2015 Commodities Conference Speaker Biographies
General Session Speakers:
Dave Alwan: Dave is the co-founder of Echo Valley Meats Inc. in Bartonville, Illinois. A third
generation family member in a family-owned meat business, Dave left the family business to
found Echo Valley Meats in 1998 with his wife, Dawn. In 2003, he purchased his first farm to
raise Angus Cattle. Dave traveled to Germany and Denmark, completing a 3-year
apprenticeship in six months. During his apprenticeship, he learned the art of making smoked
hams and sausages. Dave also traveled to Los Angles, California where he pitched his business
concept on ABC’s Shark Tank. He did not receive a deal but online sales increased 600%, and
Dave was recruited to speak to colleges, universities, corporations and organizations across
the country. In 2014, he was invited back to Shark Tank. His second pitch resulted in a deal
with Mark Cuban, a billionaire investor. Dave received many awards as Echo Valley grew from
an “Old Fashion Style” retail meat market wholesale products, mail-order gifts, a
fundraising, and gourmet catering.
Mary Shelman: Mary is currently the director of Harvard Business School’s Agribusiness
Program. She is the author of 60+ case studies on food and agriculture. She has been
published in Harvard Business Review, Market Leader, and the International Food and
Agribusiness Management Review, and teaches in graduate and executive courses around the
world. She serves on the advisory boards of the African Agribusiness Consortium, the
International European Forum on System Dynamics and Innovation in Food Networks, and the
International Food and Agribusiness Management Association (IFAMA) where she is the
immediate past president. Additionally, Mary selectively works with companies and
governments as a board member and strategic advisor, helping organizations identify their
unique purpose and generate growth. Previously she was a chairman of the Board of Ricetec,
Inc, and currently sits on the boards of Cook Simple and Fractal Antenna Systems. She also
advises the Irish government on the future direction of the Irish food industry. A native of
Kentucky where she still owns a farm, Mary holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical
Engineering from the University of Kentucky and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Workshop Speakers:
Dale Aupperle: Dale founded Heartland Ag Group in 1993 to offer agricultural expertise to
clients across Central Illinois. Heartland Ag Group has quickly grown to become a premier
provider of specialized services, information and agricultural knowledge. Dale's experience in
agriculture started on the family grain and livestock farm in McLean County, Illinois. He is
nationally recognized in the farm management and rural appraisal professions. He was
awarded the titles Accredited Farm Manager in 1977 and Accredited Rural Appraiser in 1978.
Dale is the youngest person in society history to be dually designated.
Lee Clair: Lee is a partner at Zubrod/Clair & Co. He received his Bachelor of Science degree,
double majoring in Finance and Transportation/Logistics from the University of Maryland. He
received his M.B.A. from the Graduate School of Business at the University of Minnesota. He
completed the Stanford Law School Board Governance Program. He is a member of the
Northwestern University Transportation Center Business Advisory Council. Lee has experience
assisting clients in the transportation and logistics industries, as well as the energy and mining
sectors. Before becoming a partner at Zubrod/Clair & Co. he held positions at several
management consulting firms.
Rachel Cook: Rachel is an Assistant Professor of Plant, Soil and Agricultural Systems at
Southern Illinois University. She grew up on a small cattle farm in Southern Illinois. She
received her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Saint Louis University, her Masters of
Science degree in Natural Resources from North Caroline State University, and her Ph.D. in
Forestry and Environmental Resources from North Carolina State University. She is interested
in sustainable soil management in agricultural systems. She would like to explore the effects
of cover crops, conservation tillage, crop rotations and fertilizer treatments on soil carbon
and nitrogen. She is also interested in small-scale urban agriculture.
John Hill: John is the Vice-President of eGrain, Inc., and creator of JDH Analytics. In 2001, he
received his Bachelor’s degree in finance from Bradley University. After graduation, he wrote
agricultural market commentaries published by the Exchange for the Chicago Board of Trade.
Then, he moved to the Registrar’s Office. Also, he transitioned into commodity derivatives
trading, where he managed a cash portfolio, trading futures and options on grains and
oilseeds at the Chicago Board of Trade, Kansas City Board of Trade and Minneapolis Grain
Exchange. He became an economist for the CME Group’s Commodity Research and Product
Development Department while attending graduate school at Loyola University
Kay Johnson Smith: Kay is currently the President and CEO of Animal Agriculture Alliance,
having served as Executive Director since 1994. She has worked professionally with agriculture
promotion and education for more than twenty-five years. She serves as the industry liaison
to USDA on farm animal welfare matters and coordinates U.S. agriculture input to
international farm animal welfare initiativesat the World Health Organization and the United
Nations Food and Agriculture. Kay serves on the Virginia Board of Agriculture and Consumer
Services and is a member of numerous national coalitions.
Keith Mellert:
Ron Milby: Ron is the executive director of Agronomy Marketing at GROWMARK, Inc. He
focuses on developing and delivering leading-edge precision ag information services, large
progressive grower strategies and tactics, and strategic marketing. He has been associated
with US production agriculture his entire career. After farming in the early 1980s, he returned
to academia in the mid-80s and obtained a degree in computer electronics and computer
science. He joined GROWMARK in 1987 and over the next decade was instrumental in bringing
Precision Farming management practices to the GROWMARK Systems. Ron led GROWMARK’s
Agronomy Marketing and Agronomy Services area in the late 1990s and the seed efforts from
2000 to 2013. He is a graduate of Lincoln College with a technology degree in computer
electronics.
Spence Parkinson: Spence is the Executive Director of Decision Innovation Solutions. He is
responsible for ensuring client satisfaction and managing the overall operations of the
business by seeking to understand clients’ data challenges, proposing potential solutions and
working with clients to enhance their decision making process. He earned a dual Bachelor’s of
Science degree in Accounting and Economics from Utah State University and an International
MBA in Food and Agribusiness from the Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester, England.
Before coming to Decision Innovation Solutions, he worked as a Research Analyst for the Iowa
Farm Bureau Federation.
Mark Russo: Mark is the Senior Weather Analyst at EarthRisk Technologies where he uses his
meteorological expertise to interpret streams of internal and external weather data. He
works within the meteorology team to develop forecasts for energy and agriculture markets.
Mark specializes in forecast applications that are unique to each customer and market. Prior
to joining EarthRisk, Mark co-founded and spent 10-years at Chesapeake Energy. Prior to
Chesapeake, Mark was a meteorologist with Citigroup/Smith Barney. Based in Chicago, Mark is
active in the American Meteorological Society. He has also advised the National Academies of
Science/National Research Council regarding NOAA weather and climate data and has given
numerous presentations to energy and agriculture associations.
Don Ryan: Don has been with the Illinois Department of Employment Security, IDES, for
eleven years assisting employers as a Business Services Manager and most recently as the
IllinoisJobLink.com statewide trailer. He graduated from St Mary’s University in 1981 with a
Bachelor’s Degree in Management and Marketing. Before working for the IDES Don worked in
the paper industry in positions ranging from Customer Service to Vice President of Sales.
Gary Schnitkey: Gary is a professor and farm management specialist in the Department of
Agricultural and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois. His activities focus on farm and
risk management. Raised on a grain and livestock farm in Ohio, he received a Bachelor of
Science degree from The Ohio State University and his Masters and Ph.D. from the University
of Illinois. Gary has been employed at the University of Illinois since 1993. He helps farmers
understand the risk and return tradeoffs of different crop insurance policies. His work
examines the issues impacting the profitability of grain farms including corn-soybean
rotations, machinery economics, and factors separating profitable from unprofitable farms.
Thomas Titus: Thomas is a sixth generation pig farmer in Logan County, Illinois. He and his father in
law manage Tri Pork, Inc.’s pork production. Their farm grows corn and soybeans and 12,000 pigs
annually. He also has 75 sows devoted to raising show/fair pigs for sale and exhibition. Thomas grew up
on a grain and pig farm in Douglas County, Illinois. He graduated from the University of Illinois where
he studied Education and Animal Sciences. He then spent six years working in the agricultural industry
before returning to his wife’s family farm in 2012.He is active with the National Pork Board, National
Pork Producers Council, Illinois Pork Producers Association, local civic organizations and FFA. He is a
graduate of the National Pork Producers Council’s Pork Leadership Institute. He and his wife, Breann,
have two young girls, Reagan and Lakin.
Jaco Van Der Westhuizen: Jaco is the CPS U.S. Seed Treatment Manager. He specializes in
seed treatments, marketing strategy design and planning, application equipment, trials and
testing, safety, stewardship and commercial farming. Previously he was a foreman on a
20,000 acre farm in Minnesota. He was also with Bayer CropScience, on the management
team that designed and implemented the On Demand System. The system won the AG
Innovation award in 2012. He has launched multiple proprietary equipment designs, one of
which was a large success supporting farmers in developing countries.
Cory Winstead: Cory is the Manager of AgriVisor, LLC a risk management firm owned by
GROWMARK Inc. and the Illinois Farm Bureau. He has a degree in Finance and passion for
markets and what moves them. Cory started with Agri-Visor in 2009 as a Risk Management
Specialist working farmers providing them with Risk Management solutions. He also advised
Crop Insurance companies on how to further protect what Federal Crop insurance does not
cover. He co-hosts a podcast called AgFanatics.