The 19th Annual Agricultural Client Seminar event will take place on Tuesday, February 25, 2014. We are looking forward to another great day with some highly regarded speakers. This year our event speakers will include Mark Gold, Brett Stuart, Grady Bishop, Ted McKinney, and Paul Mobley. Please continue to read for more information about each of these well-known leaders in the agricultural world.
Mark Gold:
Mark is Managing Partner with Top Third Ag Marketing in Chicago. He is a former 20-year member of the Chicago Board of Trade where he was a pit trader and floor broker. During his time on the floor, Mark served as Chairman of the Soybean Pit Committee and on the Public Relations Committee. His responsibilities included representing the CBOT on numerous television reports, speaking to farm groups, banking organizations and university groups. Mark has also been a floor trader at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, International Monetary Market, Sydney Futures Exchange, and the New Orleans Commodity Exchange, where he served as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Brett Stuart:
Brett is one of the founding partners of Global AgriTrends. He was formerly employed by the US Meat Export Federation (USMEF) as their lead economist. In this capacity, he conducted numerous research and analysis projects in the global meat trade area as well as advising US trade officials on international meat access issues. As part of these responsibilities, Brett conducted on-the-ground meat industry research around the globe. Prior to his work with the federation, he was the Assistant Manager of marketing for AgReserves, Inc. and was heavily involved with a variety of livestock marketing strategies. Mr. Stuart's specific international market research includes co-authoring, "The vital role of science in global policy decision-making: an analysis of past, current, and forecasted trends and issues in global red meat trade and policy", in the international congress of Meat Science and Technology Journal. He is also involved in business planning and research for exporting US products to Europe, research and recommendations for revisions to the Japan gate price system for pork, joint planning and cooperation with Mexican meat producers to build meat consumption in Mexico, and market analysis and recommended strategies for US meats in various other regions around the world.
Grady Bishop:
Grady was raised on a row-crop farm in the Southwest Kansas town of Sublette. He attended West Texas A&M University in Canyon, TX where he developed interest and experience in feedlot beef production. After receiving a B.S. in Animal Science from West Texas A&M, Grady worked for ContiBeef (now part of JBS Five Rivers) for two years in various roles within one of their large commercial cattle feeding operations in Oklahoma. Following his time at ContiBeef, Grady worked with Certified Angus Beef while pursuing a M.S. in Ruminant Nutrition from Kansas State University. He has worked for Elanco Animal Health since 2002 in various roles in US and Global sales & marketing. From 2009-2011, Grady was Director of Elanco's affiliate in Argentina and Chile, living and working in Buenos Aires. Since January 2011, Grady has been the Director of US Swine Operations for Elanco and is based in the global headquarters in Greenfield, IN. Grady and his wife Janae live in Greenfield, IN with their two children.
Ted McKinney:
Ted was recently appointed as the Director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, by Governor Mike Pence. "Ted McKinney is a well-respected industry leader with decades of experience in Hoosier agriculture," said Pence. Ted grew up on a family farm in Tipton County, where he has continuing interests. After graduating with a degree in Agricultural Economics from Purdue University where he was named Outstanding Male Graduate, he began a successful career with Elanco Products Company, DowElanco and Dow AgriSciences. Most recently he was Director, Global Corporate Affairs for Elanco Animal Health, a division of Eli Lilly and Company. In addition to his professional career, Ted has held leadership positions in Indiana FFA, the Indiana 4-H Foundation and Purdue Agricultural Alumni Trust Fund. He led the effort to recruit the National FFA Center and National FFA Conventions to Indianapolis. He has also served on the State Fair Commission since 2005, and is Chairman of the Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity National Convention, scheduled for Indianapolis in late 2014. In the community, Ted has been on the board of directors for the Indianapolis Children's Museum, the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee, WFYI Public Broadcasting, the Leukemia Society, and the Hamilton Southeastern Schools Foundation. Ted and his wife Julie are the parents of three children.
Paul Mobley:
Paul is an award-winning photographer who has traveled the world over to capture and celebrate humanity. Firmly grounded by his Midwestern roots, Mobley's early training as a photographer began at Detroit's Center for Creative Studies, and continued in the New York studios of such leading photographers as Annie Leibovitz, Steve Steigman, and David Langley, where he apprenticed for many years before embarking on his own career. Since then, Mobley has successfully worked with a broad range of corporate, advertising, and editorial clients including American Express, Sony, Max Factor, Microsoft, and many others. In 2005, Paul set out to capture the soul of rural America. Traveling across the country, Mobley and his camera were welcomed time and time again into the homes of over three hundred farm families, who graciously shared their personal histories and private thoughts, along with the fruits of their labor. Visit after visit, Mobley came to know the independent farmer's spirit from both behind the lens and across the dinner table. The result, American Farmer: The Heart of Our Country, won the 2009 Western heritage award for "best photography book" from the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.
