Suzanne Shirbroun grows corn and soybeans on her sixth-generation farm in northeast Iowa. She has been an NCSRP board member since 2017 and is the current vice-president. She and her husband, Joe, have three boys. One son is farming with them — the seventh generation to farm their land. She and Joe have implemented many conservation practices including no-till, cover crops, contour rows and grassed waterways. Suzanne holds an agronomy degree from Iowa State University.
Ohio board representative David Clark grows corn, soybeans and wheat with his parents on their fifth-generation family farm. Located between Dayton and Cincinnati, they farm 3,200 acres in a county with one of the fastest-growing populations in the state. David holds a materials science and engineering degree from Purdue University. He worked for several years in Information Technology before returning to the farm.
Heather Beaner grew up on her family farm in northeastern South Dakota but didn’t initially set out to become a farmer. After college and law school, she served for 12 years on active duty in the U.S Air Force as a military attorney. In 2011, Heather transferred to the Air Force Reserves and moved back home to get married and begin taking over the family farm from her father. Currently, Heather farms while her husband Matt works full-time in town and the couple has one son. Heather grows corn and soybeans while her semi-retired father helps out seasonally. Heather joined the NCSRP board in August 2019.
Ed Cagney is no stranger to the NCSRP board, representing Michigan since 2007. He is the current president of NCSRP and has served as secretary-treasurer and president. Ed grows soybeans, corn, hay, seed corn and green beans for a cannery on a 4,000-acre farm near Kalamazoo, which has been in his family for 151 years. He and his wife, Schelle, have been married for more than 30 years.
Nick Harre joined the NCSRP board in 2019. He farms with his dad, brother, uncle, and two cousins in southern Illinois where they milk registered Holstein cattle and grow corn, soybeans, wheat, and alfalfa. Nick’s passion for agricultural research has led him to obtain M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Weed Science. He resides in Nashville, Illinois with his wife and one son.
Roger Bommer is a newcomer to the NCSRP board and has been a director with the Indiana Soybean Alliance for seven years. He currently farms approximately 900 acres of corn and soybeans with his son, Darren, in southeastern Indiana. He graduated from Purdue University in 1971 and ran a 200-head dairy operation on the farm since then until a few years ago. Roger previously served for 14 years as president for the Franklin County Farm Bureau and is now an assistant supervisor for the Franklin County Soil and Water Conservation Board.
Ron Ohlde has been a NCSRP board member since 2010. He farms with his sons growing soybeans, wheat, sorghum, canola, triticale, and alfalfa in northern Kansas. He also has a cow-calf background and finish operation as well as a family seed business. He and his wife, Anita, have two sons and two daughters, 12 grandchildren ranging from 4-months-old to 13, with another on the way. Ron is currently on the Kansas Soybean Commission board and served on the United Soybean Board for nine years.
Mike Tomes grows corn and soybeans on the family farm near Utica with his wife, Dawn, and two sons. Mike and Dawn also have five children not involved with the farm. Their operation includes irrigated crops on a mix of no-till and strip-tilled acres. They have harvested seed corn for more than 30 years and recently added a poultry operation. Mike is a newly appointed Nebraska Soybean Board director as well as NCSRP representative. In addition to farming, Mike also operates a crop insurance business.
Tom Frisch and his wife, Jane, live in west-central Minnesota, close to the North Dakota and South Dakota borders. He and his cousins grow corn and soybeans, along with a little wheat and alfalfa for a local dairy. He graduated from North Dakota State University in 2000, then returned to help out on the family farm. Tom is a board member for the Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council, now in his third year. He is also on the board for the new Ag Innovation Campus facility in Crookston, currently under construction.
Justin Rone has been involved with farming nearly his entire life, growing up on the family farm in Missouri’s bootheel. He and his wife, parents, sister, and brother-in-law are all involved in the farming operation. They grow soybeans, cotton, rice, corn and wheat. Justin spent a few years away from the farm, earning an agricultural economics degree from the University of Missouri–Columbia, and a J.D. at Washington and Lee School of Law, Lexington, Virginia. He worked in ag policy in Washington, D.C., for seven years before returning to the farm in 2012. Justin is also a board member on the Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council and serves on several local community boards. He and his wife, Lesley, have two young children.
Michael Schlosser grew up on a farm in SE North Dakota. He attended North Dakota State University, worked as an agronomist after graduating then took a job in Hawaii as a prefoundation corn operations supervisor. He now farms back in North Dakota with his father and grows mostly corn and soybeans and is also a seed representative for Bayer. He has five young children with his wife, Erica.
Andy Fabin joined the NCSRP Board in 2022. He is in his eighth year on the Pennsylvania Soybean Board and has been representing his state on the United Soybean Board for the last seven years. He grows soybeans, corn and wheat with his father and sister on the family farm in western Pennsylvania. He and his family also run a soy extrusion plant where they mix and distribute soy meals. Andy holds a business degree from Penn State University. He and his wife, Chelsea, are also busy raising four boys.
A board member since 2019, Matt Wagenson grows 1,000 acres each of soybeans and corn on his farm in northeastern Wisconsin. He also has a 400-head cattle operation. He and his wife, Elisha, have been married for nine years and have two young children: Lia and Jack. Matt also serves as Secretary/Treasurer of the NCSRP board.
Ed serves as executive director of the North Central Soybean Research Program and collaborates with land grant universities, the United Soybean Board and a variety of soybean and agricultural industry groups to leverage resources to improve environmental performance and enhance the competitiveness of soybean farmers. A native Iowan, this life-long Cardinals fan earned his Ph.D. in molecular plant virology from the University of Missouri.