Lamar Steiger

Co-owner of The 808 Ranch, a purebred black angus breeding ranch in SW Missouri. A beef industry supply chain expert,, Lamar developed Walmart's beef supply chain resulting in true ranch-to-retail supply chain at scale. Board member and consultant to AgTech companies and VC’s including Serra Ventures, Volur and FoodCap.

Bob Trogele, PhD

An Independent Board Director and private equity investor for agricultural business, including startups. An entrepreneur and executive, Bob steers high-stakes investments in the Oil, Gas, and Agricultural industries towards sustainable growth, expanding portfolios and fostering innovation. He focuses on profitability and shareholder value through strategic planning, execution and financial discipline.

Phil Maag

CEO of MetaLINK Technologies Inc and GM of Ayersville Telephone Co. Phil is a board member of OhioIX and Ohio Telecom Association where he serves on the Policy Planning and Small Company committees. Past leadership roles include President of the Ohio Rural Broadband Assn and board member of Com Net Inc. A U.S. Air Force veteran, Phil served in Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

Jay Vroom

Former 30-year CEO of CropLife America, a national association for the crop protection and biotech industry, providing advocacy and public outreach. An expert consultant in agricultural public policy, communications, and business strategy, He is a Strategic Advisor for DCLRS and the Council of Producers & Distributors of Agrotechnology.

Andy Weber

Recently retired after 23 years as CEO of 150-year-old Farm Journal, Inc., the nation’s leading agricultural business information and media company. Noted for innovation and platform development, Andy launched agriculture’s leading regenerative/client smart platform, Trust-In-Food™️ in 2018 and the dynamic public hunger 501c3 Farm Journal Foundation in 2010 where he remains Chairman.

Joyce Hunter

Executive Director of Mission Critical, a nonprofit that focuses on cybersecurity and critical infrastructure. She is the former USDA Deputy CIO for Policy and Planning and interim CIO in the Obama administration, and the founder of the Science Technology Engineering Agriculture and Math (STEAM) camp, for underserved, underrepresented and under-resourced youth which is celebrating its 10th year of operation.

Mark Linder

Mark currently serves as the U.S. Agriculture Liaison for The Culinary Institute of America. He previously served as a consultant to American Farm Bureau, Agland Investment Services, Iowa State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. He is also the founder and CEO of Culinary One Investments, co-founder of Culinary Sciences, and has held senior leadership roles with Aequion Water Technologies.

Ernie Chappell

Ernie was the Founder and President of EFC Systems, a solution provider to Agribusiness. Founded in 1988, EFC developed ERP solutions focused on managerial insights and operational efficiency for agricultural retailers and cooperatives while helping their customers advance farm profitability. Chappell sold EFC Systems to Ever.Ag in 2022. He currently serves on several boards and is the 2024 recipient of the Agricultural Retailers Association, Jack Eberspacher Lifetime Achievement Award.

Rhishi Pethe

Pethe is the founder of Metal Dog Labs consultancy and author of Software is Feeding the World, a newsletter focused on technology in the Agri-Food system. He has held leadership roles at Mineral (an Alphabet company), The Climate Corporation (Bayer), and Amazon, and led two startups through exits, and one through a spin out. He has extensive experience in artificial intelligence, supply chain and logistics, product, robotics and computer vision, sustainability, and data interoperability.

Dan Maycock

Dan Maycock is an accomplished executive and consultant bridging ag-tech and e-commerce through data analytics to drive informed decisions and business impact. Formerly Senior Manager for Amazon Alexa Data Analytics, he now serves as Chief Data Officer at Agerpoint, applying AI, machine learning, and digital twin technologies to agriculture. He co-founded Loftus Labs and sits on the FCC Precision Agriculture Task Force, reflecting his dedication to transformative technologies and rural development.

Strategic Advisors