Staff and Agents

Bill Wagner

Crop Insurance Agent

Bill grew up on a grain and livestock farm in central Illinois. A graduate of Southern Illinois University – Carbondale with a BS degree in Animal Industries he worked for the University of Illinois as an Agriculture Extension advisor, serving in Montgomery and Union counties. After nine years he changed careers to become a commercial loan officer for a bank and specialized in Agricultural lending for 36 years. After retirement, Bill chose to maintain his crop insurance license originally obtained in 2011, and his affiliation with Strategic Farm Marketing. Bill is married to Judy, his wife of 46 years, and they have three children and a like number of grandchildren. 

Location: Highland, IL

IL

Chad Lange 

Crop Insurance Agent

Chad grew up on a farm in South Central MN in Saint James. He studied Agribusiness in Mankato, MN and started farming full time in 2005. Chad became a licensed crop insurance agent and started working with Strategic Farm Marketing in 2020. He currently resides in his hometown of Saint James with his wife Brooke and their two children.

Location: Saint James, MN

MN, IA

Chris Corum

Crop Insurance Agent

Grain Market Advisor

Chris joined SFM in October of 2006 and currently works with commodity brokerage and crop insurance in Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Ohio. He spent 23 years in the agricultural industry after leaving college and prior to coming to SFM. 18 of those years were spent in the grain elevator industry. He worked for cooperative and private grain companies in the Central Illinois. Chris currently lives in Tuscola, IL.

Location: Champaign, IL

IL, IA, IN, KY, MI, MO, OH, WI

Cody Dust 

Crop Insurance Agent

Grain Market Advisor

Cody grew up 30 miles south of Indianapolis in Mooresville, IN and attended Indiana State University in Terre Haute, IN. Prior to joining SFM, Cody spent 8 years with ADM in a variety of roles across the Midwest encompassing Corn Processing, Ag Services and Oilseeds, and Specialty commodity trading. Cody has a strong passion for farm risk management and commodity trading. Cody places a strong emphasis on educating all clients on grain marketing and trading fundamentals, Crop Insurance industry trends, and new ideas to maximize profitability or manage risk. Cody believes in a “big picture” approach to grain marketing along with personalized strategies to achieve each client’s goals or mitigate risk. Cody is a Grain Market Advisor and licensed crop insurance agent in Illinois and Indiana.   

Location: Champaign, IL

IL, IN 

Danny Pfoff

Crop Insurance Agent

Grain Market Advisor

My wife, daughter and I reside in Mahomet, IL. I have been in the ag industry since 2010, with various roles with ADM across the Midwest. My focus and passion while working at ADM was working with producers and helping them with their marketing. Not many farmers get into farming because they love marketing, so it is gratifying for me to help on that side of the business. I offer brokerage services, crop insurance policies, and individual marketing services.

Location: Champaign, IL

IL, IN

Dave Chatterton

Crop Insurance Agent

Grain Market Advisor

As a member of both the Strategic Farm Marketing (Crop Insurance) & Strategic Farm Futures (Futures & Options Brokerage, Marketing) teams, Dave brings over 25-years of commodity trading and price risk management experience to table each day for the firm’s clients.

He authors the SFM/SFF Daily Market Texts & Weekly Marketing Letter, as well as heading up the firm’s Futures & Options trading desk, and assist’s producers in all areas of grain & livestock production risk – inclusive of crop insurance, cash marketing and hedging/investing in the futures market.

Prior to joining SFM/SFF, past stops along the way included 16-years at the Powerline Group (a commodity brokerage platform which he founded/operated), 7-years with INTL FCStone as a commercial broker/group manager in the grain & energy divisions, and 5-years at Bunge Corporation (commercial grain/merchandising divisions). Never shy on an opinion and always up to date on the latest market trends, don’t hesitate to contact Dave with questions big or small!

Location: Champaign, IL

IL, IN, IA, MO, SD

Dave Janson

President

Dave, the President of the company, is a licensed commodity broker, crop insurance agent and grain marketing specialist. Dave was a senior merchant for Cargill. During his tenure he worked at a barge loading facility, an export and soybean processing plant, a terminal elevator and CBOT delivery warehouse, and the Cargill headquarters in Minnetonka, MN. Dave grew up on a dairy farm in Minnesota and has an Agricultural Education degree with a minor in Ag Economics from the University of Minnesota.

Location: Champaign, IL

IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MI, MN, MO, OH, TN, TX, WI

Dean Howarter

Crop Insurance Agent

Dean has been with the company since February 1986. Born and raised on a farm in Kansas, Dean has been working in agriculture since 1953. Dean is a livestock expert, a strong student of the grain markets, and a licensed crop insurance agent. Dean and his wife Linda live in Monticello.

Location: Monticello, IL

IL

Don Wright

Crop Insurance Agent

Don joined the company in 2005 and is a licensed crop insurance agent in KY & TN. He grew up near Jacksonville, IL area and moved to the Russellville, KY area in 1972 where he has farmed for 33 years. Don retired from farming in 2005. Since the mid 80s, Don has used crop insurance as part of his risk management program. Don is married to his wife Joyce and has two children John and Jason.

Location: Russellville, KY

KY, OK, TN, TX

Ed Dunn

Crop Insurance Agent

Grain Market Advisor

Ed joined SFM in March 1999 and does commodity brokerage and crop insurance. He spent five years with Lauhoff Grain Company in Danville, IL as a grain merchandiser and managed the corn hedging desk. Ed was also a commodity broker for Lakes Trading Group in Indianapolis, IN and managed the feedmill division. He earned an Ag Economics degree from the University of Illinois. Ed, his wife Tonya, live in St. Joseph.

Location: Champaign, IL

IL, IN

Eric Heyen

Crop Insurance Agent

Eric has been a licensed crop insurance agent with SFM since 2013. He grew up on a grain farm in central Illinois before graduating from Illinois State University with a BS in Finance and Marketing. He is a vice-president of First National Bank of Litchfield and is the Ag and commercial credit analyst. He continues to help with the family farm operation. Eric and his wife Courtney reside in Troy, IL with their three children.

Location: Litchfield, IL

IL

Eric Kuhns

Crop Insurance Agent

Grain Market Advisor

Eric and his wife reside in Tuscola, IL he earned his bachelor’s degree in Agricultural and Consumer Economics from The University of Illinois. Eric started with Strategic as an intern, and joined full time in 2019, when he graduated from college. He is a licensed crop insurance agent, working with growers in Illinois, Missouri and Ohio. The growers he works with currently consist of corn, soybeans, wheat and hay farmers. He offers brokerage services, crop insurance and individual marketing plans.

Location: Champaign, IL

IL, MO, OH

Galen Janson

Crop Insurance Agent

Location: Pierz, MN
MN, KS, WI

Gary Asay

Crop Insurance Agent

Gary Asay joined the company in 2005 as a crop insurance agent. Gary and his wife operate a corn and soybean farm near Osco, IL. Gary is a long-term user of cover crops and reduced tillage to improve the soils he farms.

Location: Osco, IL
IL, IN, IA

Greg Brucker

Crop Insurance Agent

Greg joined Strategic Farm Marketing in 2004. He has a B.S. in Ag Business from IL State University. Greg was an agent with Country Companies Insurance for almost 10 years. He wrote all lines of insurance but specialized in Crop and Farm insurance. At Strategic, Greg focuses on Crop insurance. Greg, his wife Kristi, and three children reside in Sibley, IL and also operate a grain farm.

Location: Sibley, IL

IL, IN, WI

Janice Janson

Crop Insurance Agent

Janice joined the company in 2005, a licensed crop insurance agent. Farming near Buckman, MN she and her husband operate a successful manure equipment rental business, and have a fresh market sweet corn business which delivers sweet corn daily to local stores.

Location: Pierz, MN

MN

Jessica Sarbacker

Crop Insurance Agent

Jessica has been a crop insurance agent since 2003. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Madison with a BS in Ag Business Management. She currently services as the Crop Insurance Manager at Lake Ridge Bank. Lake Ridge Bank joined forces with SFM in 2017, to provide superior crop insurance options and knowledge to farmers across Southern Wisconsin. Jessica also farms with her husband and parents near Whitewater, WI where they grow corn, soybeans, and have a small herd of elite Holstein cattle.

WI, IL

Keith Janson

Crop Insurance Agent

Keith is a licensed commodity futures broker, crop and dairy insurance agent. He has been with the company since 2005 after graduating from the University of Minnesota – Duluth with a degree in Management Information Systems. He also enjoys working on the family farm growing corn, soybeans and fresh market sweetcorn. Keith and his wife live outside of Buckman, MN with their two kids.

Location: Hillman, MN

MN

Mark Janson

Crop Insurance Agent

Mark joined the company in 2004. Mark graduated from the University of Minnesota – Duluth with a degree in Organizational Management. He handles data entry for numerous agents throughout Strategic Farm Marketing. He is also involved in the research and development of various crop insurance decision making tools. Mark is a licensed crop insurance agent in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Mark and his wife Steph live in St. Cloud, MN with their daughter Reese.

Location: St. Cloud, MN

MN, WI

Mary Elleby

Crop Insurance Agent

Mary grew up on a dairy farm and has always enjoyed farm life! Her and her husband Chris have 2 children and one grandson, who also had the chance to learn about farming by helping Grandpa and Grandma on the farm. She feels a connection to farmers and likes to find the best risk management strategy for each client each year!

Location: Cook, MN

MN

Micah Twedt

Crop Insurance Agent

Location: Frost, MN

MN

Roger Janson

Crop Insurance Agent

Roger joined the company in 2005, a licensed crop insurance agent. Farming near Buckman, MN he and his wife operate a successful manure equipment rental business, and have a fresh market sweet corn business which delivers sweet corn daily to local stores.

Location: Pierz, MN

MN

Ryan Brandts 

Crop Insurance Agent

Ryan grew up on a farm in south central MN near St. James. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Saint John’s University in 2006. After graduation he started and spent 15 years buying and merchandising grain at the local co-op where he also became a licensed broker. He started farming in 2009 in the St. James area and is full time farming today. Ryan became a licensed crop insurance agent and started working with Strategic Farm Marketing in 2020. He currently resides in his hometown of Saint James with his wife Amanda and three children.

Location: Saint James, MN

MN

Ryan Buchman

Crop Insurance Agent

Ryan joined the company in 2003. He is a licensed crop insurance agent. Ryan farms with his dad. They have an outstanding cattle, grain, and straw operation. “I live in northwest Ohio and farm with my brother and father. We raise corn, beans and wheat across 2100 acres along with baling straw for racehorses. I have been an agent in Ohio for the last 16 years.”

Location: Pemberville, OH

OH

Stephen Dunn

Crop Insurance Agent

Stephen joined SFM in the fall of 2019 as a processor. He became a licensed crop insurance agent in 2020 and is working with growers in Illinois and Indiana. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois in 2016. Upon graduation, he worked on the coaching staff for the Fighting Illini football team for two years. For two summers after coaching, he worked as the Membership Sales Director at Lincolnshire Fields Country Club. Stephen and his wife, Katie, live in Champaign, IL.

Location: Champaign, IL

IL, IN

Steve Schilling

Crop Insurance Agent

Grain Market Advisor

Steve has been with the company since August 2004 and is a licensed commodity broker and crop insurance agent. Steve graduated from the U of I with a B.S. in Agriculture and a M.S. in Animal Science. For 27 years he was one of the managers of Lake Fork Grain Company in Lake Fork, IL. He was responsible for all aspects of buying and marketing grain at the elevator. Steve and his wife Kathi live in Monticello.

Location: Champaign, IL

IL, IN

Todd Gonnerman

Crop Insurance Agent

Todd grew up and continues operate the family farm in Northwest Iowa. He attended South Dakota State University and received an Associates of Agriculture degree in 1989. His entire career has been in Agriculture and has bee focused on customer service. In his spare time he enjoys coaching high school athletes and tries to get in a few rounds of golf in the summer and some downhill skiing in the winter.

 Location: Ruthven, IA

IA, MN

Tom Mann

Crop Insurance Agent

Grain Market Advisor

Tom has been with the firm since 2001 and handles commodity brokerage and crop insurance. After returning from Vietnam, he attended Eastern Illinois University for 3 years in a pre-pharmacy program. In 1974, Tom went to work for Tuscola Cooperative Grain as the bookkeeper and left in 1985 as the interim manager. He worked for Cargill, Inc to create a farm program for terminal level facilities and left in 2001 as manager of the Mattoon Terminal Elevator.

Location: Champaign, IL

IL, IN

Tracy Skaar

Crop Insurance Agent

Tracy joined the company in 2005 and is a licensed crop insurance agent. Tracy attended the University of Minnesota Technical College at Waseca, MN and then attended South Dakota State University studying Dairy Production. Tracy has been raising corn, soybeans, and alfalfa for more than 17 years, as well as feeding cattle.

Location: Hayward, MN

MN

Vince Reincke

Crop Insurance Agent

Grain Market Advisor

Originally from Nokomis, IL, he earned a B.S. in Agriculture from the University of Illinois in the year 2000. He and his wife, Heather currently reside in Tuscola, IL. Following college, Vince worked for Cargill, Inc. as a Management Trainee. He then moved on to manage a privately owned grain elevator in Jasper Co. Indiana. He joined the Strategic Farm Marketing team in August of 2002. He is a licensed commodity broker and crop insurance agent.

Location: Hillsboro, IL

IL, IA, IN, MO, OH