Executive Women in Agriculture

Certainty in Uncertain Times: How Maria Zieba Fights for U.S. Pork Producers in DC

Fri, 09 May 2025 18:00:13 GMT

Whether she’s fighting for trade access on Capitol Hill or walking through a barn with a pork producer, Maria C. Zieba exudes a quiet confidence and composure that you can’t help but notice.

“Maria is so good at what she does because she communicates clearly and effectively, no matter who she is speaking to,” says her colleague Meghan Cline, who serves as the director of policy communications for the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC). “She remains calm, maintains her composure and doesn’t get flustered in any situation.”

For someone who serves as vice president of government affairs for NPPC and represents America’s 60,000 pig farms, that’s no small feat, especially with all of the volatility that’s being felt in DC and in farms across the country.

“It’s a difficult time for everybody,” Zieba says. “The calls, emails, text messages I receive from producers are always encouraging, but they also tell me what’s happening in their lives. They are coming to me because they need a steady hand. They need somebody that is going to listen, understand their point of view, and lead a team that advocates on their behalf.”

There’s no room to be flustered when you are leading the international and domestic policy teams at NPPC. But the truth is her job is challenging and there are times when she feels flustered underneath that composed exterior. But her passion for the people she represents is what makes it possible to keep going despite the challenges that come her way.

“There’s nothing quite like representing the farmer and people who wake up very early in the day and go do back-breaking work before the world has even started going ,” Zieba says. “There’s nothing that provides more drive than to know that’s what their livelihoods are. They depend on people like me to understand that, but also to have their best interests at hand and be able to communicate to others that that are different than themselves.”

What’s the Buzz in DC?
As a voice for the pork industry, Zieba finds herself tackling a variety of tough topics each day. Right now, the big topic on everyone’s mind is trade.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty for our producers in key markets, and with the tariffs and pork product not going through, that’s caused a lot of work over the last few months just trying to wrap our heads around all these new tariff announcements and ongoing negotiations,” she says.

NPPC’s No. 1 priority is to help producers have economic sustainability. One of the ways Zieba and her team strive to do that is by urging the Trump Administration to help grow market access for U.S. pork exports.

“Our biggest market access request to the administration right now is on Vietnam,” she says. “We see huge potential for U.S. pork in Vietnam. Unfortunately, we haven’t exported a lot and that has to do with several factors. One, we have to pay tariffs of at least 10% into that market while our competitors are at zero. We don’t have full market access, especially for white offals, and that has hurt us. There aren’t many markets out there that will take those types of products.”

Pork Producers Want Answers
In addition to trade uncertainty, farmers want to see a farm bill passed. Zieba reminds producers of how important it is to keep urging legislators to pass a comprehensive farm bill this year that addresses all the needs of agriculture.

Is that possible in 2025?

“This year, the timing is squishy, there’s uncertainty,” she explains. “That’s definitely the word of the month or of the year. We’ve been having conversations with the committees, the Chairman, and ranking members on all NPPC priorities and what we need to see out of a farm bill. But obviously, it is a negotiation and hopefully we can start seeing some movement here in the next few months.”

Proposition 12 continues to be a major topic on Capitol Hill. She says it’s imperative to get a framework and a regulation that prevents the states from complying with a patchwork of regulations.

“It is impossible for a pork producer, or anyone else in agriculture, to market their product if they have 50 different regulations on the books,” Zieba points out. “That creates uncertainty in the marketplace. It also creates food insecurity, which is something I care deeply about.”

How Parenthood and NPPC Changed Zieba’s Life
Zieba was born in California, but her family is from Argentina and Paraguay. She spent a lot of time on her mother’s family farm in Argentina where they raised cattle, cotton and sorghum.

“I didn’t have a lot growing up and there were definitely struggles throughout the years,” she says.

As a wife and mother to a 6-year-old son, Zieba says motherhood drives what she does in her job every day.

“I don’t want my child to go through the same sort of struggles that that I went through,” she says. “I want to be sure that when he grows up, he is in a world where he can have the freedom to eat whatever he wants to eat, have the freedom to go to a grocery store and have those products available when needed.”

There’s no question parenting has also taught her patience, Zieba adds.

“Not everything happens quickly in parenting, and the same holds true on the policy side,” she says. “Sometimes you’ve got to take a breath and step back from the situation. Then say, ‘Okay, what can I accomplish today? What can I teach him today? How can I show up for him today?’”

In addition to patience and perseverance, Zieba’s experience working for NPPC has taught her another important lesson.

“You’ve got to go in and ask for everything,” she says. “Then, keep going and keep going, knowing where and when you have leverage and when you don’t.”

She’s also learned to give people more grace.

“I think we all take for granted, that, of course, everybody knows this or that,” Zieba says. “But if you’ve not been exposed to it, and it’s not been part of your upbringing, what we do in agriculture and specifically pork production can be very eye-opening.”

When you give people grace for the things they don’t know and the perspectives that may be 100% different than yours, Zieba says you will find more opportunities for understanding.

“Our differences are what make us unique,” she says. “That’s been a very great learning experience for me.”

Listen to her entire conversation, including what’s happening on the labor front with TN visas and how she’s using her proficiency in three languages to make deeper connections around the world, on The PORK Podcast with Jennifer Shike anywhere podcasts are found or watch their conversation on YouTube .

Your Next Read: Don’t Be Afraid to Be You: Lori Stevermer Challenges Pork Industry to Show Up

Top Producer Women in Agriculture Award

Mon, 07 Apr 2025 12:17:00 GMT

The Top Producer Women in Agriculture Award (formerly the Executive Women in Agriculture Trailblazer Award) will be given to a female producer who is a shining example for her peers. The winner will be an advocate for agriculture and represent an innovative farming or ranching operation.

Entrants are judged on agricultural advocacy (50%), farm business innovation (30%) and industry or community leadership (20%).

To apply, complete the entry form below and attach your resume and two letters of reference from an industry peer, banker or agribusiness leader. Winners agree to be recognized in articles published in Top Producer magazine and online. Any financial information remains confidential unless entrants agree to its release.

The winner’s prizes include:

A trip for two including hotel accommodations and a flat travel reimbursement stipend to attend the 2027 Top Producer Summit (Feb.15-17, 2027 in Nashville, TN)
Additional prizes provided by award sponsor(s)

Questions? Contact Margy Eckelkamp at meckelkamp@farmjournal.com.

Click here to download the 2027 application

Read about the 2026 winner, Helle Ruddenklau, Amity, Ore.

Read about the 2025 winner, Kimberly Ratcliff, Oakwood, Texas

Read about the 2024 winner, Pam Johnson, Floyd, Iowa

Read about the 2023 winner, Marcia Ruff, Circleville, Ohio

Read about the 2022 winner, Susan Weaver Ford, Kenly, N.C.

Read about the 2021 winner, Jennie Schmidt, Sudlersville, Md.

Read about the 2020 winners, Macey Wessels and Shelly Boshart Davis, Tangent, Ore.

Read about the 2019 winner, April Hemmes of Hampton, Iowa

Nominate the Nation's Best Female Producers

Fri, 20 Nov 2020 05:17:12 GMT

The 2020 Top Producer Summit , which takes place Jan. 28–30 in Chicago, is a combination of three business education and networking conferences: Top Producer Seminar, Tomorrow’s Top Producer and Executive Women in Agriculture (EWA). During the Summit, Top Producer will recognize remarkable farmers who have taken risks, built thriving businesses and given back to their communities.

As part of EWA, an award will be given to a female producer who is a shining example for her peers. Entrants are judged on

agricultural advocacy (50%)
farm business innovation (30%)
industry or community leadership (20%)

The winner of the EWA Trailblazer Award receives a trip to the Summit, as well as other prizes.

Fill out the 2020 application.

Deadline to enter is Sept. 5, 2019!

For details or questions, please email Top Producer Editor Sara Schafer at sschafer@farmjournal.com .

Read about the 2019 winner, April Hemmes of Hampton, Iowa .

Join Top Producer at the 2020 Top Producer Summit, which takes place Jan. 28–30, in Chicago, Ill., and includes the Top Producer Seminar, Executive Women in Agriculture, Tomorrow’s Top Producer and Legacy Project Conference. Learn more and register at TPSummit.com .

Farm Succession Planning Gets A Boost From An Ethical Will

Wed, 18 Nov 2020 03:05:51 GMT

This article is from the Top Producer 2019 Executive Women in Agriculture Conference. Learn more about the 2020 EWA Conference agenda and register here: https://bit.ly/30jjkwY

Thirteen years ago, Mitzi Perdue says an experience changed the trajectory of her life.

At a meeting of wealthy, high-profile people who belong to what she describes as the “Famous Last Names Club,” she heard nearly everyone share a story about how they weren’t getting along with their family. Perdue, who grew up as part of the Sheraton hotel family, the Hendersons, and later married Frank Perdue, the poultry giant, was puzzled.

“I couldn’t really relate,” she recalls. Both of her families had been what she describes as high functioning. Plus, their respective businesses had thrived through multiple generations, an unlikely feat given that 70% of family businesses don’t survive beyond the first generation.

“I started studying why some families are high-functioning and others are not,” she recalls. “Why do some families want to help each other be all they can be?”

That question sent her on a quest during the next decade to find the answer. She read books, she attended conferences, she watched programs on YouTube and talked with tens of experts.

Her conclusion, she notes, could be summed up in one word: culture.

“Culture is a road map that guides us in what’s right or wrong,” she says. “The families that don’t [succeed] left their culture to accident. The strong ones invest in and teach their children values.”

She shared three things with attendees at the 2019 Executive Women in Agriculture (EWA) Conference that she says saved both of her families and their thriving businesses through the years.

“We keep our quarrels in the family,” she says. “We know that being part of a family requires sacrifice. Relationships are more important than money—what good is it to succeed financially but fall apart as a family?”

Along with those three factors, she says the Perdue family made five additional decisions that it continues to use. She recommends these to help other families that are wanting to survive and thrive in the future. They are:
1. Create an ethical will
2. Encourage and cherish traditions
3. Have awards that reinforce your culture
4. Write newsletters just for children
5. Produce a “What It Means to Be Us” book

Upon his death in 2005, her husband, Frank Perdue, left the following “ethical will” for his children and grandchildren, which she says the family still uses today. It reads:
1. Be honest always.
2. Be a person whom others are justified in trusting.
3. If you say you will do something, do it.
4. You don’t have to be the best, but you should be the best you can be.
5. Treat all people with courtesy and respect, no exceptions.
6. Remember that the way to be happy is to think of what you can do for others.
7. Be part of something bigger than yourself.
8. Remember that hard work is satisfying and fulfilling.
9. Nurture the ability to laugh and have fun.
10. Have respect for those who have gone before; learn from their weaknesses and build on their strengths.

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