Wisconsin Agribusiness Classic

2025 Speakers

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Allison Young

Communications and Management

Originally from Lowden, Iowa, Allison graduated from UW-Platteville in 2018 with a degree in Animal Science with an emphasis in Ag Business. She has been with Premier Cooperative since graduation, where she currently serves as the Quality Assurance and Communications Manager. In this role, Allison manages Premier's feed safety plans and oversees marketing and communications company-wide. She now lives in Cuba City, WI with her husband, Austin and son, Jack. 

Bio
Amit Sharma

Amit Sharma

Disease Management

My name is Amit Sharma. I am pursuing my doctorate degree in Plant pathology at UW-Madison. My projects aim to comprehensively address key aspects of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum management. These include investigating the population diversity of S. sclerotiorum, evaluating the effective application rates of Contans (Coniothyrium minitans) for disease reduction, and assessing the efficacy of C. minitans in reducing the survival and viability of S. sclerotiorum sclerotia left on the soil surface or buried. Additionally, my research is focused on evaluating the impact of potassium on the growth and germination of both S. sclerotiorum and C. minitans as well as the efficacy of C. minitans to control Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. Besides my research, I actively contribute to the academic and professional community. I am a member of What’s Eating My Plants, going to serve as the Plant Pathology representative on the Plant Sciences Graduate Student Council (PSGSC), and mentor fellow graduate students through the Plant Pathology Peer Mentor Program.

Bio
Aaron ORouke

Aaron O'Rouke

Nutrient Management

Aaron O’Rourke grew up in SE Wisconsin and worked on multiple Dairy farms throughout High School and college.  After high school, Aaron received an Associate’s Degree in Law Enforcement from Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton.  He then transferred to the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point where he received a Bachelors Degree in Resource Management with a Soil Science Minor.  Aaron began working for the WDNR as a Nutrient Management Plan Reviewer in the CAFO program in 2016 and as of May 2018, works as the Nutrient Management Program Coordinator in the CAFO program.

Bio
Andrea Topper

Andrea Topper

Nutrient Management, SnapPlus

Andrea Topper is the Nutrient Management Outreach Specialist with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.  She works closely with county land conservation staff, farmers and plan writers on nutrient management planning and the SnapPlus program.

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Angie Greving

Angie Greving

Communications and Management

Angie Greving is the Marketing Communications Manager at Insight FS. With over 16 years of experience, Angie brings a wealth of knowledge in reputation management, sustainability, and crisis planning. Prior to joining Insight, she worked closely with clients in the food and agricultural sectors, helping them prepare for potential crises and effectively manage their communications during challenging situations.

Angie has led high-profile projects, including managing animal rights activist campaign responses, and producing sustainability programs and reports. Her expertise has benefited industry leaders such as Smithfield Foods and Zoetis, where she played a key role in both preparing for and addressing crisis situations.

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Becky Larson

Becky Larson

Soil Fertility

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Bob Lawrie

Bob Lawire

Agribusiness Safety & Management

Bob Lawrie, co-founder of Pro Fleet Care entered the rust control industry in 1983 when the general consensus was that tar or wax products were the best way to protect vehicles against rust. Bob Lawrie was not convinced, instead, he used a light chemical that could migrate into seams and crevices. Over the next 10 years, the marketplace also began to shift towards this chemical. As business grew so did the demand for servicing fleet customers. To better accommodate this growing segment, Bob developed the first ever mobile unit that went to the clients location. Customers saved time and money as they no longer had to have one of their employees drive equipment from their workplace to Bob’s shop. This also minimized their equipment downtime. The mobile system was very successful and Bob decided to wholly focus his attention on developing this market.

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Brenda Boetel

Brenda Boetel

Economics/Industry Topics

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Chris Bandura

Chris Bandura

Soil Fertility

My name is Chris Bandura, the Statewide Conservation Cropping Outreach Specialist with UW Madison, Division of Extension. I joined the Extension team in August of 2023, and am based out of my home office in the Wausau, WI area. The focus of my work throughout the state is centered on promoting the adoption of conservation cropping practices including reduced and no-till and cover cropping, and evaluating the intersection of conservation practices and nitrogen management. Additionally, bringing context to farmers and consultants about what some of the common soil health metrics “mean” is another priority. My current research and outreach efforts are focused on legume cover crop N credits to corn when planted in the summer following small grain harvest. Prior to joining Extension, I spent the last 7 years managing an agronomy testing laboratory in Stratford, WI for Dairyland Laboratories and AgSource Laboratories. My educational background consists of a B.S. in Soil and Land Management from UW-Stevens Point and an M.S. in Soil Science from UW-Madison.

Bio
Chris Clark

Chris Clark

Soil Fertility

Chris Clark a CCA is an outreach specialist for the Nutrient & Pest Management Team in Northeast Wisconsin. Chris partners, cooperates and brings together farmers, researchers and industry providing agronomy outreach. Chris began her role at Extension in 2023. Prior to joining Extension, Chris worked in private sector agronomy lab testing for 12 years, and as a vocational agriculture educator for 9 years. She has a BA in Agricultural Education from UW-River Falls and serves on the Wisconsin Certified Crop Advisor Board.

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Chris Kucharik

Chris Kucharik

Weather & Forages

Chris Kucharik is Professor in the Department of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and serves as director of the Wisconsin Environmental Mesonet (Wisconet). He is affiliated with the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, and the Wisconsin Energy Institute. He serves as co-chair of the Agriculture Working Group for the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts (WICCI).  His interdisciplinary research program combines ecosystem modeling with field work on plant physiology, eco-hydrology, and biogeochemical cycling to better understand the impacts of land management decision-making and a changing climate on the food-energy-water nexus. 

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Cory Spaetti

Technology

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Damon Smith

Damon Smith

Disease Management

Damon Smith is a Professor and Extension Plant Pathologist at UW-Madison. Damon’s responsibilities include research and extension efforts that focus on improving our understanding of the epidemiology of plant pathogens in order to develop better control recommendations for the sustainable management of field and forage crop diseases. Damon is a native of Western New York State. He earned his B.S. in Biological Sciences at the State University of New York, College at Geneseo, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from North Carolina State University. Prior to Damon’s appointment at UW he was an assistant professor and extension specialist at Oklahoma State University. 

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Dave Nelson

Dave Nelson

Agribusiness Safety & Management

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Emily Bick

Emily Bick

Insects

Dr. Emily Bick serves as the Assistant Professor of Precision Pest Ecology of Field and Forage Crops in UW-Madison’s Department of Entomology. Her work focuses on helping practitioners make better decisions in agriculture through the development of novel tools and strategies including sensors, degree day models, and most recently the Insect Pest Text Alert service.

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Eric Hurley

Eric Hurley

Nutrient Management

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Erin Mies

Communications & Management

Erin Mies co-founded People Spark Consulting with business partner Kristen Ireland, in 2018. People Spark is a business and human resources consulting company that works with small to mid-size businesses in the ag industry to achieve their goals through their HR strategies.  Erin has more than 20 years of experience consulting and coaching executives, leaders, and managers in human resources and leadership development, specifically in the agricultural and food industries. In addition to her work experience, she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Music (Harp) from Wittenberg University (Ohio), and her Master of Human Resources and Industrial Relations from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Erin resides in Minnesota.

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Fletcher Robbins

Insects

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Francisco Arriaga

Francisco Arriaga

Soil & Water Management

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Greg Martinelli

Greg Martinelli

Professional Sales

Greg Martinelli is a sales trainer, sales coach, and speaker who works with agribusiness companies to increase sales productivity, profits and ultimately dominate their market. He spent the last 32 years selling farm to farm, agribusiness to agribusiness and leading sales teams across North America.  He puts all 32 years of that experience into every event; bringing real world solutions that work. Greg is on a personal mission to make you the best salesperson or sales manager possible.  Seeing a critical need in the market, he launched Ag Sales Professionals in 2016. 

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