2025 Distinguished Alumni Award Winner- Lance Rezac

 

B.S. in Agricultural Mechanization, Kansas State University

The 2025 Distinguished Alumnus Award goes to Lance Rezac, a 1983 Kansas State University graduate. He earned his bachelor’s in agricultural mechanization with a minor in agronomy and graduated magna cum laude.

Rezac is currently a fifth-generation farmer at Rezac Land and Livestock, the family farm he runs with his brother and their children. While raising the 6th and 7th generation of farmers, they also raise soybeans, corn, wheat and alfalfa in

addition to running a swine and beef operation.

This past year, as he served as a United Soybean Board director, Rezac was simultaneously the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) chairman. He provided strategic direction, insight and guidance on the organization’s future. USSEC works to differentiate, elevate and attain market access for U.S. soy for human consumption, aquaculture and livestock feed. Through his service, Rezac has traveled to over 34 countries, 12 in the past year as chairman.

In early 2020, Rezac worked in Pakistan to overturn a ban on genetically modified products, as 90 percent of the soybeans that were being used for their thriving poultry industry had GM traits. Rezac visited Nigeria in June 2024, believing that U.S. soybeans wouldn't reach the country for over a decade. However, thanks to collaborative efforts between Nigerian officials and U.S. farmers, the first delivery of soybeans arrived in January 2025. “I didn’t keep track of the days or miles from the year. It’s not about me. It’s about highlighting the work USSEC does for the farmers,” Rezac said as his chairman position came to an end.

Through his travels, he has still maintained strong relations with the College of Agriculture. Rezac has worked with the K-State International Grains Program Institute to host trade teams on his farm, giving them hands-on experience with farming practices. For the departments of entomology, agronomy and the College of Engineering, he helped create research trials, where he also allowed the use of his fields for experiments and testing equipment. As a Kansas Soybean commissioner, he’s led significant investments in agronomy, food science and market development research, as well as hosted and sponsored numerous events.