her motivation for stepping into statewide leadership. That commitment, colleagues said, was matched by an open-door style that encouraged participation from members at every level.
Outside her professional life, Highley remained closely tied to her family’s farm, where she found enjoyment in caring for horses and chickens on what was described as a centennial homestead. Friends and associates often pointed to that connection to the land as grounding her work in policy and advocacy.
She is survived by her husband, Larry, and their family, including two sons who represent the sixth generation involved in the family’s farming operation.
A celebration of life is scheduled for June 20 at First Christian Church in Warren. Memorial contributions may be made in her name to the Farm Bureau Foundation to support young farmer programs and women’s leadership initiatives — causes that reflected both her career and her convictions.
In a field often defined by long tenures and deep-rooted networks, Highley’s ascent was comparatively swift. Yet those who worked with her said the trajectory made sense: she combined lived experience with a willingness to engage, and brought to Indiana agriculture a voice shaped as much by listening as by leading.
