RIPE is pleased to welcome its first two organizational Steering Committee members,
the Iowa Corn Growers Association and the National Black Farmers Association.
The Iowa Corn Growers Association (ICGA) serves as the collective voice for more than 8,000 Iowa corn farmers, lobbying on agricultural issues at the state and federal level.
The National Black Farmers Association (NBFA) provides outreach, advocacy, and technical assistance nationally and internationally to socially disadvantaged and limited resource farmers.
Eunice Biel
Former Chair, Executive Committee, Minnesota Farmers Union
Eunice is a producer at Biel Dairy, which manages 200 cows and 1,400 acres of crops. She has also served as county farmers union president and a frequent participant in National Farmers Union Legislative Fly-ins. Eunice enjoys working for better policies for producers.
Adam Bierbaum, ICGA
Board of Directors, Iowa Corn Growers Association
Adam grows corn and soybeans on his family’s century farm in Cass County, where they practice no-till farming and work to incorporate the best environmental and conservation practices. He is active on the Cass County Corn Growers Board and the Iowa Corn District 7 Board, as well as with the Iowa Soybean Association and the Wallace Foundation.
John Wesley Boyd, Jr., NBFA
Founder and President, National Black Farmers Association
John Boyd, Jr is a fourth-generation black farmer, businessman and civil rights activist. He is a tireless advocate for farmers and a constant voice for change. He grows soybean, wheat and corn on his 1,300-acre farm in Mecklenburg County, Virginia.
Brad Doyle
Board of Directors, American Soybean Association; President, County Farm Bureau; former President, Arkansas Soybean Association
Brad operates Berger Farms/Eagle Seed with his wife Joyce in Weiner, AR. They grow soybeans, rice, wheat and cereal rye. He’s attended the ASA DuPont Young Leader program and Leadership At Its Best, in addition to a REAP Tour and Soybean Leadership College. He’s also on the ASA Advocacy Communications Team.
Meredith Ellis
Rancher, G Bar C Ranch; Board Member, Integrity Beef Alliance; US Roundtable for Sustainable Beef
Meredith is a second generation rancher in Rosston, Texas, managing 200 mother cows on 3000 acres of land which she lovingly refers to as her “national park.” She passionately believes in ranching’s ability to provide nutritious food to a growing population while leaving habitat and natural ecosystems intact.
Ben Gleason, ICGA
Sr. Manager of Sustainable Programs, Iowa Corn Growers Association
Ben works closely with government agencies and other organizations to address a range of environmental issues affecting Iowa corn growers, focusing on soil and water conservation. Previously, he worked for the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship as a project coordinator for multiple watershed projects addressing sediment and nutrients in lakes and streams.
Phil Gordon
Vice President, Michigan Corn Growers Association
Phil is owner of Gordon Valley Farms, where he and his family grow corn, wheat, and soybeans. His love for the land led him to be recognized by the Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program. Phil believes in being proactive and trying new things when it comes to farming and protecting the environment.
Brandon Hunnicutt
Vice Chair, Nebraska Corn Board; Member, Corn Board, National Corn Growers Association (NCGA); Chair, Board of Directors, Field to Market; Past President, Nebraska Corn Growers Association; Past President, Nebraska Agricultural Technologies Association
Brandon raises corn, soybeans, seed corn, popcorn and sorghum on his family farm in Giltner, Nebraska. Brandon is a graduate of NCGA’s Leadership At Its Best and Advanced Leadership Program.
Fred Yoder
Co-Chair, Solutions from the Land; Past President, National Corn Growers Association
Fred is a fourth-generation grower who has farmed for over forty years. He raises corn, soybeans, and wheat. As an advocate, Fred promotes agriculture as a solution to many sustainability challenges. He feels it is imperative to produce more in a sustainable way, while also providing ecosystem services.
RIPE is seeking ag industry leaders who are active with commodity trade groups in the Midwest to serve on RIPE’s Ag Steering Committee. We are holding spaces for representatives of particular states and commodities and would welcome the opportunity to talk with you about the opportunity.
Chrisina DeConcini
Director of Government Affairs, World Resources Institute
Jim Moseley
Former Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Ari Peskoe
Director, Electricity Law Initiative, Harvard Law School, Environmental and Energy Law Program
Dr. William H. Schlesinger
President Emeritus, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies
Clare Sierawski
Former environmental advisor to Senator John Kerry and former Chief of Staff for U.S. State Department Office of the Special Envoy for Climate Change
Participation as an Ad-Hoc Advisor does not presume endorsement; it means constructive engagement in policy design and dialogue.
Sonia Aggarwal, Chris Busch, and Robbie Orvis
Energy Innovation (Sonia Aggarwal was a former ad-hoc advisor and now serves as Senior Adviser for Climate Policy and Innovation at The White House)
Dr. Laura Bozzi
Director of Programs, Yale Center on Climate Change and Health
Susan Brocksmith
Producer, Vincennes, IN; Chair, Agribusiness, Vincennes University
Dr. Dallas Burtraw
Darius Gaskins Senior Fellow, Resources for the Future; Chair of California’s Independent Emissions Market Advisory Committee
Amanda DeBusk, Melissa Duffy, and Jean Chang
Dechert LLP
Prof. Ted Feitshans
Extension Professor Emeritus, Agriculture and Resource Economics, University of North Carolina
Carla Frisch
former Principal, Rocky Mountain Institute on America’s Pledge; former Director of Climate and Environmental Analysis, U.S. Department of Energy (*former RIPE Advisor)
Ray Gaesser
Co-Chair, Conservation Infrastructure Initiative; Former President, American Soybean Association and Iowa Soybean Association
Dr. Deb Gordon
Senior Fellow in International and Public Affairs at Brown University, former Director of the Energy and Climate Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Skip Hyberg, Ph.D
H & H Conservation;
Economic and Policy Analysis
Ken McCarty
Owner/Manager, McCarty Family Farms, 4th-Generation Dairy Farmer
Tony Mellenthin
President, Wisconsin Soybean Association; Producer, Mellenthin Farms
Curt Mether
Chair, Iowa Corn Growers Association; Member, National Corn Growers Association, U.S. Grains Council, Iowa Soybean Association, Iowa Farm Bureau, and American Green Gas.
Curt has been farming for 41 years and currently grows corn and soybeans with his wife, Anita. He enjoys creating opportunities for long-term corn grower profitability.
Dwight Mogler
VP of Resources, Iowa Pork Producers Association
Dwight is a senior partner with Mogler Farms/Pig Hill. They have 3,000 sows and market 90,000 pigs wean-to-finish per year. The farm enterprise also includes 2,500 acres of corn and soybeans. He was named a Master Pork Producer by IPPA in 1982 and he received the Pork All-American Award in 1997.
Professor Eric Patashnik
Director, Master of Public Affairs Program at Brown University, Professor of Public Policy and Political Science
Roger Zylstra
President, Iowa Corn Promotion Board; Chair, NCGA Stewardship Action Team; Participant, Soil Health Partnership
Anonymous Advisor
An anonymous fourth-generation farmer of grains and cattle; serves in leadership roles in state and national farm trade associations