Jim is the retired President of and partner in Farrell Growth Group (FGG), an agribusiness consulting firm founded in 1997 comprised of top-quality professionals. Services include general agricultural consulting, an extensive financial benchmarking service to Ag Retailers (Crop protection companies), and Business Brokerage with complete Mergers and Acquisition services for Agribusiness. FGG also facilitates two peer-to-peer groups of top ag retailers in the U.S and Canada.

Prior to joining FGG, Jim held the position of CEO and President of Farmers National Company (FNC) for 15 years. FNC is headquartered in Omaha, NE, and is the nation’s largest farm and ranch management company. The 93-year-old employee-owned company today manages 5,000 farms for more than 6,000 landowners and is responsible for 2 million acres of farmland in 29 states. The company is also one of the country’s largest agriculture-related real estate brokerages, selling more than 600 farms and ranches per year. FNC’s operations also include an oil and gas management division in Tulsa, Oklahoma with more than 218,000 oil and gas interests under management. Other business lines include an appraisal, insurance, consultation, management of hunting leases, forest resource management, and lake management services. The company today has over $10 billion of assets under management.

Jim was appointed to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s head office Board of Directors in 2015, and served as Board Chairman, retiring from the board in 2021. He previously served from 2009 through 2015 on the Omaha Federal Reserve Branch Bank Board of Directors, for 4 years as Chairman of that Board. Additional roles include 6 years of service on the Board of Directors of the Nebraska LEAD (Nebraska Agricultural Leadership Council) Program, ending in 2019.

Fred is an Accredited Farm Manager, Accredited Agricultural Consultant, and an Accredited Land Consultant. Fred has been an active member in ASFMRA for over 39 years at the state and national levels.

Prior to his retirement, Fred was the Director of Acquisitions for farmland investments at AgVictus Capital Management, based in Alpharetta, GA. He has over 40 years of experience managing vertically integrated agricultural companies, representing public pension funds for farmland investments, managing large-scale direct farming operations, representing private individuals, trusts & corporations for farm management/consulting, and brokering agricultural real estate sales.

His diversified experience included developing a direct farming operation for a private equity firm which included over 50,000 acres in six states, building and managing the largest beef confinement feedlot in the US in conjunction with managing the direct farming operations associated with the feedlot and 18K irrigated acres, developing almond, hazelnut, and macadamia tree nut farms while being an EVP President at the Westchester Group, a Senior Asset Manager at BGMI Investments, a Senior Agricultural Portfolio Manager for Wexford Capital and a Farm Manager at the Foxley Cattle Company.

During his career, he has sold, managed, and/or farmed in 38 different states which involved 44 different crops including almonds, pistachios, hazelnuts, and macadamia nuts. Fred brings an in-depth level of diversified experience in agriculture investment and operations management in the United States with some experience in Australia.

Ray Wyse has been involved in the agricultural industry since 1991, and an active professional commodity trader in the agriculture futures and options markets since 2000. Most recently he was Managing Partner at an Omaha investment firm, managing money for institutional investors in the agricultural commodity markets from 2013 to 2017.

Prior to co-founding the investment firm, Ray was Senior Director of Trading and Economic Research at The Gavilon Group from 2007 to 2013. From 1991 to 2007, Ray was with the Archer Daniels Midland Company in North America and Europe. At ADM he managed oilseed processing facilities and later held a corporate position managing global risk in the oilseeds, grains, cocoa, energy, and foreign exchange markets. He is also a farmland owner and manages his family’s farm in Southeastern Iowa, as well as being involved in commercial real investments. Additionally, Ray does consult work for and is a sought-after speak to management teams at major protein, fertilizer, and grain companies.

Ray has served on the board of directors of the Winnipeg Commodity Exchange and the Seed Crushers and Oilseed Processors Association of the United Kingdom (SCOPA). He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management from Central College in Pella, Iowa.