Ag Day 2021
Building for the Success of Agriculture
Why attend?
The Latest Market Trends
Discover new developments in agriculture, and gain insight on the latest industry trends and best practices
Keynote Address
Hear Dr. David Kohl speak about the latest economic forecasts for the agriculture market
Get Your Questions Answered
Ask your questions live to industry and Moody's Analytics experts during each panel throughout the event
Featured Keynote
Economic Outlook on the Ag Industry & 5 Strategies to Take Home
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Ron has a 40 year farming career in East Central South Dakota. He is now retired but still active on the family farm. Ron is a founding member (1987) and past president of the South Dakota Corn Grower's Association, and past Board member of the National Corn Grower's Association. He is also a founder and current Board Member of Lake Area Corn Processors LLC (Dakota Ethanol), a 90 million gallon per year ethanol production plant at Wentworth, SD, where he is involved with low carbon pathway applications for low carbon fuel markets.
Ron currently serves as Treasurer of the American Coalition for Ethanol’s Board of Directors. He is also currently participating in a group that is exploring the potential enactment of a Mid-West based Low Carbon Fuel Standard.
Ron's past honors include South Dakota State University “Distinguished Alumni” and Renewable Fuels Association “Industry” award. Ron holds a BS degree in Agronomy/Soil Science from SDSU.
Doug Johnson is a Director at Moody's Analytics specializing in Agriculture and has been with Moody's Analytics for over 25 years. Doug has worked with Ag lenders all across the United States and Canada, and is a frequent presenter on Agricultural topics via webinars, speaking at numerous state, regional and national Ag conferences, graduate schools of banking, and leads the charge on new Ag functionality within our solution to help serve our Agricultural customer base. His strong passion for Agricultural awareness stems from growing up on his fourth-generation Family Farm coupled with his teaching education background. Doug has first-hand experience with the cyclical and volatile nature of the Ag markets, which enables him to pull from his background and provide a valuable perspective while working with lenders and producers across the country.
Joseph Kessie serves as Senior Vice President, Commercial South Regional Manager at Lake City Bank. He also manages the entire Agribusiness Loan Portfolio. He started his career in financial services in 1983 and joined Lake City Bank in 1997.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in agriculture finance at Purdue University and his master’s degree in business administration at Indiana Wesleyan University. He is also a graduate of the Colorado Graduate School of Banking.
Kessie served as 2017-18 chair of the ABA Agricultural and Rural Bankers Committee and is also on the Executive Board of The Farm Financial Standards Council. Other past and current leadership roles include chairman and treasurer of the Whitley County Economic Development Corp.; director of Parkview Whitley Hospital; director of Indiana Grain Indemnity Corp.; President of the Huntington University Agricultural Studies Advisory Board; and director of the Whitley County Community Foundation. Additionally, Kessie has been active with 4-H, Future Farmers of America, Pork Producers, Beef Producers and Indiana Young Farmers, among other organizations. He is also a former instructor for the Midwest Agricultural Banking School and past chairman of both the Indiana Bankers Association Agricultural Committee and the Indiana Society of Ag Bankers. In 1995, Kessie received the Swackhamer Outstanding Agri-Banker Award presented by the Indiana Bankers Association.
Bill Kitsch is Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Revenue Officer at Ephrata National Bank. Bill is the senior leader responsible to promote the bank’s organic growth and meet its strategic goals and initiatives. In his current position, Bill leads the commercial, small business, consumer, and agricultural lending groups of a $2B asset bank in central PA. Bill also leads the bank’s wealth management division which consists of a trust company with $1B in assets under management.
As a project executive with Temple’s Fox MC, Bill coaches MBA students through practical research and strategic development projects. These projects have been completed on behalf of non-profits, CDFIs, economic development corporations, urban farms, and notably the PA Department of Agriculture.
Bill holds a B.S. in Agricultural Business from Delaware Valley University and a Master’s in Business Administration from Millersville University. Bill is 2012 graduate of the ABA Stonier Graduate School of Banking.
Dr. Dave Kohl is an academic Hall of Famer in the College of Agriculture at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA. Dr. Kohl has keen insight into the agriculture industry gained through extensive travel, research, and involvement in ag businesses. He has traveled nearly 10 million miles; conducted more than 7,000 presentations; and published more than 2,500 articles in his career. Dr. Kohl’s wisdom and engagement with all levels of the industry provide a unique perspective into future trends.
Dan is a 5th-generation, Illinois farmer who was raised on a small 200-acre dairy farm where they milked over 60 cows and raised farrow to finish hogs. From the time he was 7 years old, he was up for the 5 am milking and home after school milking beside his dad full time.
Dan graduated early from high school to work for his dad milking cows and farming. When he was 27, their dairy barn burned down. They made the decision not to rebuild. Instead, they raised dairy heifers and farmed their small acreage. Dan picked up a few small farms and continued to grow eventually saving enough money to buy challenging, low productivity, sandy farms that no one else wanted. Dan began learning that these sandy farms could be planted early and with the addition of irrigation combined with high management those acres could out-yield my “good” ground.
Dan has entered and placed in the top three in multiple regional contests and has continued to push his limits. In the past four years, he has placed first in the Illinois NCGA Irrigated Division with 327.5 bushels, his highest entry.
Kevin and his wife own and operate Matthews Family Farms of North Carolina, Inc., Precision Nutrient Management, Inc., and Deep Creek Grain, Inc. in East Bend and Yadkinville N.C. Prior to farming full-time, he earned an Associate Degree in Electronic Engineering, which has been a huge asset in his farming operation.
Kevin spends a tremendous amount of time implementing and testing new technologies and test plots with a focus on no-till conservation and irrigation management. These practices have blessed Matthews Family Farms of NC, Inc. with numerous high yield awards and state records in corn and soybeans from no-till dryland to irrigated crops. His success with irrigation began with center pivots early on, and now with many acres of subsurface drip “SDI” irrigation. The SDI success along with non-irrigated no-till yields has created many opportunities to teach others through speaking engagements all over the country. From small to large field day groups, multiple presentations at the Commodity Classic, and the Ag PhD Field Day along with onsite test plots in Baltic S.D.,
Sam Miller is Managing Director of Agriculture Banking at BMO Harris Bank. Sam manages and leads production agriculture and agribusiness-related banking activities. Sam has over 37 years of agricultural banking experience, the past 33 at BMO Harris Bank.
Being passionate about the agricultural industry, Sam has served on many boards including the Wisconsin Dairy 2020 Council, Wisconsin Bankers Advanced Agricultural Banking School, American Bankers Association-Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, Wisconsin Agricultural and Life Sciences Alumni Association, Dairy Business Innovation Center and the FaB Wisconsin Food and Beverage Leadership Council. He is also on the faculty of the National School for Beginning and Experienced Ag Bankers.
In September 2013, Sam was awarded the Bruning Award by the American Bankers Association for Rural and Agriculture Banking for his leadership and outstanding dedication to providing credit and financial guidance to farmers, ranchers, and businesses in rural America. In October 2012, Sam was recognized by the Wisconsin Agricultural and Life Sciences Alumni Association (WALSAA) as one of 40 honorees who have a common commitment to agriculture, life sciences and paving the way for future generations.
He also writes a monthly Agrivision column for the Wisconsin Agriculturist magazine, speaks at many agricultural conferences, and has been quoted by the Wall Street Journal as well as other news outlets about ag industry updates. Sam holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Wisconsin- Madison and an MBA from the University of Wisconsin- Oshkosh.
Masha leads a team of subject matter experts responsible for solution structuring for allowance calculation, stress testing, capital planning, credit risk management, and insurance risk management. Her primary focus is on banks, credit unions, and insurance companies.
Masha spent over 16 years in the financial industry in the U.S. in various roles, including audit, technical accounting policy, financial reporting. Earlier in her career, Ms.Muzyka led the solution consulting team at SS&C Primatics and focused on technical accounting policy at Freddie Mac and FHLB OF. Masha holds a Bachelor of Economics degree from the Moscow State University; is a CPA licensed in VA, and is a member of AICPA.
Lynn Paulson is senior vice president and director of agribusiness development for Bell Bank. He often speaks to financial, commodity and other farm groups on agricultural lending and finance, the global economy and the ag economy. He has audiences fully engaged as he discusses timely issues like the difficulties farmers, lenders and others face in the aftermath of super-cycle prosperity.
Financing farm operations and businesses for more than 35 years as well as simultaneously owning and operating a family farm in Benson County, N.D., have given Paulson a unique perspective on the agricultural sector’s challenges and opportunities. Additionally, he works with and assists a number of correspondent banking partners and agricultural operations and businesses across several Midwestern states.
Dr. David Kohl, an author and nationally known speaker on the economics of farming and agribusiness, endorses Lynn as a respected and knowledgeable authority in agricultural lending and finance.
“Lynn Paulson is an experienced banking practitioner who can relate to a wide range of audiences, including agricultural lenders, producers and agribusiness owners, in a practical manner,” Kohl says. “Lynn is an articulate speaker who is very appropriate for the challenging and changing times.”
Paulson’s experience in banking and financial operations includes starting a new bank and later merging four banks and three holding companies into one company that grew to $600 million before he joined Bell Bank. He also writes a quarterly publication on agricultural issues called AgViews.
Paulson is a past member of the American Bankers Association Agricultural and Rural Bankers Committee and other financial boards.