CEC 2024 SPEAKERS
check back for speaker updates
Keith Bangasser
Lead Business Analyst
Levridge
Digital Transformation: How Cloud-Based Platforms and Automation Are Transforming Grain and Feed Operations
Born and raised on a farm in southwestern Minnesota, Keith has spent a lifetime involved with agriculture. As a finance manager and consultant to over 150 farmers and agribusinesses early in his career, Keith was inspired by technology’s capabilities and the impact it could have on the ag industry. Keith founded AgriSystems North Inc., an ag accounting software that supported seed production and distribution companies across the upper Midwest, which merged with RDI Technologies. Keith led the team that developed Ascendent Grain, an accounting solution built on Microsoft Dynamics GP, and eventually became an original designer of Cinch. Today, Keith continues to revolutionize agribusiness operations as Lead Business Analyst at Levridge, a world-class, end-to-end accounting, operations, and grower relationship management solution built on the Microsoft Dynamics 365 platform.
Dec. 11 Breakout Session | 1:30 pm & 3:15 pm
Tyler Bottoms
AgVision
Digital Transformation: How Cloud-Based Platforms and Automation Are Transforming Grain and Feed Operations
Tyler Bottoms, General Manager, AgVision: Tyler Bottoms is a driven industry expert with more than 15 years’ experience in the quickly changing agriculture technology sector. As General Manager of AgVision, he works to expand and modernize their software solutions with an emphasis on client satisfaction. Previously, Bottoms was employed at Barchart for 14 years, starting as a Support Specialist and working up to Director of Client Services, overseeing Ag support as well as assisting with sales and product management, helping the company grow its ag clients to over 600.
Dec. 11 Breakout Session | 1:30 pm & 3:15 pm
John Coleman, CFA
Managing Director of Origination – Agriculture – North America
Munich Re Trading LLC
Elevate Your Knowledge: The Emerging Market for Weather, Crop Yield & Natural Catastrophe Derivatives
Meet Mr. Coleman, a seasoned expert in weather, crop-yield, and natural catastrophe derivatives for the agricultural industry with over a decade of diverse experience. Currently, Mr. Coleman serves as the Managing Director, Agricultural Origination at Munich Re Trading, a subsidiary of Munich Re, one of the world’s leading reinsurers. Previously, Mr. Coleman was Head of Business Development at Arbol, a FinTech firm specializing in climate risk solutions. Prior to that, he led structuring and origination at eWeatherRisk, aiding American farmers in mitigating protection gaps using weather derivatives.
Dec. 11 Breakout Session | 1:30 pm & 3:15 pm
Stephen Nicholson
Global Sector Strategist, Grains and Oilseeds
Rabo AgriFinance
RaboResearch Food & Agribusiness Group
2025 Ag Economy Outlook
Stephen Nicholson has more than forty years of experience in cash grain markets, hedging, commodity/ingredient procurement, commodity risk management and commodity analysis. A native of Iowa, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Farm Operations and Agricultural Education and a master’s degree in Agricultural Economics, both from Iowa State University. Nicholson joined Rabo AgriFinance in 2014 and was the Senior Grains and Oilseeds analyst for North America until being appointed Global Sector Strategist in 2022.
Prior to joining Rabo AgriFinance, Nicholson was Category Manager and Chief Economist with International Food Products, a trader and distributor of food ingredients. From 2001 to 2007, he was a Senior Economist with Doane Agricultural Services in St. Louis as the oilseed analyst. Nicholson also has nearly fifteen years of experience in the food and beverage industry. He has served as Senior Buyer at The Earthgrains Company, now part of Bimbo Bakeries USA, in St. Louis. From 1988 to 1997, he was the Senior Commodity Analyst in the Global Procurement and Trading Company at The Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta. While at Coca-Cola, he was involved in the creation of the first commodity risk management and governance policy framework for the company.
Dec. 11 General Session | 8:30 am
Rodrigo Rubio Sánchez
Executive Vice President of Sales
Ferromex
Operational Insights from Ferromex
Rodrigo has worked at Feromex (Grupo México Transportes) since 2013, and has held various roles including Commercial VP Metals, Minerals & Cements, Commercial VP Energy, Chemicals & Fertilizers, and Commercial Manager Oil & Gas. Earlier in his career, he worked at BASF, where he held roles such as Quality Control: Application Specialist and participated in the Technical Development Program.
Dec. 12 General Session | 9:30 am
Elise Schafer, Editor
Feed & Grain / WATT Global Media
Digital Transformation: How Cloud-Based Platforms and Automation Are Transforming Grain and Feed Operations
Elise Schafer is the editor of Feed & Grain and FeedandGrain.com. She has more than 15 years’ experience in B2B publishing, covering the feed, grain and allied processing industries. Under the WATT Global Media portfolio, Schafer contributes news, features, blogs, videos, and webinar and panel moderation for Feed & Grain, FeedMilloftheFuture.com and Feed Mill of the Future Conference.
Dec. 11 Breakout Session | 1:30 pm & 3:15 pm
Jeff Schriener
Senior Vice President, Global Collaboration
Cultura Technologies
45Z – Grown above ground energy incentives: How does it benefit you?
Jeff’s roots in rural Nebraska shaped his profound understanding of agriculture, instilling in him the core values of teamwork and dedication from an early age. Throughout his career, Jeff has held pivotal roles in leading companies within the agricultural sector, including serving as Chief Information Officer for Scoular and Ardent Mills, as well as assuming leadership positions at Conagra Foods. Notably, Jeff played a crucial role in the integration process during the historic merger of Horizon Milling and ConAgra Mills, orchestrating the seamless fusion of systems and processes that birthed Ardent Mills, the largest merger in flour milling history.
Driven by a passion for innovation and entrepreneurial spirit, Jeff founded RogerThat.com, a platform dedicated to facilitating seamless business interactions between bulk shippers and carriers. Additionally, he established Continuum Worldwide Corporation, a focused on operational risk management technology and compliance consultancy services.
Dec. 11 Breakout Session | 1:30 pm & 3:15 pm
Lacey Seibert
Head of Go To Market
Bushel
Digital Transformation: How Cloud-Based Platforms and Automation Are Transforming Grain and Feed Operations
Lacey Seibert brings 16 years of experience and deep expertise in the grain industry to her current role as Head of Go To Market at Bushel, where she unites product, marketing, sales, and customer experience teams to bring effective technology solutions to agribusinesses. She is also a trusted subject matter expert, collaborating across teams to ensure agribusinesses can adopt innovative solutions that simplify workflows and drive efficiency.
Before joining Bushel, she served as Vice President of Grain and Logistics, building origination programs for cooperatives across Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, and has worked with some of the largest grain cooperatives in the United States.
Lacey lives agriculture daily on her wheat and alfalfa farm near Stillwater, Oklahoma, with her husband Jim and their two children
Dec. 11 Breakout Session | 1:30 pm & 3:15 pm
Glenn Spencer
Senior Vice President, Employment Policy Division
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Loper Bright and the Pushback on the Regulatory State: Implications for the Grain, Feed, and Processing Industry
Glenn Spencer is the Senior Vice President of the Employment Policy Division at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. In this role, he oversees the Chamber’s work on immigration, retirement security, traditional labor relations, human trafficking, wage hour and worker safety issues, EEOC matters, and state labor and employment law. Before joining the Chamber in July 2007, Spencer spent six years at the U.S. Department of Labor in the Office of the Secretary, serving as the deputy chief of staff and then chief of staff to Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao.
Earlier in his career, Spencer was engaged in issue advocacy and grassroots lobbying for Citizens for a Sound Economy in Washington, D.C., and also worked as a senior analyst in the research departments of the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the Republican National Committee.
Dec. 12 General Session | 10:30 am
Dr. Reed Timmer
Extreme Meteorologist and Storm Chaser
Severe Weather Preparedness and the Future of Tornadoes
Dr. Reed Timmer is an extreme meteorologist and storm chaser who specializes in intercepting the most powerful storms on the planet to collect valuable scientific data. Graduating with a PhD in meteorology from the University of Oklahoma, Timmer is not only a hardcore storm chaser, but also a scientist driven to unravel the mysteries behind these destructive storms and how they are changing over time. With a life devoted completely to storm chasing and extreme field research, Dr. Timmer has intercepted nearly 1000 tornadoes and dozens of hurricanes over the last few decades and is one of the few people in history to document both an EF5 tornado and Category 5 hurricane. He considers the up-close chasing of tornadoes an artform that is perfected over decades of experience. The famous, tank-like storm chasing vehicles, called the Dominators, were invented by Timmer in 2009 for the purpose of recording data inside these most dangerous storms.
In addition to field science, Dr. Timmer also provides life-saving reports and content while storm chasing through both traditional and social media platforms. Presently, he is storm chasing for the National Geographic Channel and the RadarOmega application.
Dec. 11 General Session | 10:30 am
Ambassador Kip Tom
Farmer and (former) United States Ambassador to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Agencies and International Organizations
Trade, Geopolitics, and U.S. Agriculture’s Role
Kip Tom was raised and continues to live on the family farm in Indiana where his family settled in 1837. His family were farmers upon their arrival to the United States in the late 1600’s and Kip has been passionate about continuing this family legacy. Kip is the former United States Ambassador to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Agencies and International Organizations in Rome, Italy representing the United States globally. Prior to his service as Ambassador, he served in various roles in the family’s farms and agribusinesses involved in production operations in the US and Latin America, grain trading and processing and investing in agri-technologies. Kip has also been involved in global agriculture development and consulting. Today he is the Chairman of the Tom Family of agri-businesses Managing Member of GlobalAg LLC. Kip also serves on various corporate and NFP boards and as a strategic advisor to agriculture interest globally. Kip has innovation is in his blood, he seeks ways to adapt when needed and disrupt when possible. He has always been a trailblazer for American Agriculture and believes in the putting America first. Today, Kip serves as the Co-Chair of the Farmers and Ranchers for Trump 47.
Dec. 12 General Session | 8:30 am
Jim Wiesemeyer
Washington Policy Update
From his office near Washington, DC, Jim Wiesemeyer contributes daily to Pro Farmer’s online website at profarmer.com, providing members with the latest information on agricultural policy and trade developments. He also is a participant in Farm Journal’s Agri-Talk radio program, has his weekly Farm Journal podcast each Monday called Signal to Noise, and serves as a Washington analyst for Pro Farmer and Farm Journal.
Since 1978, Mr. Wiesemeyer has frequently reported on and interviewed senior government officials, including presidents, as well as USDA Secretaries since Earl Butz. He has traveled extensively in his assignments and is a frequent speaker on farm policy and trade issues. Wiesemeyer rejoined Pro Farmer in June of 2017, after serving as their Washington consultant for 19 years while at Informa Economics, and before that an employee of Pro Farmer, then owned by Oster Communications. Mr. Wiesemeyer also is one of the writers for the Agriculture Letter, formerly the Kiplinger Ag Letter, now owned by Farm Journal Media.
Dec. 11 General Session | 9:30 am