Hayden is a graduate student in Plant Sciences at North Dakota State University, focused on herbicide performance and weed control in the field. In 2025, he earned first place in the Basic Biology, Ecology, and Technology section at the Western Society of Weed Science annual meeting for his oral presentation, “Dose Response of Tolpyralate and Bromoxynil on Weedy Grasses and Green Foxtail (Setaria viridis) Resistance Management.” The year prior, he was awarded second place for his research poster, “Tolpyralate and Bromoxynil Efficacy on Green Foxtail in Small Grains,” presented at the society’s annual meeting in Denver. Although Hayden has been working with Agro-Tech since he was 10 years old, he officially returned home and joined the team full-time in spring 2025, bringing a hands-on, field-first approach to every project.