AgCESS Summit

2023 AgCESS Summit

Breakout Sessions

Truterra | Randy Brown

Dr. Randy Brown's breakout session will introduce Truterra and discuss how growers can tie sustainability and agronomic principles together to increase the profitablity of their operation.

Randy is the Director of Agronomic Strategy for WinField United. He received his B.S. in Agronomy from the University of Nebraska and his Ph.D. from Kansas State. After graduation, Randy was on the faculty of Kansas State as a Crops and Soil Specialist teaching and doing research in soil fertility and Precision Ag. He has been with the WinField United Agronomy team going on 23 years and has a lifelong passion for agriculture, especially working in the area of interface between science and agronomic practice. Randy is currently focused on agronomic sustainability. He and his wife own the Lazy ET Ranch in the Sandhill's of Nebraska along with their two sons.

Ag Partners Online Portal | Kristina Sudbeck

The Ag Partners Online Portal breakout will cover customer capabilities on the new portal platform coming in the summer of 2023. Kristina Sudbeck will walk through the highlights in Grain, Agronomy, Accounting and Energy that customers will have access to. Highlights include grain scale tickets, settlements, contracts, sales and account history, account and contract payment capabilities, contract signatures, and a method to contact Account Managers.

Kristina Sudbeck is one of the Ag Partners team members presenting this year. She has held various roles throughout her more than nine years with the cooperative, and has most recently taken on the position of Project Manager. In her role, Kristina serves as the main point of contact and Ag Partners representative for all special projects, from their initial planning phase through execution. She also oversees the Customer Care Team, and is based out the the Main Office in Seneca, KS.

Anuvia | Brett Bell

During his breakout session, Brett Bell will focus on the future of fertilizer, and how Anuvia is using bio-based fertilizer integrated with advanced microbials to feed the crop while feeding the soil. The presentation will focus on how farmers, by simply switching a portion of their synthetic fertilizer to SymTRX, can increase their yield and ROI, feed their soil, and support better environmental outcomes.

Brett Bell, originally a farm kid from Iowa, has 25 years of agricultural experience, focused on developing and managing successful businesses and teams working in sales, marketing, strategic business planning and operations. He currently serves as Executive Vice President, Account Management and Sales for Anuvia, and leads the US sales team. Prior to joining Anuvia, Bell was the Chief Operating Officer for Landus Cooperative, the largest farmer-owned cooperative in the state of Iowa, where he was responsible for overall operations of the grain and agronomy departments, and served on the boards for three joint-venture companies. In addition to Landus, Brett has been a regional Agronomy/Sales/Product Line Lead for Cargill AgHorizons in Wayzata, MN, a Business Development Manager for Adayana, Inc. in Indianapolis, IN, an Account Specialist at Ag Partners LLC in Albert City, Iowa, and a Field Sales Manager for Syngenta Seeds in Hopkins, MN. Brett holds a BS in Agricultural Systems Technology from Iowa State University and an MBA from Purdue University. He currently resides in Ames, IA with his wife and three boys.

Local Solutions Trials | Josh Hinkle, Matt Fincham & Preston Thomas

The Local Solutions Trials breakout will cover the results from Ag Partners' 2022 local trials. Products like Warden CX2, Molybdenum, Bioligicals and more will be discussed, from what the products claim to do, why they were chosen for trials in our territory, and what results show.

Josh Hinkle, Matt Fincham and Preston Thomas are all members of the Ag Partners Agronomy Team as Agronomy Account Specialists, working directly with producers to deliver customized recomendations and information based on current data and industry resources. Their individual customer territories include the areas of Powhattan, Vliets and Sabetha, respectively.

Introducing New Product Trials | Andy Schmidt

In this breakout session, Andrew Schmidt, Market Development Specialist for WinField United, will be introducing new products Warden CX2, Ascend2, and Yield On, which will be available for the 2023 planting season. He'll discuss product placement, yield data, and modes of action.

Ag Technology | Ethan Noll

Are you getting the most out of your scouting? What’s the future of chemical applications? How do we take advantage of site-specific chemical applications through drones, direct injection, or See-And-Spray? What regulations are there regarding drones? We’ll try to answer these questions and answer any others regarding new technologies coming out. We’ve done some of our own work that shows site-specific applications are possible, effective, and worthwhile.

This breakout session will be led by Ag Partners' Digital Ag Team Lead, Ethan Noll. Ethan is from Reserve, Kansas and has been with Ag Partners since 2012. He graduated from Kansas State University with degrees in Agronomy and Natural Resources and Environmental Science. Ethan's role oversees the AgCESS platform, which includes drone services, data collection and analysis, and more.

Advanced Acre | Rory Peddicord

In this breakout session, Rory Peddicord will speak on two of the services he helps Ag Partners provide to its customers.

Secure by WinField United – Grower Finance
Secure is uniquely built to maximize the efficiency of a farmer borrower by providing flexible and competitive capital. Up to $500,000 of unsecure borrowing per crop year is available, with two crop year loans being available on terms that overlap. This allows farmers to segregate your crop year management to buy inputs, market grain, plan for taxes, and operate with maximum market agility and efficiency. You can do all this while reserving your cash for higher ROI investment or growth.

Advanced Acre Rx (Ag Partners - Seed to Yield Rx)
Advanced Acre Rx is a data driven, financially warrantied crop prescription. The program offers full-acre prescriptions, or targeted agronomic prescriptions, with a focus on maximizing ROI through optimized inputs and greater yield. A warranty comes in to offset your investment if the Rx doesn’t achieve the Approved Yield being targeted. 20 years of Answer Plot research has allowed WinField United, in partnership with its owners, to offer one of a kind warranties validated by multiple independent third parties so that you can invest with confidence.

Rory Peddicord is a Services Adoption Manager for WinField United responsible for management and growth of value added services WinField United offers through its Cooperative and Independent Owners. Rory has been with WinField United for over three years and came to the company from self-employed consulting, accounting, and banking roles. His primary professional aim is to help solve problems to help farm families achieve their goals. Rory resides in Wamego, KS, where his family is originally from, with his wife and four children ages 8-12.

Cenex Premium Diesel | Kip Schneider

In this breakout session, Kip Schneider, CHS Business Development Manager, will discuss refining processes and fuel specification, explain common rail/exhaust after treatment, talk about Cenex Premium Diesel and the benefits of specific products, then leave time open at the end of the session for questions and discussion.

Alternative Grain Premiums | Brice Elnicki & Jed Miller

The Alternative Grain Premiums breakout session will get into non-GMO grain premiums (specifically soybeans), and how sustainable farming practices can bring alternative revenue and premiums. They'll open the floor to conversation on how these premium programs and reporting may be defined over the next two to three years, upcoming shifts in farming practices, and potential new premiums coming available for growers to capture.

Brice Elnicki and Jed Miller are both members of the Ag Partners Leadership Team. Brice, VP of Grain & Business Development, oversees the Grain Division at Ag Partners, as well as the execution and implementation of the cooperative's strategic initiatives. Originally from southeast Kansas, Brice joined the Ag Partners team in August 2023 after most recently serving as the CEO of Producers Cooperative Association in Girard, KS. Jed Miller, VP of Sales & Strategy, is responsible for the development and implementation of the cooperative’s strategic sales and marketing plans based on company goals that will promote growth, opportunities and customer satisfaction for the cooperative. Jed came to Ag Partners in May 2023 from CHS Inc., where he was most recently in their Cooperative Resources division that covers Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, assisting with strategy, talent development and thought leadership.

Sentinel Fertigation | James Herrick

Sentinel Fertigation’s N-Time platform turns satellite imagery and geospatial data into nitrogen application recommendations and provides tools for fertigation management. The technology behind N-Time was born at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln and matured through on-farm research throughout Nebraska. This presentation will briefly cover on-farm research outcomes during development, demonstrate how N-Time works to produce more successful nitrogen management outcomes on farm, and present outcomes farmers achieved using the N-Time platform in 2022.

James Herrick is Sentinel’s Implementation Specialist. In this role, he is responsible for ensuring Sentinel’s farmer customers and Sentry Network partners achieve successful outcomes using our N-Time software system. Prior to joining Sentinel, James earned a bachelor's degree in Mechanized Systems Management from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln and worked as the Midwest Irrigation Specialist at Valley Irrigation. He lives in his hometown of Arlington, NE, with his wife and golden retriever.

TeleSense | Max Mathison

Max Mathison is the National Sales Manager at TeleSense, where he’s helped farmers and grain businesses meet their grain monitoring needs for the past 4+ years. He will share how their Cable-Free Grain Monitoring System for Bins provides both rapid detection of quality issues and fan runtime guidance for in-bin drying and cooling. TeleSense uses app-based software with wireless sensors to continuously monitor temperature, moisture and CO2 levels, helping growers manage grain quality and maximize profits by reducing spoilage and extending storage life.