American AgCredit is directed and controlled by a 24-member Board of Directors. 20 directors are customers elected by customers. Four directors are appointed by the board.
JOE ALAMO
Chair
Term Expires: 2026
Committee(s): Executive
Mr. Alamo has been a partner in Alamo Dairy and Alamo Farms since 1997. He currently operates a dairy and farming operation, growing corn, winter forage, alfalfa, and almonds. He is the Turlock Irrigation District Director, the California Farm Water Coalition Director, and past president and current member of the Central Counties Dairy Herd Improvement Association. He is also active with Western United Dairies, the Stanislaus County Farm Bureau, and the Turlock Pentecost Association.
JASON OCHS
Vice-Chair
Term Expires: 2027
Committee(s): Executive, Strategy & Risk
Mr. Ochs is a member of Plum Creek Farms GP and LLC in Syracuse, Kansas, agricultural entities that produce dryland wheat, sorghum, and corn, and provide custom farming, including harvesting, tillage, planting, and conservation reserve program (CRP) management. Mr. Ochs is the Vice Chair of the Kansas Wheat Commission, the Chair of the Hamilton County Firemen’s Relief Board, and member of the Hamilton County Historical Society.
Danita Agar
Director
Term Expires: 2026
Committee(s): Governance
Ms. Agar and her husband operate a commercial cow/calf operation in Santa Rosa, New Mexico. She also owns and operates Agar Insurance Agency. Together with their sons they are also part of a seedstock Simmental operation. Ms. Agar is actively involved local and state fairs and in several community boards including the Guadalupe County Tax Protest Board, Lodgers Tax Board, and the Powderhorn Cattlewomen, and she is a member of the New Mexico Cattle Growers Association.
BERRY BORTZ
Director
Term Expires: 2027
Committee(s): Audit
Mr. Bortz farms in partnership with his family in eastern Pratt, southwest Reno, and southern Wichita counties in Kansas, producing corn, wheat, soybeans, alfalfa, cotton, sorghum, and bermuda. They also have a commercial and registered cow herd along with a feedlot and is a partner in Next Gineration Inc. and Central Kansas Cotton Producers, which gins cotton for producers in south central Kansas.
Cyril Chappellet
Director
Term Expires: 2025
Committee(s): Governance
Mr. Chappellet is the President, CEO and Chair of Chappellet Vineyard and Winery, a family-owned and operated winemaking and vineyard operation established in 1967. Mr. Chappellett oversees every aspect of the operation from farming and winemaking to finance, personnel, and sales. He also manages a 2,500-acre ranch adjacent to the vineyard property, which is used as a cattle operation.
RANDALL DOLL
Director
Term Expires: 2029
Committee(s): Audit
Mr. Doll is a lifelong resident of Kansas, and owns Walnut River Ranch, located in the Flint Hills tallgrass prairie region, which contracts row crops, cattle, and native bluestem hay production. He has extended family ranch and farming operations located in Barton, Finney, and Gray counties in Kansas. He is the President and CEO of Capital Partners Group LLC, a training and development firm. He is also President of Doll Real Estate Services LLC, a land development and management firm. Mr. Doll also serves on the board of Farm Credit Council Services.
Tom Drake
Appointed Director
Term Expires: 2028
Committee(s): Executive, Audit
Residing in Clovis, New Mexico, Mr. Drake served as Vice President of Administration with oversight of human resources, finance, capital projects, security, and plant and maintenance at Clovis Community College. He also served as Administrator of Legislative Affairs, lobbying for higher education for 18 years. Mr. Drake has commercial banking experience and was a certified real estate appraiser for 36 years.
James Duffey
Director
Term Expires: 2025
Committee(s): Governance
Mr. Duffey and his family reside in Roswell, New Mexico where they farm, do custom harvesting, and have sheep production operation. Mr. Duffey serves on several community boards, including the Eastern New Mexico State Fair Board, the New Mexico Wool Growers Association, and the New Mexico Sheep and Goat Council. He is also a member of the New Mexico Farm Bureau and the New Mexico Club Lamb Association. He was a former New Mexico State University Extension Agent, retiring after 33 years.
Carolyn Dunn
Director
Term Expires: 2026
Committee(s): Governance
Ms. Dunn partners with her husband in their farming operation in St. John, Kansas, consisting of wheat, corn, alfalfa hay, milo, and seedstock cattle. She is the President of the Port Authority of Stafford County and Strategic Projects Director for Stafford County Economic Development. Both organizations promote economic and agricultural opportunity as well as population growth throughout Stafford County in Kansas.
Marshall Ernst
Director
Term Expires: 2029
Committee(s): Executive, Human Resources & Compensation
Mr. Ernst grew up on a family farm in Wisconsin. He and his spouse own and operate Ernst Herefords, a registered cow/calf business focused on producing breeding stock for the commercial industry. Prior to that, Mr. Ernst spent 30 years in the food industry for several nationally branded food companies. He served as Senior Director of Livestock Operations for the National Western Stock Show in Denver.
GARY HARSHBERGER
Director
Term Expires: 2028
Committee(s): Strategy & Risk, Human Resources & Compensation
Mr. Harshberger is a farmer with an operation consisting of dryland and irrigated wheat, corn, milo and soybeans. He operates Harshberger Enterprises, is president of Double H Farms, Inc., and a member of Harshberger Land, LLC, and 3J2C Farms, LLC, which are involved in farm commodity production. He is Chair of the Trustees of Dodge City Community College.
KIMBERLY CLAUSS JORRITSMA
Director
Term Expires: 2025
Committee(s): Executive, Governance
Ms. Jorritsma is a third-generation dairy farmer and a key member of Clauss Dairy Farms and Sunwest Jersey Dairy management teams in Hilmar, California. Clauss Dairy and Sunwest Jersey Dairy Farms are registered Jersey dairies and farming operations that employ over 50 people. She is a co-owner of Hilmar Cheese Company Inc., serving on their board of directors. Ms. Jorritsma was the first female chairperson of the National Dairy Board.
DR. KIRVIN KNOX
Appointed Director
Term Expires: 2024
Committee(s): Human Resources & Compensation
Dr. Knox resides in Fort Collins, Colorado. He is a retired academic, formerly Dean, College of Agricultural Sciences & Vice Provost for University Outreach at Colorado State University. His business experience is in energy, production agriculture, academic administration, and agriculture research.
Janet Konkel
Director
Term Expires: 2025
Committee(s): Human Resources & Compensation
Ms. Konkel and her husband Mike operate a farm south of Kersey, Colorado, growing alfalfa hay and small grains. She worked for the National Western Stock Show in Denver and served for eight years as the Weld County Fair Coordinator in Greeley, Colorado.
Paul McCaffrey
Appointed Director
Term Expires: 2028
Committee(s): Audit
Mr. McCaffrey serves as the Board’s designated financial expert. He is a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Internal Auditor, Associate In Risk Management, Associate in Reinsurance and a Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter. Mr. McCaffrey currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer of High Definition Vehicle Insurance.
KRISTIN McMENOMEY
Director
Term Expires: 2027
Committee(s): Human Resources & Compensation
Mrs. McMenomey resides in Potter Valley, California. She and her husband John farm 200 acres of vineyard property in Potter Valley consisting of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris. She is an administrator at Adventist Health Ukiah Valley and has over two decades of government experience in purchasing, information technology, and risk management. Kristin served 17 years as a Board member of the CSAC Excess Insurance Authority Board of Directors, including Vice-President.
Teresa Reimer
Director
Term Expires: 2029
Committee(s): Human Resources & Compensation
Ms. Reimer resides on a ranch near Kalvesta, Kansas and is a fifth-generation farmer and rancher. Her cattle operation consists of cow/calf, backgrounding, and finishing that is complemented by a dry-land farm producing wheat, sorghum and forages.
TOM STEGMAN
Appointed Director
Term Expires: 2024
Committee(s): Audit
Mr. Stegman is retired. Most recently, he served as President and CEO of AgVantis. Prior to that he served in various Information Technology management positions at Farm Credit Bank of Wichita (predecessor organization to US AgBank). Mr. Stegman was raised on a family farm in southwestern Kansas and now resides in Oro Valley, Arizona.
Michael Stonebarger
Director
Term Expires: 2027
Committee(s): Governance
Mr. Stonebarger serves as chief executive for Ghiggeri and Stonebarger Farms, directing the production of sweet corn, green bean, tomato and cherry operations. He also manages an arm of his family’s business, G&J Marketing, a sales firm that has fostered close relationships with large grocery distribution partners and represents sales for approximately 2,500 acres of fresh market sweet corn throughout the West Coast annually.
CHARLES TALBOTT
Director
Term Expires: 2026
Committee(s): Strategy & Risk, Governance
Mr. Talbott resides in Palisade, Colorado. His business experience is in tree fruit and wine grape production, and he oversees the overall business and financial performance of the family operations. Mr. Talbott is President and CEO of Talbott Farms, Inc., which serves as the General Partner of both Talbott Land & Property LLLP and Talbott’s Mountain Gold LLLP, a grower, packer, processor, and marketer of tree fruits, wine grapes, and fresh ciders. Additionally, he is a shareholder in Talbott & Sons LLC, a producer of hard ciders and wines.
THOMAS TEIXEIRA
Director
Term Expires: 2028
Committee(s): Audit, Strategy & Risk
Mr. Teixeira is partner-owner of Teixeira and Sons and grows over 9,000 acres of alfalfa, almonds, cantaloupes, corn, cotton, fresh market tomatoes, processing tomatoes, parsley, garlic, and wheat. The company operates a tomato transplant greenhouse facility and is part owner in Pacific Ginning LLC, Eagle Valley Ginning LLC, and 360 Agri LLC. Pacific Ginning and Valley Ginning are cotton ginning operations and 360 is a custom cotton harvesting company.
Jonathan Vander Dussen
Director
Term Expires: 2025
Committee(s): Audit
Mr. Vander Dussen is a dairy farmer, operating in Clovis, New Mexico. He and his family operate multiple dairies and he is also on the board of Select Milk Producers.
STEVEN VAN HOUTEN
Director
Term Expires: 2029
Committee(s): Audit
Mr. Van Houten is Chief Executive Officer of the Rancon Group and its Europa Village Winery and Resort in Temecula, California, which includes vineyards, wine production, tasting rooms, restaurants, hotels, and event facilities. He leads all areas of the business and managed the winery from start-up through its growth to one of the largest wineries in Southern California. He served on the American AgCredit Nominating Committee for four years. He also serves on the board and leads the finance committee of First Tee, a charitable organization for disadvantaged youth.