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John Dillard grew up on a beef cattle farm in Amelia, Va., which is still operated by his parents. John’s work on farms and ranches in Virginia, South Dakota and Wyoming provided him with an appreciation for the unique challenges faced by agricultural producers across the United States. He earned bachelor’s degrees in Animal Science and Agricultural Economics at Virginia Tech. John also earned a master’s degree in Agricultural Economics at Purdue University. Prior to attending law school, he worked for a consulting firm that advised agribusiness clients (seed, renewable fuels, cooperatives, equipment) in marketing and business strategy development. Additionally, Mr. Dillard was an economist for USDA’s Economic Research Service, where his work focused on preparing farm income reports and reports examining the financial health of the agricultural sector. Now an attorney practicing with OFW Law in Washington, D.C., John concentrates his practice on litigation, with an emphasis on environmental and agriculture-related litigation. Mr. Dillard has represented clients in complex matters involving Clean Water Act disputes, livestock odor nuisance tort actions, and government contract regulations. He also advises clients in the food and agricultural industries regarding the impacts of litigation, government regulations and legislation on their businesses.

Tanner Ehmke is the content manager for AgWeb.com. He is orignially from western Kansas where his family farms wheat, rye, triticale and milo. Prior to joining AgWeb, he was a news reporter for Dow Jones at the Chicago Board of Trade and a commodities analyst with AgResource Company in Chicago.

Bob Utterback has more than 26 years of experience and offers producers a disciplined approach to marketing and preparing for the future. Utterback Marketing Services, Inc. is a commodities brokerage firm based in the small farming community of New Richmond [West Central] Indiana, serving clients throughout the U.S. who trade agricultural and related commodities. Trades are cleared by a family owned futures commission merchant based in Chicago since 1914. Utterback Marketing Services, Inc. and its staff are registered with the National Futures Association.

Mike Adams was raised in a small farming community in central Illinois and grew up working on a grain and livestock farm. He served west-central Illinois on WLDS radio in Jacksonville, for 27 years. Adams served in several capacities as Disc Jockey, Sports Announcer and Farm Director. Mike has covered state and national agricultural events in 11 countries, met Pope John Paul II and five U.S. presidents. Mike took over as host of the nationally syndicated talk show, AgriTalk, in July of 2001. He facilitates a discussion about issues and ideas important to rural America, traveling over 100 days a year for remote broadcasts across the country. Adams is a voting member and past-president of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB). Adams has received numerous awards from agriculture and civic organizations. Adams served 20 years as a certified lay speaker including 16 years as a lay pastor for a rural Illinois United Methodist church. Mike and his wife Patty have two grown children and currently reside in Jacksonville, Ill.

Every day, CHS gathers, produces, refines and processes essential resources that enrich millions of lives. As a leader in energy, grain-based foods and food ingredients, and agronomic inputs, CHS touches consumers around the globe.What really sets us apart is our way of doing business. We’'ve earned a reputation as an honest, hardworking and ethical partner. Originally formed to supply producers with energy and crop inputs, and to market their grain, we’'ve expanded to offer diverse consumer products and essential business solutions like insurance, risk management, transportation and enterprise consulting.We’'re proud of our growth. And we’'re proud of the many ways we enrich millions of lives around the world every day.