By Whitney Baxter
As a fourth-generation alum of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Iowa State University, Jake Swanson (’14 global resource systems) carries a deep appreciation for the experiences that shaped his education and career.
“I have so many good things to say about CALS,” Swanson said. “The college has done so much for my family and Iowa agriculture.”
Swanson, founder and principal of High Yield Strategies, received the 2025 Emerging Iowa Leader Award at the annual CALS Alumni BBQ Aug. 30 at the Hansen Agriculture Student Learning Center in Ames. The award honors CALS alums who have taken on leadership roles early in their careers to improve agriculture and life sciences through communication, education, relationship-building and engagement.
Swanson was attracted to Iowa State’s global resource systems major because of his desire to better understand global agriculture. He traveled to Rome, Costa Rica and Uganda through CALS Study Abroad programs, which broadened his worldview and even introduced him to his future wife, Morgan (’15 genetics, global resource systems).
A highlight of Swanson’s time as an Iowa State student was leading efforts to create the Iowa State Bacon Expo, which has grown into an annual event celebrating all things bacon. While working with CALS Council and other students to organize the event, Swanson said President Wendy Wintersteen, who was dean of CALS at the time, was one of their biggest supporters.
“She believed we could pull it off, and that’s something I will always appreciate,” Swanson said. “She’s never been one to stifle students’ dreams.”
Following graduation from Iowa State, Swanson earned his master’s degree at Emory University in Georgia. While there, he got a taste of working in agriculture policy as an intern at the Georgia Department of Agriculture. A chance meeting with then-Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig brought him back to Iowa and launched his career in state government.
“Don’t hesitate to reach out to people who have cool jobs and ask them questions,” Swanson said. “The conversation I had with Mike Naig ultimately led to me being hired by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.”
There, Swanson served as a legislative liaison and special assistant to Iowa’s secretary of agriculture, a position held by Bill Northey at the time. The relationships Swanson built in that role led to him being appointed by Governor Kim Reynolds to serve as her lead agriculture and energy policy adviser during her first full term, which was marked by challenges ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic to a devastating derecho, among others.
In 2022, Swanson took the entrepreneurial skills he’d learned as a student and his many years working in agricultural policy and communications to launch his own business, High Yield Strategies. The business works with companies and organizations to provide public affairs and government affairs services, specializing in agriculture, energy and biotechnology.
“My passion is policy work and advocating for farmers and the Iowa agriculture industry,” Swanson said of starting his business. “My family has been farming in southern Iowa for over 175 years. Both my business and our farm’s story is, in many ways, tied to the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ mission of empowering Iowa farm families to thrive and ensuring that Iowa’s leadership in agriculture endures.”