A Slice Of Humble Pie: How One Farmer’s Harvest-time Tradition Is Lifting Up Her Community
Pivot Bio’s “Pivotal People Inspired by Real Farm Heroes Series Spotlights Marilyn Backman and her world-famous pies
26 December 2025, Minneapolis: Marilyn Backman isn’t your ordinary farmer. Part entrepreneur and farmer with her family’s seed business, part esteemed advocate for farmers, and certainly neighbor and friend. She is humble and proud to call rural Minnesota her home. And perhaps that’s where the magic of Marilyn’s humble pies took root.
Pivot Bio, one of the world’s most innovative agtech companies, released a new installment of its “Pivotal People – Inspired by Real Farm Heroes” series, shining a light on Backman whose harvest-time tradition of delivering homemade pies has become a meaningful symbol of gratitude and community in rural America.
Each fall, in the middle of harvest, one of the busiest and most demanding times of the year for farmers, Backman bakes and personally delivers hundreds of homemade pies to the farmers she serves across her community. She does it quietly, without fanfare, and without expectation of recognition.
If you travel through the Midwest during harvest, the hard work is easy to see: combines moving through fields after dark, headlights cutting through the night as farmers work around the clock to bring in America’s crops. In moments like these, something as simple as sharing a slice of pie, something so uniquely Americana, becomes more than dessert. It becomes a gesture of gratitude and connection.
Backman’s story is featured in a short film titled,” which captures her harvest-time routine, her deep relationships with the farmers she serves, and the values that guide her work both in the field and in her community. The film offers a rare glimpse into the everyday generosity that helps sustain rural America.
In keeping with the spirit of the story, Pivot Bio is also making a donation to a local food pantry in Marilyn’s Minnesota, extending the message of nourishment and care beyond the farm gate and helping ensure families in the area have access to meals, and possibly even pies, during the winter season.
“Marilyn represents the very best of agriculture,” said Chris Abbott, CEO of Pivot Bio. “Her story is a reminder that farming isn’t just about commodity markets, it’s about people showing up for one another, even when no one is watching. Those quiet acts of generosity are what hold communities together.”
Through “Pivotal People – Inspired by Real Farm Heroes,” Pivot Bio continues to spotlight farmers across the country whose stories reflect the humility, resilience, and strength of America’s agricultural communities. Each installment highlights the human side of farming, where science, innovation, and compassion come together to shape the future of food, fiber, and fuel.
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