Nominating Committee Members

Below is a list of the current sitting Nominating Committee members. Members are elected annually and are responsible for reviewing and selecting the nominees for the Board of Directors and the next year’s Nominating Committee.

Great Plains Territory

Stacey Foos

Dighton, KS
New Member
Ms. Foos and her family own and operate a farming and ranching business, Foos Farms Inc., located in Lane County in western Kansas. They run approximately 100 head of cattle per year and have 2500 acres of dryland wheat and 2000 acres of dryland sorghum. Ms. Foos has a 25-year career with the Farm Service Agency in Lane County.

Max Haverfield

Winona, KS
New Member
Mr. Haverfield partners with his brother on a 4500-acre ranching and farming operation. They are fourth-generation ranchers in Logan County, Kansas, primarily running cattle. Crops represent approximately 10% of their operation and continue to grow in share. Over the years, he has managed ranch employees and worked with contractors including farmers, harvesters, and pre-conditioning lots.

Don Hineman

Dighton, KS
Fifth Year on Committee
Mr. Hineman operates a 16,000-acre dryland farming operation in partnership with his son. In addition to producing their own crops of wheat, corn and sorghum, they provide custom planting and harvesting services to neighboring operations.

Gwen Wells

Marienthal, KS
Second Year on Committee
Ms. Wells is a fifth-generation Western Kansas farmer and rancher. She and her husband farm and ranch in Wichita, Logan, Lane, and Ness counties. They are primarily dryland farmers and grow wheat, sorghum and corn, and they also raise commercial Red Angus cattle.

Heartland Territory

Cody Ayres

Garden Plain, KS
New Member
Mr. Ayres grew up on a family farm in south central Kansas and is involved in managing a cow-calf operation that focuses on direct-to-consumer Wagyu and Wagyu cross beef. They raise dryland wheat, sorghum, alfalfa, and soybeans as well. He also has 20 years of experience as a financial advisor at a small firm in Wichita that he owns and manages.

Cindy Baldwin

McPherson, KS
Third Year on Committee
Ms. Baldwin and her husband own and operate a diversified crop operation in central Kansas. Their farm has a mix of irrigated and dryland crops, both owned and rented. For a number of years, the Baldwins had a farrow to finish hog enterprise, followed by a cow-calf herd; they are now focused on crops. In addition to commodity crops, Ms. Baldwin started a niche enterprise in 2017 growing and marketing popcorn under the Papa Baldy’s Popping Snacks brand.

Dennis Rau

Derby, KS
New Member
Mr. Rau is part of a family farming operation in south central Kansas, where his family has farmed for four generations. He and his father formed Rau Farms Partnership in 2002 with grain production being the main focus. The operation has evolved and is now a row crop production that includes fiber in the mix. Diversification has always been a focus for their farm.

David Stroberg

Hutchinson, KS
Fourth Year on Committee
Mr. Stroberg is owner and manager of Stroberg Land & Cattle LLC, an irrigated and dryland farming operation located in south central Kansas between Hutchinson and Sterling along the Arkansas River. Crops grown include corn, soybeans, wheat, alfalfa, and grain sorghum. The operation also includes a cow-calf and feeder cattle enterprise.

Mountain Plains Territory

Robert Boynton

Winter Park, CO
New Member
With his wife and sister, Mr. Boynton owns a small, organic dairy farm in Humboldt County/Ferndale, CA, the same farm he was born and raised on. The farm has been continuously owned and operated by their family since it was homesteaded in 1858. They raise the majority of their roughage requirements, including pasture, corn silage and haylage. Their dairy milk is purchased by Rumiano Cheese Co.

John Caldwell

Longmont, CO
Fourth Year on Committee
Mr. Caldwell has been in the cattle feeding business for 60 years and has been doing irrigated farming for 40 years. He has strategic planning, accounting, cash and risk management experience and formerly owned and operated a grain merchandising business for 40 years. He served on American AgCredit’s Board of Directors for 25 years.

Quade Erker

Keenesburg, CO
New Member
Mr. Erker and his brother are the owners of Middle J Farms, LLC in Roggen, Colorado. They started the farm in 2017 by leasing 817 acres. Today they have an over 10,000-acre operation that spans five Colorado counties. The brothers also own Lost Creek Estates, LLC, which manages farm ground that is leased back to the farm, as well as several small rental properties.

Andrea Ingo

Montrose, CO
New Member
Ms. Ingo is an active partner in their family’s cow-calf operation. She manages the day-to-day operations for the cattle and haying activities and assists with the hunting enterprise. Before working solely for the ranch the past 19 years, Ms. Ingo worked at a local bank for five years.

Clay Kinnison

Grover, CO
Second Year on Committee
Mr. Kinnison and his wife own and operate a 125-head cow-calf operation in Grover, Colorado. In addition, he works with his parents on their cow-calf operation and backgrounding feedlot. They focus on the Balancer (Gelbvieh x Angus) cow that can thrive on the high plains of northeast Colorado. They cross the cows with Charolais bulls to maximize heterosis in the offspring, which achieves a calf that has great gaining potential in the feedlot and meat quality. They also raise their our own seedstock replacements with registered Gelbvieh cattle.

New Mexico Territory

Kim Chesser

Roswell, NM
Second Year on Committee
Mr. Chesser lives on the ranch in Roswell, New Mexico, that he was born and raised on. In 2002, he and his wife diversified from raising sheep to a cow-calf operation and owning and operating Burnt Well Guest Ranch.

Brycen Salopek

Las Cruces, NM
Second Year on Committee
Mr. Salopek and his father are partners on a commercial pecan farm in southern New Mexico, where he has been operations manager of the farm for five years.

Troy Sauble

Maxwell, NM
New Member
Mr. Sauble owns and operates a 600-head cow-calf operation along with 1000 yearling stockers.

Jett Sharp

Clovis, NM
Second Year on Committee
Mr. Sharp is the owner/manager of a cow-calf and feed yard operation.

James Sloan

La Mesa, NM
Second Year on Committee
Mr. Sloan lives in La Mesa, New Mexico, where he and his family farm a diverse group of crops, including pecans, onions, alfalfa, and cotton.

Western Territory – Central Region

Janie Gatzman

Oakdale, CA
Second Year on Committee
Ms. Gatzman and her husband own N&J Gatzman Farming, which operates both owned and leased almond orchards. Ms. Gatzman owns and operates Gatzman Appraisal, where she works full time as a commercially licensed rural real estate appraiser specializing in nut crop properties throughout California’s Central Valley and Arizona’s Hualapai Valley.

Western Territory – Hawaii Region

Michelle Galimba

Na’alehu, HI
Second Year on Committee
Ms. Galimba and her family own and operate a beef cattle ranch. They market locally grown, grass-fed beef and run a small feed and ranch supply store.

Thomas Greenwell

Kealakekua, HI
Second Year on Committee
Mr. Greenwell is the owner and president of Greenwell Farms Inc. The company grows and processes coffee and operates a retail and ag tourism business on the farm.

Western Territory – Intermountain Region

Louis Venturini

Chico, CA
Third Year on Committee
Mr. Venturini owns and operates a 70-head cow-calf ranch in northeastern California and has been involved in the livestock business for over 40 years. He recently started providing production and financial management services for several livestock ranches in the Butte, Tehama, and Siskiyou County areas for absentee owners.

Western Territory – Northern Region

Eric Flanagan

Healdsburg, CA
Fifth Year on Committee
Mr. Flanagan owns and operates Flanagan Wines in Healdsburg, California. He also owns a vineyard investment group called Russian River Partners (RRP). RRP owns 370 planted vineyard acres.

Elaine Foppiano

Healdsburg, CA
New Member
Ms. Foppiano has been involved in family farming operation during most of her adult life. For the last eight years, she has operated a 22-acre wine grape growing operation located in the Dry Creek Valley in Healdsburg, California, on land that has been in her family for more than 100 years. She is also a financial and investment advisor, most recently focused on real estate investments.

Western Territory – Salinas Region

Daisy Huang

Saratoga, CA
Second Year on Committee
Ms. Haung owns a 50-acre almond farm, where she manages the finances of the farm.

Kevin Tottino

Salinas, CA
Second Year on Committee
Mr. Tottino owns and operates Ocean Mist Farms, where they grow cool and warm weather vegetables. He is also a partner/manager of Alsop & Muller Water Solutions, which services the Salinas Valley ag community’s pump and irrigation needs.

Western Territory – Southern Region

Edward Embly

Escondido, CA
Fourth Year on Committee
Mr. Embly has been involved in farming almost his entire life. His father started an egg production farm in 1947, which grew into a family farming business that eventually comprised of three generations. At its peak, it had over 20 farms in four states, with over two million laying hens, a 200-head cow-calf operation, and extensive processing and distribution facilities. Since retiring in 2004, Mr. Embly has been an avocado producer and developed a boutique winery and vineyard. They now grow 15 varieties of grapes and have an annual wine production of up to 3000 cases.

Bryan Vander Dussen

Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Second Year on Committee
Mr. Vander Dussen has a cow-calf operation specializing in custom beef sales. He brokers alfalfa and other forages from Imperial and Riverside counties to livestock farmers in Central and Southern California.