Kristiana Coutu

Kristiana is the director of the Beginning Farmer Center and counsel for the Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation at Iowa State University.

As director of the Beginning Farm Center, Kristiana guides the center’s activities which focus on providing educational resources and programming for new farmers and their professional advisors. As counsel for the Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation, Kristiana brings her passion for agriculture and experience in agricultural law and tax to provide legal analysis and educational materials for producers, policymakers, and industry stakeholders.

 

Kristiana has focused her career on meeting the changing needs of agriculture, and her experience includes lending for the farm credit system, practicing as a certified public accountant, practicing law, and engaging in policy work. Kristiana has worked with producers and agricultural organizations across the country, giving her a unique and holistic perspective on the diversity of agriculture and the varying needs of producers.

 

Kristiana is also a producer herself and understands firsthand the challenges family farms face. Kristiana was the fourth generation to operate her family’s dairy farm. While the original dairy farm is no longer operating, Kristiana continues to farm with her husband on their diversified small farm.

 

Kristiana received her J.D. from Michigan State University College of Law and her B.S. in Business Management from the University of Connecticut. Kristiana also has a M.S. in Taxation from Grand Valley State University and is completing an L.L.M. in Agricultural and Food Law at the University of Arkansas School of Law.