Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥

Jerrad Stroh was elected to the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Board of Directors in 2022. He serves as vice chair of the board’s Audit Committee and is a member of the Corporate Risk Committee. Previously, he was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Foundation.

Stroh serves as secretary of the Cooperative Producers, Inc., board of directors and has been a member of that board since 2009 and an associate director from 1998 to 2001. He has also served on the Nebraska Cooperative Council (NCC) Legacy Initiative Committee and has completed the NCC director certification program and participated in the NCC graduate program.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from Hastings College in Hastings, Neb., and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.

Stroh operates a 900-acre irrigated row-crop family farm in Adams County, Neb., with his wife and daughters. They raise corn and soybeans.

Jay Debertin is president and chief executive officer of Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥, the nation’s leading farmer-owned cooperative and an agronomy, energy, global grains and processing company.

In 2017, Debertin was named president and CEO following 33 years of leadership roles across the company. He has been with the cooperative since 1984.

As president and CEO of Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥, Debertin drives the company’s strategies while growing its core businesses to provide end-to-end products and leverage the strength of the cooperative’s supply chain to support the nation’s farmers and cooperatives. Debertin previously held the positions of executive vice president and chief operating officer for Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Energy and Processing and Food Ingredients.

Working for Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ was, in part, a coming home for Debertin. He grew up in the heart of the Red River Valley in East Grand Forks, Minnesota, in a community surrounded by agriculture and a strong cooperative system.

Debertin holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, and an MBA from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

Debertin serves as board chair for Ventura Foods, LLC, a joint venture of which Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ is part owner, as well as the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives. He also sits on the boards of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and Securian Financial, and has previously served on the Minnesota Opera and Visitation High School boards. He lives in the Twin Cities with his wife, and they have three daughters.

David Black is executive vice president, enterprise transformation, and chief information officer for Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥, a leading global agribusiness and the largest farmer-owned cooperative in the United States.

In his role, Black is responsible for enterprise transformation, marketing, communications, innovation, facilities and Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ global information technology. He leads enterprise transformation efforts, including the company’s change in operating model and transformation management office. Black also leads strategy, implementation, delivery and operation of information technology for all Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ businesses worldwide. Finally, he oversees the company’s owner and employee communications, advertising and public relations, and Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ innovation programs, including the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ venture capital program, Cooperative Ventures.

Prior to joining Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ in 2014, Black served as vice president of information technology at Monsanto Company, where he was responsible for all aspects of information technology for its global commercial businesses. During his 20 years with Monsanto, he held positions including vice president, corporate strategy, and president, Monsanto Agro-Services, LLC, a role in which he was responsible for new business development. He also held a broad range of global IT and enterprise roles including leadership assignments in Asia and Canada.

The Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal recognized Black as a 2016 Titan of Technology for his transformational leadership at Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥. Black currently serves on the boards of Cooperative Ventures and Ventura Foods and is former board chair of Ag Gateway, a nonprofit consortium of more than 300 businesses serving the agriculture industry, which strives to promote, enable and expand e-business in agriculture. He earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Tarkio College, Tarkio, Mo.

Rick Dusek, executive vice president, leads ag retail, distribution and transportation for Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥, the nation’s leading farmer-owned cooperative and a global agronomy, energy, grains, and food company.

Having spent his entire 34-plus year career with Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥, Dusek has held several leadership roles with the company. He was promoted to join the company’s strategic leadership team and to lead retail operations in 2017, and in 2023, his role expanded to encompass ag retail and wholesale distribution and transportation.

As executive vice president, Dusek is leading the transformation of the company’s retail and wholesale distribution assets and operations and developing an enterprise transportation center of excellence to advance critical distribution capabilities for the company’s integrated enterprise supply chain for energy, agronomy, animal nutrition and grain product lines. Dusek and his team are helping create and drive efficiency to deliver excellence and enable profitable growth on behalf of owners and customers.

In his previous role as vice president of Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ agronomy, Dusek was instrumental in the transformation of the company’s wholesale crop nutrients business, including investment in domestic nitrogen production and led his team in implementing a market research function to advance supply, trading, and risk management strategies. Dusek has also served as vice president of grain marketing where he led all aspects of North American grain and strategically expanded the platform.

Born and raised in Grafton, North Dakota, Dusek joined Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ in 1988 and spent his early days with the cooperative merchandising grain. Dusek is a past board member of the Minneapolis Grain Exchange and The Fertilizer Institute. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural economics from North Dakota State University, and he is a graduate of the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program. Dusek and his family reside in the suburban metro area of Minneapolis and St. Paul.

John Griffith is executive vice president, ag business and Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Hedging, for Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥, a U.S. farmer-owned cooperative and a global energy, grains and foods company. In his role, he leads Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ trading and risk management for global grain, oilseeds, crop nutrients and crop protection. He also oversees Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Hedging, LLC, a commodities brokerage subsidiary of Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥.

Griffith grew up on a corn, soybean and livestock farm in southwestern Minnesota and during his high school years, worked part-time at a local grain elevator. Today, he is a results-oriented, respected leader who champions expanding market access, operational excellence and develops strong, customer-focused teams to monitor market trends for opportunities that drive revenue growth and add stakeholder value across all global origination offices and operations.

Prior roles at Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ include senior vice president, global grain and marketing, vice president, grain marketing North America, vice president and merchandising manager, senior durum manager, procurement merchandiser and assistant barley merchandiser.

Leadership positions outside Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ include vice president, supply chain, and vice president, global sourcing at American Italian Pasta Company, Kansas City, Mo., and vice president and chief procurement officer for Ralcorp Holdings, Inc., St. Louis, Mo.

Griffith earned a bachelor’s degree in business management from St. John’s University, Collegeville, Minn., and a Master of Business Administration from Rockhurst University, Kansas City, Mo. He serves as board chair for Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Hedging, a commodities brokerage subsidiary of Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥, and represents Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ on the CF Nitrogen Board of Managers. He previously chaired the North American Export Grain Association board and served on the Minneapolis Grain Exchange board of directors.

Gary Halvorson is a executive vice president, enterprise customer development for Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥, the nation's leading farmer-owned cooperative and a global energy, grains and foods company. Halvorson is responsible for Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ efforts across all product lines to deliver a focused and coordinated customer experience for owners and customers.

Halvorson has more than 20 years of experience in various agriculture roles, working for Cargill and serving as a sales agronomist at a local cooperative before joining Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ in 1999. He held various leadership roles with Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ in Milton, N.D., and Dakota Ag Services in Minot, N.D., before becoming general manager for Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Ag Services, Warren, Minn. Halvorson served as vice president of farm supply for Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Country Operations from 2014 through 2017. Prior to his customer development leadership role, Halvorson led the company’s wholesale agronomy platform, including acquisition and integration of crop protection.

Halvorson represents Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ on the Board of Directors for The Fertilizer Institute (TFI), the CF Nitrogen Board of Managers, and the board of Cooperative Ventures, a capital fund founded in late 2021 between Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ and Growmark. He has also served on the National FFA Sponsors Board and the Agricultural Retailers Association Board of Directors.

Halvorson earned a bachelor of arts degree in business from Concordia University and has completed many other career development and management courses, including Leading for Growth, Dale Carnegie training and the Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) program.

Darin Hunhoff is executive vice president of energy for Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥, the nation’s leading farmer-owned cooperative and a global energy, grains and food company.

In 2017, Darin was named executive vice president following 25 years of leadership roles in energy and company strategy.

In his role, Darin is responsible for enhancing and growing the company’s diverse energy operations, which includes refineries, pipelines and terminals, refined fuels, propane and lubricants. He also leads the company’s emerging energy strategy, working to position Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ for success in an evolving energy landscape. In addition, he oversees sustainability at Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥, which is focused on a long-term view on people, communities, economic viability and environmental success, as well as the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ strategic sourcing function.

Darin’s many contributions to Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ include a role as chief strategy officer, leading a comprehensive portfolio review that provided critical input toward the company’s strategic direction. In energy, he led the refined fuels business to a record 3 billion gallons of Cenex® branded sales and led the propane division through significant transformation and earnings.

Growing up in agriculture in South Dakota, his family operated a successful agri-business and instilled in him a motivation to help farmers succeed.

Darin has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and business management from Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, Minnesota.

Darin is a member of Feed My Starving Children’s Minnesota Council and sits on the board of Together for Good, a nonprofit focused on stabilizing families in crisis. He previously served on the board of directors of Ardent Mills, LLC, the nation’s largest wheat miller, as chairman of the marketing advisory committee at the Propane Education Research Council, and as president of the Vision Board for Hosanna Church, one of the largest churches in the Twin Cities metro area.

Mary Kaul-Hottinger is executive vice president, chief human resources officer, for Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥, a leading global agribusiness and the largest farmer-owned cooperative in the United States.

In her role, Kaul-Hottinger is responsible for setting direction and strategy to help Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ achieve key priorities with a focus on helping the organization attract, develop and retain high-performing and diverse talent to drive business growth and the company’s strategies. She also has responsibility for the company’s community giving and employee volunteerism.

Kaul-Hottinger has more than 38 years of experience in human resources. She joined Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ in 2018 after serving 11 years at Ecolab as vice president, human resources for Ecolab’s global businesses where she and her team supported multiple business units with more than 30,000 employees in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. Prior to joining Ecolab in 2007, Mary served in human resource leadership roles supporting operating divisions at General Mills and Pillsbury. She also held human resources roles at Securian Financial, formerly Minnesota Life.

Kaul-Hottinger serves as the board co-chair of Together We Grow, a consortium of major agribusiness and food interests building the workforce of tomorrow. She is also a member of the board of directors for the Greater Twin Cities United Way. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minn.

Olivia Nelligan is executive vice president, chief financial officer and chief strategy officer of Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥., a leading global agribusiness and the largest farmer-owned cooperative in the United States. She is responsible for all finance and strategic planning activities across Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥.

Nelligan serves on the board of directors for Ardent Mills, a strategic joint venture of Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ and a leading flour milling and food ingredient manufacturer. She also serves on the board of directors for Cooperative Ventures, a Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ joint venture and corporate venture capital fund joint that focuses on innovative solutions and emerging technologies that positively impact farming.

Nelligan has more than 20 years of experience as a global finance and commercial business leader with expertise leading transformation and delivering sustainable, profitable growth.

Before joining Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥, she held executive positions in multiple organizations. Her past experience includes serving as chief executive officer of Nasco, LLC, a private equity-owned company. She spent more than a decade with Kerry Group plc, having served as global chief financial and strategic planning officer of its Taste and Nutrition division.

Nelligan holds a bachelor's degree in civil law and a higher diploma in business and financial information systems from University College Cork, Ireland, and a master of business administration from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is a fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland and an associate member of the Institute of Taxation in Ireland.

Nelligan serves on the board of directors of Northern Star Scouting, a not-for-profit youth development organization in the Twin Cities.

Brandon Smith is executive vice president and general counsel for Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥, the nation’s leading farmer-owned cooperative and a global energy, grains and foods business. In his role, he provides counsel to Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ leadership and the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Board of Directors on issues related to company strategy and its execution, corporate governance, government affairs, and compliance with laws and regulations, including the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ global compliance program. He also works with the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ corporate finance team to ensure the company maintains the processes and infrastructure that support robust Securities and Exchange Commission reporting and compliance, disclosure and investor communications. Smith also oversees the company’s corporate security, internal audit and enterprise risk management functions.

Smith joined Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ in 2021 after serving as senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary at Tenneco Inc., a multinational industrial company based in Lake Forest, Ill. Prior to joining Tenneco in 2008, Smith was an attorney with Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Chicago, Ill., providing counsel on corporate issues, mergers and acquisitions.

Smith earned a juris doctor degree from Cornell Law School, Ithaca, N.Y., and a bachelor’s degree in business management from Hiram College in Hiram, Ohio. He is an active community volunteer, including serving as a board member for The 100 Club of Minnesota, which supports families of first responders.

Cortney Wagner was elected to the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Board of Directors in 2020. She is vice chair of the board’s Corporate Risk Committee and a member of the Government Relations Committee.

Wagner serves on the board for the Montana Council of Cooperatives. She holds a real estate license and previously served as a trust associate at 1st National Bank and Trust Company. 

She earned an associate of arts degree from Williston State College and attended the University of North Dakota, majoring in business finance and psychology. She has completed the National Association of Corporate Directors comprehensive Director Professionalism course. 

Wagner’s family has experience in farming and cooperative management dating back to 1939. She is a first-generation cattle and hay producer based near Hardin, Mont.  

Contact Cortney Wagner

Tony Rossman was elected to the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Board of Directors in 2023. He is a member of the Audit Committee and the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Foundation Board of Trustees.

Rossman is a member of Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ as a customer of the retail operation based in Rochester, Minn., and served as producer board president for nine years. He is active in emerging technology and sustainability initiatives for production agriculture and is a member of state corn and soybean growers associations and local and county organizations supporting 4-H and FFA.

Rossman earned a bachelor’s degree in animal science from North Dakota State University and is a graduate of the Minnesota Agriculture and Rural Leadership program.

He operates and manages a diversified crop and livestock operation near Oronoco, Minn., and establishes and manages genetic alliances in the beef industry.

Kevin Throener was elected to the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Board of Directors in 2019. He serves as chair of the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Foundation Board of Trustees and is a member of the Audit Committee.  

Throener has served as a director of Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Dakota Plains Ag since 2014 and has been a member of Full Circle Ag, James Valley Grain and Agtegra.

He is active in the North Dakota Farmers Union and has served as vice president of Sargent County Farmers Union since 2007. Thoener is an active member of the North Dakota Stockmen’s Association, a volunteer firefighter and a church council member.  

Throener attended North Dakota State University and majored in agricultural systems management. 

A first-generation farmer, Throener and his wife, Ronda, and family raise corn, soybeans, alfalfa and Red Angus cattle near Cogswell, N.D.

Contact Kevin Throener

Dan Schurr joined the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Board of Directors in 2006 and serves as chair of the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Board and the board’s Executive Committee. He previously served as secretary-treasurer and first vice chair of the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Board.  

Schurr is on the board for Blackhawk Bank and Trust, serving on its audit and loan committees. He is past chair and board member of the Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area and past director of the River Valley Cooperative of Mt. Joy, Iowa, and Great River Bank. He is active in numerous agriculture and community organizations and was named the Iowa Jaycees Outstanding Young Farmer in 2004. 

Schurr holds a bachelor’s degree in agricultural business with a minor in economics from Iowa State University. He completed the National Association of Corporate Directors comprehensive Director Professionalism course, receiving its Certificate of Director Education and Board Leadership Fellow status.  

He raises corn and soybeans near LeClaire, Iowa, and operates a commercial trucking business. 

Contact Dan Schurr

Scott Cordes was elected to the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Board of Directors in 2017. He serves as second vice chair of the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Board and on the board’s Executive Committee. He is a member of the Corporate Risk and Governance committees and previously served as first vice chair of the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Board and vice chair or the Corporate Risk Committee.

Cordes was president of Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Hedging, LLC, and served on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ag advisory committee. He serves on the board of Security State Bank of Wanamingo and previously was a director for Cooperative Network, the Minneapolis Grain Exchange and National Futures Association. Cordes is a member of several cooperatives, including Ag Partners, Goodhue, Minn.; CFS (Central Farm Service), Owatonna, Minn.; Farmers Co-op Oil Company, Echo, Minn.; and Goodhue County Cooperative Electric Association. 

Cordes holds a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and has completed the Graduate Institute of Cooperative Leadership at the University of Missouri-Columbia.  

Cordes co-owns and operates a corn and soybean farm near Wanamingo, Minn.

Contact Scott Cordes

C.J. Blew was elected to the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Board of Directors in 2010 and currently serves as first vice chair of the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Board and on the board’s Executive Committee. He is a member of the board’s Governance and Corporate Risk committees. Blew previously served as first and second vice chair of the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Board and was a member of the Capital Committee and the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Resolutions Committee.

Previously, Blew served on the Mid-Kansas Coop (MKC) board of directors in Moundridge, Kan. He is a member of the Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College Ag Advisory Board, Kansas Livestock Association, Texas Cattle Feeders Association and Red Angus Association of America. 

Blew holds an applied science degree in farm and ranch management from Hutchinson Community College. He has achieved Board Governance Fellowship status from the National Association of Corporate Directors. 

Blew farms and ranches in a family partnership in south-central Kansas. 

Contact C.J. Blew

Russ Kehl was elected to the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Board of Directors in 2017 and serves as secretary-treasurer of the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Board and on the board’s Executive Committee. Kehl is vice chair of the board’s Governance Committee and a member of the board’s Capital Committee. He has been vice chair of the Capital Committee. He previously was a member of the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Resolutions Committee.

Most recently, Kehl served as a director for Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ SunBasin Growers, Quincy, Wash. He had been a director since 2004 for Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Connell Grain, which merged with Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Sun Basin in 2017 to create Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ SunBasin Growers. He also been vice chair of the Columbia Basin Seed Association. 

Kehl has participated in numerous leadership programs, including opportunities provided through Northwest Farm Credit Services, the National Potato Council and the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ new leaders program. He earned his National Association of Corporate Directors Governance Fellowship in 2019.  

Kehl and his wife raise a variety of crops, including potatoes and dry beans. The Kehl family owns and operates a cow-calf herd, a dry bean processing facility, a custom farming business and a trucking and logistics company. 

Contact Russ Kehl

Alan Holm was elected to the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Board of Directors in 2013. He serves as assistant secretary-treasurer of the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Board and on the board’s Executive Committee. Holm chairs the board’s Capital Committee and is vice chair of the Government Relations Committee. Previously, he chaired the Government Relations Committee and was a member of the Corporate Risk Committee. Holm has been a member and chair of the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Resolutions Committee.

Holm is a member of the board of the Citizens Bank of Minnesota and a past member of the River Region Co-op Board, where he served for 21 years, with 12 years as chair. Holm also chaired the Southern Minnesota Co-op Directors Association and was secretary of the Minnesota State Co-op Directors Association. He has held leadership positions with the Brown County Farm Service Agency, AgStar Financial Services Advisory Board and Renville Co-op Transport. He has participated in numerous cooperative and agriculture educational programs, along with being an active coach and leader in youth baseball and softball programs.

Holm holds an associate degree in machine tool technology from Mankato (Minn.) Technical College and has completed the Director Professionalism course through the National Association of Corporate Directors.

Holm partners with his daughter and son-in-law to raise corn, soybeans, sweet corn, peas and hay on their farm near Sleepy Eye, Minn., which has been in his family since 1870. Holm also owns and manages a beef cow-calf operation.  

Contact Alan Holm

David Beckman was elected to the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Board of Directors in 2018. He is chair of the Audit Committee and a member of the Capital Committee. Beckman previously served as vice chair of the Audit Committee and was a member of the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Resolutions Committee in 2017 and 2018.

Beckman is a former secretary of the Nebraska Cooperative Council and former board chair for Central Valley Ag Cooperative, York, Neb. Previously, he also chaired Central Farmers Cooperative, O'Neill, Neb., and Farmers Cooperative Exchange, Elgin, Neb. 

Beckman earned a bachelor's degree in agronomy from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. 

With his wife, sons and brother and their families, Beckman raises irrigated corn and soybeans and operates a custom hog-feeding operation near Elgin, Neb.  

Contact David Beckman

Hal Clemensen was elected to the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Board of Directors in 2019. He chairs the Government Relations Committee and is vice chair of the Capital Committee. Previously, he was vice chair of the Government Relations Committee and a member of the Corporate Risk Committee.

Clemensen is a former member of the Agtegra Cooperative board, which formed when South Dakota Wheat Growers and North Central Farmers Elevator merged in 2018. Prior to the merger, he held several leadership roles with the Wheat Growers Cooperative. Clemensen has also served as a director of the South Dakota Value Added Agriculture Development Center, South Dakota Soybean Association and Redfield Farmers Union Oil Company. In 2015, Clemensen was named Farm Cooperative Director of the Year by the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives (NCFC). 

Clemensen has been active with the South Dakota Soybean Association and South Dakota Corn Growers. He serves on the board of trustees for Presentation College and has served on the Avera Rural Cancer Advisory Board and on his church board of directors. He’s a previous member of the local Lions Club. 

Clemensen graduated from South Dakota State University with a degree in agricultural economics and agricultural business. 

He and his wife raise corn, soybeans and occasionally wheat in Brown and Spink counties in South Dakota. 

Contact Hal Clemensen

Jon Erickson was elected to the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Board of Directors in 2011. He serves on the board’s Audit and Corporate Risk committees. Erickson previously was second vice chair of the board, chaired the Capital Committee and served on the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Resolutions Committee.

Erickson is an advisory board member for the Quentin Burdick Center for Cooperatives, a board member of the State Historical Society of North Dakota Foundation and a council member for Rural Leadership North Dakota. He is a member of North Dakota Farmers Union and the North Dakota Stockmen’s Association. He previously served as director and chair of Enerbase of Minot, N.D. He is a past director on the North Dakota Farmers Union (NDFU) board, the NDFU Mutual Insurance board and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board. He is the third generation of his family to serve in a cooperative leadership role. 

Erickson holds a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics from North Dakota State University. He has completed course work and been designated a Board Leadership Fellow by the National Association of Corporate Directors. 

Erickson operates the third-generation Diamond T Ranch southwest of Minot, N.D., where his family raises small grains and oilseeds and has a commercial Hereford-Angus cow-calf operation.

Contact Jon Erickson

Mark Farrell was elected to the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Board of Directors in 2016. He is vice chair of the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Foundation Board of Trustees and a member of the board’s Governance Committee.

Farrell served as a director and president of the Premier Cooperative board, Mount Horeb, Wis., and as a director for Mount Horeb Farmers Co-op. He was the president of that board when Mount Horeb merged with Patrons’ Mercantile Cooperative to form Premier Cooperative. Farrell also was a director of United Ethanol.

Farrell graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison College Ag and Life Sciences short course in 1978.  

Farrell operates a corn and soybean farm in Dane County, Wis., with his brother and son. 

Contact Mark Farrell

Trent Sherven was elected to the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Board of Directors in 2024. He is a member of the board’s Audit Committee and Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Foundation Board of Trustees. Previously, he served on the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Resolutions Committee for three years, including one year as chair.

Sherven serves as secretary on the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ SunPrairie producer board and is a former board member of the Ward County Farmers Union. He is a member of the North Dakota Farmers Union and North Dakota Cooperative Directors’ Association.

Sherven is a former teacher, athletic director and principal and has served on local school boards and on township and county boards and committees.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in math education from Minot State University and a master’s degree in educational leadership from Arizona State University.

Sherven operates family farms near Ryder and Souris, N.D., producing canola, durum, peas, soybeans, spring wheat and winter wheat.

Chris Edgington was elected to the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Board of Directors in 2024. He is a member of the board’s Government Relations and Capital committees.

Edgington is a member of Nexus Co-op. He is chair of Rural Development Partners, former president of the National Corn Growers Association, former president of the Iowa Corn Promotion Board and former chair of Golden Oval Eggs. He is also a member of state and national corn and soybean associations, has been a board member for Ag Ventures Alliance and is past president of county pork producers and Extension organizations.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in animal science from Iowa State University and is a graduate of Iowa Corn I-Lead.

Edgington and his family operate a 3,000-acre multigenerational farm in Mitchell and Worth counties in north-central Iowa. They raise primarily corn and soybeans and have a custom cattle-feeding operation.

Tracy Jones was elected to the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Board of Directors in 2017 and serves as chair of the board’s Governance Committee and a member of the Capital Committee. He previously served as vice chair of the Capital Committee.

Jones served as a Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Elburn (Ill.) board member from 1996 to 2018 and before that on the Elburn Co-op Board, including terms as chair from 1999 to 2001 and from 2011 to 2016. He has also served on the DeKalb County Board, including three years as vice chair, and on the DeKalb County E-911 Board. He has been a board member for DeKalb County Farm Bureau, DeKalb Kane Cattlemen’s Association, DeKalb County Corn Growers and Sycamore Fire Protection District. And he has served as a township trustee and township clerk. 

Jones was named a Prairie Farmer Master Farmer in 2017. 

Jones earned an associate degree in farm management from Kishwaukee College, Malta, Ill., and is a 2006 graduate of the Illinois Agricultural Leadership Foundation program.  

Jones operates a fourth-generation family farm near Kirkland, Ill., that produces corn, soybeans and wheat and feeds cattle. 

Contact Tracy Jones

David Kayser was elected to the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Board of Directors in 2006. He chairs the Corporate Risk Committee and is a member of the Governance Committee. He previously served as chair of the Board of Trustees of the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Foundation and was a member of the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Resolutions Committee.  

Kayser chairs the Mitchell (S.D.) Technical College Foundation Board. He previously served as a director and chair of Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Farmers Alliance, Mitchell, S.D., and chair of the South Dakota Association of Cooperatives. 

Kayser has completed the National Association of Corporate Directors comprehensive Director Professionalism course and has received its Certificate of Director Education. 

Kayser raises corn, soybeans and hay near Alexandria, S.D., and operates a cow-calf and feeder-calf business. 

Contact David Kayser