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Even at an early age, Cheryl Day was a passionate and practical advocate for agriculture. As a young child, Day convinced her father that raising Angus Cattle was more than just a hobby but a chosen career path. She followed the footsteps of eight generations before her, as an agriculture producer. The need to tell her agriculture story had become a priority for Cheryl. As a teenager Day encountered many attempts from anti-agriculture groups to erode the business of agriculture. During her college years, Cheryl was a powerful voice for keeping her college’s agriculture program alive when politicians threatened to end the program. On a campus in the heart of Illinois farmland, Day quickly realized that her fellow college students had no idea where their food came from and the fight to keep the program open became a stage for educating. After earning her degree in Ag-Business from Illinois State University, she returned to farm. Day, along with her husband and two children, raises corn, soybeans, and registered Angus Cattle in Illinois. As an accent to her agriculture enterprise, Cheryl freelances as an agriculture communicator and public relations consultant. In addition to her work experience, Day has dedicated countless volunteer efforts to speaking out for agriculture and organizing grassroots efforts to protect the science of producing agriculture products for the next generation to come.

Kent Wagoner grew up on a central Iowa century family farm. After college, he made the difficult decision to move out west where his wife’s family is centered. A stint working on the irrigated farms of the Treasure Valley of southwest Idaho led to a number of years in the vegetable seed industry. Spending over 10 years in the University of Idaho Agricultural Research and Extension Service has taught him about not only the difficulties of ag research, but also some of the hurdles of making the connection from research to production agriculture. He is married (30 years!) with two grown sons, and enjoys singing with a local southern gospel quartet. If you would like to contact him privately, you can email him at kwagoner@mail.com.

Specialized ag input supplier. Our company’s goal is to serve the professional production row crop farmer who wants to be a good steward of his resources of time, money, and land.

Noelle Taylor grew up in a small town in Iowa. She is now living in Metro Denver with her husband and 6 children. She works part time as a postpartum doula and full time as a homemaker. She has been a member of a CSA since 2006.

Senior Policy Advisor at Olsson Frank Weeda Terman Bode Matz PC, John Block has dedicated his professional career to the fields of agriculture, food, and health. His accomplishments in agriculture began with the building of a large and successful hog operation in his home state of Illinois where he also served as the Director of Agriculture from 1977-1981. He was tapped by President Reagan to serve as the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture from 1981-1985, where he played a key role in the development of the 1985 Farm Bill. He was President and Chief Executive Officer of Food Distributors International (formerly National American Wholesale Grocers Association) from 1986-January 2003. Mr. Block serves on the Board of Directors of The Farm Foundation, Hormel Foods Corporation, and Digital Angel Corp. He is Chair of the Citizens Network for Foreign Affairs Agribusiness Alliance and a member of the Board for the Friends of the World Food Program. He is a Non-resident Senior Fellow with the National Center for Food and Agriculture Policy. John Block is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy.

Gail Martell, Senior Agriculture Analyst, was one of the first meteorologists on Wall Street with more than 20 years of experience in the commodities markets, focusing on corn, soybeans and wheat.

I am a farmer in Southeastern Indiana, and have recently graduated from the University of Indianapolis with a degree in business and about ready to finish my MBA in finance.

Top Producer, in honor of its 25th birthday, is launching the Top 25, an in-depth look at the 25 people, issues and trends that will have the most impact on production agriculture. Who should make the list? Share your thoughts and feelings with Top Producer.

The Monthly Crop Tour Insert from Pro Farmer is available throughout the growing season leading up to Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour. This year’s Midwest Crop Tour, sponsored by Pioneer Hi-Bred and John Deere Risk Protection (JDRP) will be Aug. 17 – 21 with up to 70 scouts traveling different routes on Eastern and Western Legs through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota and Nebraska. The Crop Tour Insert, made available on AgWeb.com and ProFarmer.com by Pioneer and JDRP, discusses corn and soybean production issues across the Midwest, including detailed crop reports from the top four corn producing states.

Doug Hensley is President of Gorsuch-Hensley Real Estate & Auction, Inc., based in Canton, IL. Doug grew up on a cash-grain and livestock farm in western-Illinois, and worked for a well-known Midwestern farmland brokerage and auction firm prior to Gorsuch-Hensley. Doug can be contacted by phone at 217-898-0972 or by email to doug@gorsuch-hensley.com.