Kellee James | VP of Agriculture North America | Argus Media
Kellee James is the Founder and CEO of Argus Media, a start-up company that provides a market information service and online trading platform for organic and non-GMO crops and ingredients. Kellee currently serves on the Board of Oregon Tilth. Kellee has an interest and experience in values-driven entrepreneurship, finance, and governance issues.
Michael Langemeier | Associate Director | Center for Commercial Agriculture & Professor | Dept. of Agriculture Economics, Purdue University
Michael is the Director of Cropping Systems for the Center for Commercial Agriculture in the Department of Agricultural Economics Department at Purdue University. Michael’s extension and research interests include agricultural finance and cost of production. He participates in an international cost of production benchmarking network that compares corn, soybean, and wheat breakeven prices across countries. Michael has written numerous articles pertaining to financial analysis, crop budgets, leasing principles, cash rents, land values, and transition planning. In addition to his extension and research work, Michael has taught courses in agricultural finance, economic theory, farm management, risk management, and tax planning.
Chuck Nicholson | Associate Professor | University of Wisconsin, Madison
Dr. Chuck Nicholson is an agricultural economist at the University of Wisconsin—Madison. He has more than 25 years of experience analyzing markets, policy, and supply chains for the US and global dairy industries. He also coordinates the National Program on Dairy Markets and Policy, a collaboration of US universities.
John Berge | Deputy Administrator for Farm Programs | USDA
John Berge was appointed by the Biden Administration to serve as the State Executive Director of the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) in Nebraska in December 2021. Since March of 2023, he has served as the Acting Deputy Administrator of Farm Programs (DAFP) at FSA. Berge is a western Nebraska native who grew up on a corn and wheat farm north of Lisco, Nebraska.
In 2009, Berge was appointed as White House Liaison to USDA by President Obama where he was the principal liaison between the Executive Office of the President and the Office of the Secretary of Agriculture. He was later appointed as Deputy and Acting Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations and was a member of the Sub-Cabinet and Senior Policy Group. Berge also served as the Deputy Administrator for Field Operations with FSA, and as Executive Director of the National Food and Agriculture Council. Prior to his appointment, Berge served as General Manager of the North Platte Natural Resources District. Earlier in his career, he served as Executive Director of the Western Nebraska Community College Foundation and has also served on the staffs of U.S. Senators Jim Exon, Bob Kerrey, and Ben Nelson. Berge has served in many leadership roles for the Platte Basin Coalition, Nebraska Water Resources Association, US Global Leadership Coalition, and the Nebraska Conservation Roundtable. He was also involved in local and regional water management projects and served on the local Chamber of Commerce.
He is a graduate of the University of Nebraska-Omaha, holds a Certificate in Climate Change and Energy from the Harvard Kennedy School, and is completing a Master of Applied Science in environmental studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Berge and his wife Kerri and their son and daughter live in Lincoln, Nebraska. He enjoys hiking, camping, and fishing.
Dan DeSutter | Farmer | DeSutter Farms
Dan DeSutter farms in west central Indiana with his wife and three sons. After working as a financial analyst then as a commodity broker, Dan returned to the farm in 1991 due to a family illness. Having been transitioned to ridge-till by his father in 1983, the farm’s regenerative journey accelerated as the farm was transitioned to no-till in 1992, began using cover crops in the late 1990’s, started grazing in 2000 and is now certified organic.
In 2012, Dan was selected as the National No-Till Innovator of the Year. In 2015, he earned an Eisenhower Fellowship to study the cultural, social and economic factors that cause producers to adopt good soil health practices. The DeSutter farm hosts groups from around the world interested in learning more about regenerative agriculture.