Edward Usset serves as a Grain Marketing Economist for the Center for Farm Financial Management at the University of Minnesota, the developers of FINPACK software and a variety of educational programs. Working with his colleagues at CFFM and in extension, Ed developed the award winning “Winning the Game” series of workshops. In addition, he manages Commodity Challenge, an online marketing education game that uses real-time cash and futures data. He teaches "Commodity Markets" at the University. The 2nd Edition of his book, “Grain Marketing is Simple (it’s just not easy)” was released in November, 2015. He is also a regular columnist for Corn and Soybean Digest.

Eddie Connor is the Senior Vice President of Commercial Grain at RJO’Brien. He has spent the last four years with RJO helping customers manage agricultural and energy risk. Prior to his time at RJO, Eddie spent 26 years merchandising cash/managing risk for: Associated Feed and Supply in Turlock, California as the Merchandise Manager for Corn, Proteins, Farmland Food Division as the Risk Management Director of hog production input risk, Farmland Grain as the Commodity Grain Manager in wheat, corn, soybeans and sorghum, Farmland Grain merchandising Soybeans, and at Continental Grain Company.

Max Fisher is the Director of Economics and Government Relations for the National Grain and Feed Association. He joined NGFA in 2013 after serving as chief economist for the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, where he worked for Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan. While serving on the Senate staff, he provided comprehensive analyses of commodity, conservation, crop insurance and nutrition programs. At the NGFA, he provides economic analyses and policy input on a wide range of legislative and regulatory issues affecting the grain, feed, grain and oilseed processing, and export sectors, including agricultural policy; international trade; and transportation. When possible, he helps with his family’s grain, cotton and livestock farm in St. John, Kansas. He received his undergraduate degree in agricultural business from Kansas State University in 2002 and his master’s degree in agricultural economics from Texas A&M University.

Matt Hoesing, Farm Credit Services of America is a Regional Vice President with Farm Credit Services leading the teams in the O’Neill, NE, Norfolk, NE, and Sioux City, IA Office locations.  The Region consists of 21 counties in North Central and Northeast, Nebraska and 3 counties in Northwest, Iowa.  Farm Credit Services of America as a whole covers the 4 states of Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming.  Matt has been with the company for 17 years serving first as a Financial Officer for 13 years working directly with producers in Cuming, Madison, Boone, Antelope and Holt Counties, NE.  Matt then served as a Retail Commercial Lender specializing in the Beef Feedlot sector for 3 years covering the states of Nebraska, Wyoming, and South Dakota before taking over his current leadership role in 2018.  Matt is a Fordyce, NE native and received a Bachelor’s of Science in Agronomy with a Minor in Agribusiness from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln.  He and his wife Lacey currently reside in Norfolk, NE with their 4 children:  Triston, Hannah, Levi, and Aleah. 

Regional Vice President – Farm Credit Services of America. Ryan leads the retail teams in Grand Island, Kearney and Broken Bow, who serve customers in South Central Nebraska.  As a Regional Vice President, he works with others to lead the organizations’ business development and customer retention strategies with a strong emphasis on employee engagement and the customer experience. Ryan and his wife, Annette, live near Kearney, Nebraska with their three teenage sons.  He is a graduate of the University of Nebraska and has been with the Farm Credit Services of America for 22 years. 

Terry Krei, Farm Credit Services is a Retail Commercial Lender with Farm Credit Services of America and Frontier Farm Credit. Terry is a native of Coleridge Nebraska and received a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics from the University of Nebraska. He has over 35 years of lending experience with Farm Credit, completing various responsibilities while focusing on serving the financial needs of diversified producers in the Western Iowa and Northeast Nebraska area. Specializing in Grain production finance, Terry is in Sioux City IA, married and the father of two adult children.

Tom Dobbe, Regional Vice President, Farm Credit Services of America. Tom has over 40 years’ experience in agricultural credit and sales team leadership in Nebraska. Tom currently leads employees in the Southeast Nebraska Region with offices in Columbus, Lincoln, and Beatrice. This team covers 22 counties and serves customers there with lending volume of $1.4 Billion and 700,000 acres of crop insurance. Tom lives with his wife, Judy in Lincoln, Nebraska. Tom holds a BA in Business Administration/Economics from the University of Nebraska at Kearney. His interests outside of work include gourmet cooking, wine, travel, running marathons, camping, and mission trips to Honduras.

Dale is the Director of Specialty Grains for CVA. He started with CVA in December 2016 and works out of CVA’s office in Kearney, NE. CVA’s specialty grain department currently trades White Corn, Non-Gmo White Corn, Food Grade Yellow Corn and Non-Gmo Yellow Corn in Nebraska from the Missouri River west to Gothenburg, NE. Dale has been involved in the specialty grain business for the last 25 years. Prior to CVA, he works for DeBruce/Gavilon Grain as their Specialty Grains Manager for 14 years. Prior to DeBruce he worked for Cargill for 14 years, where he had various roles around Central Nebraska. Dale is a graduate of Kearney State College where he earned a degree in Agri-Business in 1987. Dale was raised on a farm in Central City, NE.

Jason D. Meyer developed his passion for agriculture growing up on his family’s diversified grain and livestock farm in NE Iowa. That passion was fostered further while attending Northwestern College where he earned a BA in Business Administration with an emphasis in Ag-Business and Finance along with a Minor in Economics.  Jason’s career in the grain business was launched at the Chicago Board of Trade where he spent time on the floor as a runner and a retail commodity broker. After a few years, he decided to get back to his agriculture roots and accepted a position at Advance Trading Inc. in Bloomington, IL where he was taught the basics of cash grain trading. He then put these new-found skills to use working as a Grain Originator in Dodge City Kansas.  The pull of the Midwest brought Jason to Beresford SD where he severed as the Coops Grain Merchandiser for 5 years before accepting a position as Grain Division Manager for Western Iowa Coop. After a coop merger, Jason decided to reevaluate his career goals and decided to take advantage of an opportunity with CVA coop where he could use his vast knowledge and experience along with an extensive network of grain industry professionals to work with producers on an individual level as a Grain Specialist. Jason and his wife live in Sioux City where they are raising their 3 young children. Jason is also privileged to serve as an advisory board member for the Regina Roth Applied Agricultural and Food Studies Program at Morningside College and as Vice-President of his HOA.

Kelby Vandenberg is a grain merchandiser for CVA. He has worked for CVA since the CVA/UFC merger in September of 2014. Prior to the merger, he began working for UFC in January of 2014. He has been responsible for trading rail corn, wheat, and milo in his time with UFC and CVA. He currently trades corn into the truck ethanol markets for CVA. Kelby is a graduate of Nebraska Wesleyan University where he earned his degree in Business Administration with a minor in Finance in December of 2013.

Ken Pilsl is a senior grain merchandiser for CVA Coop located in York, NE. Ken’s primary focus at CVA is merchandising yellow corn shuttle trains on the BNSF, UP, and CN railroads. In addition to trading rail corn, Ken also focuses on CVA’s corn hedge and spread accounts. Ken is also CVA’s milo merchandiser. Prior to CVA, Ken was the general manager for CPI Lansing LLC where he managed 2 BNSF shuttle loaders in Fairmont and Red Cloud, NE. The first 20 years of Ken’s career was spent at Bartlett Grain Company in Kansas City, Missouri where he primarily traded export yellow corn trains to Mexico. Ken has an Agribusiness degree from Kansas State University.