[4] Ford completed her undergraduate degree at Iowa State University, where she pursued her interests in marketing, finance and operations and was initiated into Alpha Gamma Delta.

[13][8] As CEO, Ford has invested heavily in Land O'Lakes implementation of new technologies in agriculture as well as the vibrancy of rural communities.

[3] Ford has stated that the biggest challenges facing American farmers is policy uncertainty, weather and the changing climate, and a lack of broadband access.

[9] Ford has been an advocate for getting high-speed Internet access to rural and underserved areas, calling on the government to provide funds to close the 'digital divide' that is impacting employment, education, and progress.

[14] She has also called on major companies and organizations to join the American Connection Project, an effort started by Land O'Lakes to advocate for three main principles: robust federal funding for broadband infrastructure, improved broadband connectivity mapping and better coordination of federal and state agencies to deploy funding.

[18] In August 2019, Ford was one of 181 leading CEOs in the United States to sign Business Roundtable's new Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation.

[19] The new statement include that companies should serve not only their shareholders, but also deliver value to their customers, invest in employees, deal fairly with suppliers, and support the communities in which they operate.

[5] Ford is quoted as saying the removal of the "butter maiden" to the words "farmer owned" was more about what the farmer-owned co-op wanted to communicate rather than what it didn't, that the change did not come from pressure placed on the company.