Pivot Bio’s “Pivotal People Inspired by Real Farm Heroes” Series Highlights Marilyn Backman and Her Renowned Pies

MINNEAPOLIS, Dec. 23, 2025 — Marilyn Backman is no typical farmer. She balances roles as an entrepreneur and farmer in her family’s seed business, a respected advocate for farmers, and a dedicated neighbor and friend. Humble yet proud of her rural Minnesota roots, it’s perhaps this very setting that gave rise to the magic of Marilyn’s humble pies.

Pivot Bio, a leading global agtech innovator, has unveiled the latest entry in its “Pivotal People – Inspired by Real Farm Heroes” series, focusing on Backman. Her harvest tradition of delivering homemade pies has evolved into a powerful emblem of gratitude and community across rural America.

Every autumn, during the peak of harvest—the busiest and most demanding season for farmers—Backman bakes and personally delivers hundreds of homemade pies to farmers throughout her community. She carries out this act quietly, without spectacle, and with no desire for acknowledgment.

Traveling through the Midwest during harvest reveals the intense labor firsthand: combines traversing fields after sunset, headlights piercing the darkness as farmers work tirelessly through the night to harvest America’s crops. In such moments, sharing a slice of pie—a quintessentially American tradition—transcends dessert. It becomes an expression of appreciation and human connection.

Backman’s journey is showcased in a short film that documents her harvest routine, her profound bonds with the farmers she serves, and the principles that shape her work on the farm and within her community. The film provides a rare window into the daily acts of kindness that help sustain rural America.

Embracing the spirit of the narrative, Pivot Bio is also contributing to a local food pantry in Marilyn’s Minnesota community, spreading the ethos of nourishment and care beyond agricultural boundaries and helping ensure local families have access to meals—and perhaps even pies—during the winter months.

“Marilyn embodies the finest qualities of agriculture,” stated Chris Abbott, CEO of Pivot Bio. “Her story reminds us that farming extends beyond commodity markets—it’s about individuals supporting each other, especially when unnoticed. These silent gestures of generosity are the glue that binds communities.”

Through its “Pivotal People – Inspired by Real Farm Heroes” series, Pivot Bio continues to feature farmers nationwide whose narratives embody the humility, resilience, and fortitude of America’s agricultural communities. Each episode emphasizes the human dimension of farming, where scientific advancement, innovation, and empathy converge to shape the future of food, fiber, and fuel.

To watch Marilyn Backman’s story, visit:

About Pivot Bio

Pivot Bio, a top global innovator in agricultural technology, provides farmers with patented crop nutrition solutions that leverage natural processes to reliably and efficiently produce the food our world demands amid growing uncertainty.

Currently offered in North America and expanding soon to Brazil, the company’s products represent a groundbreaking advancement and rank among the agriculture sector’s most promising climate-focused solutions. Pivot Bio has earned recognition from TIME magazine three times on its annual Best Inventions list, from Fast Company on its World Changing Ideas and World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies rosters, from CNBC on its Disruptor 50 list of private firms, from Fortune on its Impact 20 list of social-good startups, and from MIT Technology Review as one of 15 climate technology companies to monitor.

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SOURCE: Pivot Bio, Inc