Darren Frye

Owner and CEO

Water Street Solutions

Darren grew up in Illinois agriculture, on an innovative farming enterprise that stretched from a poultry operation consisting of turkeys and layers to an orchard, to a helicopter crop dusting business. He started his first agricultural business in 1987, specializing in fertilizer distribution and crop consulting. His genuine concern for the success of farmers propelled him to start his own consulting business in 1994. Water Street Solutions helps farmers across the Midwest with profitability through financial analysis and commodity marketing. He has traded commodities since 1982 and is a dynamic speaker and leader.

Dr. David Kohl

Professor Emeritus

Virginia Tech

Dr. Dave Kohl is an academic Hall of Famer in the College of Agriculture at Virgina Tech, Blacksburg, VA . Dr. Kohl has keen insight into the agriculture industry gained through extensive travel, research, and involvement in ag businesses. He has traveled over 10 million miles; conducted more than 7,000 presentations; and published more than 2,500 articles in his career. Dr. Kohl’s wisdom and engagement with all levels of the industry provide a unique perspective into future trends.

Arlan Suderman

Chief Commodities Economist

StoneX Group

Arlan Suderman is the Chief Commodities Economist for StoneX Group Inc. – FCM Division, a financial services provider for global markets. Suderman oversees the company’s commodity market intelligence efforts. He provides unique market insight on global macro-economic trends and their implications for the commodity markets. Suderman is a leading commentator in the Ag commodity sector, with particular expertise in the interaction with the broader markets.

A graduate of Kansas State University, with a degree specializing in Animal Science & Industry, Suderman has an expertise and passion for the markets that gives him valuable insight into the realities of macro-economic trends and how they influence the commodity markets.

Kirk Hinz

COO

BAM Weather

Since he was about 5 years old, Kirk has had an extreme fascination for all things weather. Kirk majored in professional meteorology at Ball State University and is the COO at BAM Weather. In his spare time, he enjoys doing new things and creating memories with his wife and kids, traveling, reading, going to church, watching and playing sports, and doing anything outdoors.

Darin Newsom

Senior Market Analyst

Barchart

Darin Newsom is the Senior Market Analyst for Barchart. With over 35 years of experience analyzing commodity markets; including grains and oilseeds, livestock, energies, metals, softs, etc., he has developed a way of understanding the different characteristics of each market. Darin has appeared on numerous international financial television programs and news sites talking markets and is an award-winning columnist whose work has been featured on websites and in magazines for decades. He is well-known internationally on the speaking tour, providing his unique analytical observations and years of experience on market outlook and how markets work to provide insight. He has been involved in the industry on nearly every level; from grain merchandiser and broker to senior market analyst for a major agricultural media organization to having his own commentary and analysis service, all while proudly reminding everyone he is not an economist.

Larry Custer

Managing Director

Captive Insurance

Larry Custer was born and raised in Washington, IL, and grew up around his grandfather’s cow/calf operation. He is a Management Information Systems major and has more than 30 years’ experience in a diverse business management career. This experience currently serves Larry in his career in the Captive Insurance and Alternative Risk Management Industry.

Tom Christiansen

Owner

Foresight Brokerage

Tom has over 32 years of experience in commodity markets, the first 10 years on the commercial cash trade side and the last 22 years as a marketing advisor. Tom uses his strong understanding of grain and cotton fundamentals, as well as macro market issues, to help guide farmers and cotton gins into good marketing decisions.

Karen Schwaller

Owner

Schwaller Agri-Stories

Karen Schwaller is a Northwest Iowa freelance writer, author, speaker, farm wife/farm mother, and owner of “Schwaller Agri-Stories.” Her passion lies in writing ag humor or inspirational newspaper columns, which she has done for nearly 30 years. She uses her experiences on the farm to shine a light on a way of life that can tickle the funny bone and sometimes pull hard on the heartstrings. Karen has written three books of farm humor columns, along with two children’s books not related to the farm. She and her husband, Dave—a first-generation farmer---grow corn, soybeans and sheep near Milford, Iowa. They have three grown children, all of whom farm and are otherwise involved in agriculture.

Eric Snodgrass

Science Fellow and Principal Atmospheric Scientist

Nurtien Ag Solutions

Eric is a Science Fellow and Principal Atmospheric Scientist for Nutrien Ag Solutions, where he develops predictive, analytical software solutions to manage weather risk for global production agriculture. He provides frequent weather updates that focus on how high-impact weather events influence global agriculture productivity. His current research uses machine learning to better understand field-level weather impacts on yields in the US and to increase confidence in long-range weather predictions.

Jeffrey W. Kennedy

MSTA, CFTe, CMT, CEWA-M
Chief Technical Analyst

Water Street Advisory

Recognized internationally as a professional technical analyst, educator, and author, Jeffrey will provide analysis and insights to marketing forecasting, understanding the language of technical analysis, and how psychology impacts trading.

Erik Schreiner

Market Advisor

Water Street Advisory

With over a decade of trading experience, Erik focuses on developing and implementing rules-based trading strategies to manage risk and capitalize on opportunity in volatile futures markets. Residing in the Daytona Beach area of Florida, Erik is an avid scuba diver in his spare time and enjoys spending time with family and friends outdoors and on the water.

Dean Heffta

Owner

Clarus Results

Dean is a speaker, trainer, and founder of the consulting firm Clarus Results. Dean works with global organizational leaders across agriculture, manufacturing, and non-profit organizations to grow leadership, strengthen communication, and improve effectiveness.

Raised on his family’s farm in North Dakota, Dean’s work in agriculture has included farm consulting and leadership work in crop production and commodity advisory. A graduate of the University of Minnesota and Drake University’s MBA program, his commitment is to helping leaders of all size organizations – be it a solo business owner or Fortune 100 leaders – to improve their ability to connect, innovate, and lead.

Steve O'Neill

HomeTown Insurance

A foremost authority on production strategies, Steve O’Neill is a graduate of North Dakota State University and is currently the CEO of Corn Capital Innovations in Olivia, MN. Steve has assembled a team of specialists that tailor components of profitability toward the goal of maximizing return on investment. Steve resides in Minnesota with his wife Summer and their two sons.