The Sprouting of FamilyFarms Group
Our founders see some of the same and/or parallel events happening in the row crop sector that have already happened in other sectors of ag.
Those other sectors experienced tremendous change and very rapid consolidation and many local farm families didn’t make it.
Not wanting to see even one more family farm not succeed, FamilyFarms Group was born to create a system to help such farms deal with—and even thrive—in a rapidly changing row crop environment.
FamilyFarms Group was created to help people like you.
Meet your Resources
Our team has experience, passion, and drive to help family farms succeed.
FamilyFarms Group staff is a diverse group of business professionals—some with backgrounds in ag and others specifically hired to bring knowledge and experience from other industries and help members apply it on the farm. Our diverse group will help take you and your farm from where it is now to where you want it to be.
Matt Ronken
Chief Executive Officer
Jeff Haferkamp
SVP, Education and Strategic Initiatives
Harold Birch
Executive Vice President, Co-Founder
Dave Bryden
Senior Business Development Consultant
Michelle Goeke
VP, General Counsel
Vicki Ivester
Chief of Staff
Carolyn Roberts
Director, Family Farms Solutions
Michelle Smith
VP of HR, Corporate and Member Services
Valerie Bates
Senior Manager of Education
Royce Rottinghaus
Senior Director of Sales & Marketing
Jamie Cannady
Team Coach I/ New Team Implementation Facilitator
Nicole Davis
Certified HR Executive & Business Coach
Deb Etheridge
Vice President, Legacy Crop Insurance
Diane Hanekamp
Manager of Crop Sales
Gary Huggins
Team Accounting Specialist
Leo Kosokowsky
Financial Resource
Kyle Morgan
Team Coach II
Molly Norris
Senior HR Generalist
Marty Turner
Manager of Integrated Solutions
Maria Vonderheide
Marketing Assistant
Ariel Weinman
Senior Marketing Specialist
Where we’ve established roots
With headquarters in Brighton, IL, and staff in several other locations, we currently provide producers across the U.S. and Canada with the resources, services, and tools to be more competitive and successful while remaining independent.