Speakers

 

Jeanne Bernick, Pinion Global

 Jeanne Bernick is an ag business consultant and the Global Growth Leader for business advisory firm Pinion (formerly K·Coe Isom). Jeanne works with farm families in succession planning, and also leads growth strategy for the firm by helping match the needs of commercial ag producers globally with Pinion’s talent and tools. Prior to joining Pinion, Jeanne was the editor of Top Producer magazine and spent 20 years with Farm Journal Media, developing long-standing relationships with large commercial ag producers and their families.

Catherine DeLong, Iowa State Extension & Outreach

 Catherine DeLong is the Water Quality Program Manager for Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. She works statewide to bring people together to share resources, ideas and perspectives about water quality, and to help Iowans understand the role they can play in the future of Iowa’s water.

Paul Dietmann, Compeer Financial

 Paul is a Senior Lending Officer of Mission Financing at Compeer Financial. His primary role at Compeer is to provide loans and other assistance to emerging market farmers in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. He spent 11 years as county agriculture agent and department head with UW-Extension in Sauk County, WI, and served 5 year as Director of the Bureau of Farm and Rural Services at the WI Department of Agriculture.

Kiley Fleming, Iowa Mediation Service

 In 2015, Iowa Mediation Service hired Kiley to serve as the Executive Director. With a Doctorate in Interdisciplinary Leadership from Creighton University, Master of Science degree in Human Resource Development, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology, Kiley has the expertise to design impactful conflict management and communication training. She is also well-equipped to conduct conflict resolution and mediation sessions, as she has done for the majority of her Human Resources and consulting career.

Brian Gossling, Farm Service Agency

 Brian serves as the Director for the Farm Loan Programs of the Farm Service Agency (FSA) in Iowa. Brian grew up on a diversified crop and livestock farm in northeast Iowa. He graduated from Central College with a BA in Business Management in 1991 and has over 30 years of ag lending experience.

Jennifer Harrington, ISU Center for Ag Law & Tax

 Jennifer is a Staff Attorney at ISU’s Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation. She focuses on transition planning, specifically in the areas of business entity transitions and estate planning. Prior to joining CALT, Jennifer was a partner at Buchanan, Bibler, Gabor & Meis, LLP, a county-seat practice in Kossuth County.

Dr. Chad Hart

 Chad Hart was born and raised in southwest Missouri and his parents raised a few cattle and operated a small meat locker. Chad received a B.S. in economics with minors in mathematics, history, and astronomy from Southwest Missouri State University in 1991. He received a Ph.D. in economics and statistics in 1999 from Iowa State University. His main research areas are in agricultural marketing and risk management.
 

Brad Hayes, BH Appraisal Services

 Brad Hayes is a Certified General Real Property Appraiser and specializes in appraising agricultural real estate assets throughout Iowa. Brad attended the University of Northern Iowa and graduated in December 2012 with a Bachelors Degree in Real Estate and Finance. In addition to operating BH Appraisal Services, Brad keeps busy with his Family’s Cow/Calf operation
 

Carroll & Kathy Hoksbergen, Pella, Iowa

 Caroll and Kathy operated a row crop and hog operation in southern Iowa for nearly 50 years. After realizing the none of their three adult children would be taking over the farm, the couple became committed to finding an ambitious beginning farmer outside of the family to take over the farm.

Ann Johanns, ISU Extension and Outreach

 Ann Johanns serves Iowa State University Extension and Outreach as a program specialist. She coordinates the extensive library of materials available on the Ag Decision Maker website, conducts research on emerging agricultural issues, and supports educational efforts across the state with the farm management team.

Joe Leo, Brown Winnick

 Joe Leo is an attorney at Brown Winnick. After graduating from UW – Madison, Joe started his career running two federal business development programs for the Wisconsin Department of Commerce. This lead Joe to attending  Drake University Law School. Joe has worked at BrownWinick his entire legal career.

Tammy Nebola, Iowa Finance Authority

 Tammy Nebola is a Program Specialist for the Iowa Agricultural Development Division of the Iowa Finance Authority.  She started with the Division in 2008 and manages the two loan programs, the Beginning Farmer Loan Program (Aggie Bond Program) and the Loan Participation Program.

Bill Northey, Agribusiness Association of Iowa

 An Iowa State University graduate, Bill Northey grew up on a family farm in Dickinson County that is still in the family today. Northey was elected three times as Secretary of Agriculture for Iowa in 2006, 2010, and 2014. Most recently, Northey served as Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, his term ending in January of 2021. In April 2022, Bill joined the Agribusiness Association of Iowa as Chief Executive Officer.

David Oppedahl, Federal Reserve Bank

 David Oppedahl is a policy advisor in the Economic Research Department at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Oppedahl conducts research on the agricultural sector and rural development, as well as analyzing business conditions and the regional economy.

Dr. Alejandro Plastina

 Dr. Alejandro Plastina is an Associate Professor and Extension Economist in the Department of Economics at Iowa State. His area of specialization is agricultural production and technology, with an emphasis on farm business and financial management. Prior to joining ISU in 2014, Dr. Plastina was Senior Economist at the International Cotton Advisory Committee in Washington, DC.

Anne Reser-Moorehead, Whitfield & Eddy

 Anne Reser-Moorehead is an associate attorney practicing in Whitfield & Eddy’s estates, wills, and trusts practice group, litigation practice group, and real estate practice group. In her practice, she supports clients in estate planning, preparation of trusts, wills, and powers of attorney, trust administration, and probate. She also assists with residential, commercial, and agricultural real estate transactions, and related entity needs.

Matt Russell, Farm Service Agency

Matt Russell was appointed by the Biden Administration to serve as the State Executive Director of the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) in Iowa in November 2021. 

Russell is a fifth-generation Iowa farmer who grew up on a livestock farm in Cass County. He now co-owns and operates Coyote Run Farm, a family farm near Lacona, Iowa. 

Kristine Tidgren, ISU Center for Ag Law & Tax

 Kristine is an adjunct associate professor in the Agricultural Education & Studies Department and the director for the Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation. Kristine’s work focuses on studying and interpreting laws impacting the agricultural industry. In particular, she focuses on agricultural taxation.

Jeff Troendle, Hertz Farm Management

 He grew up working on a grain and livestock farm in Northeast Iowa. From there he went on to become an animal caretaker on the Iowa State University Beef Training Farm while attending ISU. Jeff was a research intern for Asgrow Seed Company. He worked as a data collector for the Iowa State University Economics Department in 1984-1986. Jeff has served as the President of Hertz Farm Management since 2016.

Kitt Tovar Jensen, ISU Beginning Farmer Center

 Kitt is a Staff Attorney at the Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation at Iowa State University. She focuses on areas of agricultural law including farm succession planning, environmental law, and farm policy. Kitt also manages the Beginning Farmer Center.