JENKINSBURG, GEORGIA (Farm Monitor) — Not every agriculture career starts on a farm, and for one Georgia student, it has taken her far beyond the classroom.
Katelyn Lindsay is the 2026 National Watermelon Queen, a role with the National Watermelon Association that has her traveling across the country to promote the industry.
Lindsay now serves as a spokesperson for growers, helping educate consumers on nutrition while sharing the story behind the crop.
That role has also taken her to Washington, D.C., where she met with lawmakers to talk about the issues watermelon producers are facing in Georgia.
Lindsay says her passion for agriculture started early.
“It’s been great. I’ve always had a love for advocating for Ag. That started in high school, when I took my first Ag class. I did a lot of CDEs for Ag Com and Ag marketing, and just spending time with my FFA chapter officer team.”
She is currently studying agricultural communications at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, where she is learning how to better connect farmers with consumers.
Dr. Austin Moore, an assistant professor in the School of Agriculture and Natural Resources, says Lindsay brings both professionalism and personality to the role.
“In this role working with students like this, you try to find all their different characteristics, and each kid has something special about them. For Katelyn, she has this ability to stay buttoned up and prepared, but doesn’t take herself too seriously at the same time. She is an Ag kid through and through.”
Even as her role takes her across the country, Lindsay says her focus stays on the people and the industry that helped get her there.
