COVENTION SPEAKERS

2025 Montana Grain Growers Association Convention Speakers

The Montana Grain Growers Association is proud to bring a line-up that will be sure to captivate all of our attendees while focusing on the topics that matter most to the agricultural industry as a whole.

If you are one of our speakers, please be sure to fill out the form linked below.

Tuesday, December 2nd

Eric Snodgrass

Eric Snodgrass is a Senior Science Fellow and Atmospheric Scientist at Nutrien Ag Solutions, where he develops predictive software to manage global weather risk in agriculture. He provides frequent updates on high-impact weather and its effects on productivity worldwide. His research uses machine learning to analyze field-level weather impacts on U.S. yields and improve long-range forecasts. Each year, he presents at more than 100 conferences, advising farmers, traders, and weather-sensitive industries. He received the 2023 Educator Award from the Mid America Croplife Association. Snodgrass co-founded two companies acquired by Nutrien and previously taught 20,000 students at the University of Illinois.

Max Hansen

As a Managing Director at Accruit, a leading national 1031 Exchange Qualified Intermediary, Max utilizes his extensive knowledge of IRC Section 1031 and 40+ years of experience in the real estate and 1031 industry to help taxpayers defer capital gains, depreciation recapture, and net investment income tax through 1031 exchanges. Max has written and spoken extensively on all aspects of 1031 exchange transactions, spanning the vast array of real property interests and transactions which qualify for tax deferral. The endless possibilities range from agricultural land, large commercial assets, oil and gas rights, easements, long-term leasehold interests, timber rights and fractional real estate interests.

Betsy Jensen

Betsy works with farmers to improve their business understanding, including crop marketing. She also operates a farm in Northwest Minnesota where she makes her own crop marketing mistakes. You may have read her column, Taming the Bulls and the Bears, in Prairie Grains magazine where she shares her own marketing struggles.

Suchismita Mondal

Sue Mondal is the Winter Wheat Breeder at Montana State University. She has been in her current position since 2022, prior to that she worked as a spring wheat breeder at International Wheat and Maize Improvement Center, CIMMYT, Mexico. She received her MS and PhD from Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas. Her program’s focus is on developing high yielding, insect and disease resistant winter wheat varieties adapted to Montana with improved end-use quality.

Jason Cook

Jason leads a hard red spring wheat breeding and genetics program at Montana State University to develop varieties adapted to Montana’s unique growing environments. Breeding efforts are focused on developing high yielding, high protein, drought tolerant, wheat stem sawfly resistant, spring wheat varieties with good agronomics and excellent end-use quality. Genetic dissection of yield component, insect resistance, end-use quality and drought tolerance traits are important research areas. Research findings are integrated into the breeding program to strengthen long-term variety development improvement and ultimately release improved wheat varieties.

Mike Giroux

Mike Giroux is a professor in the Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology department at Montana State. Mike leads the durum breeding program which develops new durum varieties for Montana growers. His program focuses on selection in MT environments for high yielding lines having good disease resistance and high product quality. The most recent releases from his breeding program are MT Blackbeard, MT Raska, and WB8148. Among the traits being integrated into durum lines his program is developing are solid stems, herbicide resistance, FHB resistance, and intermediate height.

Giseli Valentini

Dr. Giseli Valentini is the Interim Pulse Crop Breeder at Montana State University. She is an agronomist with a Ph.D. in Genetics and Breeding from Maringa State University in Brazil. Dr. Valentini’s breeding program focuses on developing improved pulse crop varieties, including chickpea, lentil, and pea, specifically adapted to Montana’s growing conditions. Her research aims to enhance yield potential, broaden adaptation, improve plant architecture, increase disease resistance, and advance seed quality traits.

Jamie Sherman

Jamie Sherman has worked at MSU since 1997 and as the barley breeder since 2015, releasing 5 varieties thus far. The MSU Barley Breeding Program brings to bear innovative methods and utilizes the full range of stakeholder input to collaboratively create improved varieties for quality, stability and sustainability, while trying to develop new markets to catalyze a strong Montana economy. Jamie gets great joy out of mentoring students and benefits from stakeholder input.

Wednesday, December 2nd

Korey Fauque

Korey Fauque with KW Insurance has over 20 years of crop insurance and farming experience. Korey will cover which programs have been the best fit for Montana, changes for 2026 and the most costly errors made by producers.

Jacob Shapiro

Jacob Shapiro is a geopolitical analyst who provides strategic guidance to families, investors, and corporations. He is Director of Research at The Bespoke Group, a U.S.-based multi-family office that applies generational thinking to the preservation and growth of generational wealth for families around the world. Jacob also hosts “The Jacob Shapiro” podcast, which features interviews with subject matter experts in geopolitics, technology, and whatever he thinks is important. He lives in New Orleans with his wife and two daughters.

Mike O'Dea

Mike O’Dea is a Risk Management Consultant for StoneX based in Kansas City, he has a Bachelor of Science degree from Panhandle State in Agricultural Economics and is a former member of the Kansas City Board of Trade. His customer base consists of cooperative and commercial grain companies, flour millers and grain processors from across the United States. He has spent the past 39 years working for StoneX and has been in the business for 44 years.

Jeff Winton

Founder and Chairman of Rural Minds, Jeff is also founder and owner of Wall Street Dairy LLC, a working family dairy farm in Chautauqua County, NY, and a member of a multigenerational farm family. When Jeff’s 28-year-old nephew Brooks died by suicide, Jeff’s late mother ignored the guidance of family and community members and urged Jeff to speak about Brooks’ struggle. An outpouring of support and hearing from other farm families about their own struggles around mental health convinced Jeff to devote a significant portion of his energies to connecting rural Americans to much-needed mental health information and resources.