Meet CIRB’s Newest Leadership Development Class
CIRB’s 2025-2026 Leadership Development Program Class
The LDP is open to employees of CIRB member companies who wish to expand their network and broaden their knowledge of the industry. Prior to the name change, the Emerging Leaders Program graduated 115 crop insurance professionals over 10 classes.
All 14 of the class participants were at the CIRB annual meeting last week in Indian Wells, California, and all of them offered their comments about the program and what it means for them. The individual interviews by reporter Laura McNamara are edited into an hour-long podcast that reveals the future for the industry. Take a listen.
The 2025-2026 CIRB Leadership Development Program class:
Heather Jager, American Farm Bureau Insurance Services
Jamie Mason, American Farm Bureau Insurance Services
Aaron Larson, AgriSompo
Audrey Carls, AgriSompo
Dylan Houser, COUNTRY Financial
Shelby Oetting, Farm Bureau Financial Services
Josh Menz, Farmers Mutual Hail
Kathleen Bjerke, Farmers Mutual Hail
Avery Cook, Gallagher Re
Kody Kirkendall, Guy Carpenter
Ashley Hawley, Hudson Crop
Isaac Straub, Hudson Crop
Josh Goche, Rural Community Insurance Services
Stephanie Manhart, Rural Community Insurance Services
Akralos Animal Nutrition Debuts at CattleCon
During the 2026 CattleCon trade show, Akralos Animal Nutrition debuted at the Alltech booth. Conducting an interview is Steven Orr, Paramount Broadcasting (All Ag All Day) with Akralos CEO, Brian Gier. Here are the details.
Akralos Animal Nutrition, a new North American animal feed and nutrition company, officially launched Feb. 1. Formed through a joint venture between global agriculture leaders ADM and Alltech, Akralos combines Alltech’s U.S.-based Hubbard Feeds and Canada-based Masterfeeds businesses with ADM’s U.S. feed operations.
Operating an extensive network of more than 40 feed mills across North America and supported by more than 1,400 team members, Akralos delivers reliable, high-quality feeds, minerals and supplements through its trusted brands, backed by advanced nutrition expertise, leading-edge science and personalized service.
“Akralos brings together proven scale, innovation and infrastructure with a deep commitment to service and results,” said Akralos chief executive officer Brian Gier, a leader with more than 30 years of experience in the commercial animal feed industry. “From day one, our focus is on delivering nutrition our customers can rely on, support they can count on and partnerships that help their animals and businesses thrive.”
Listen in for more during the interview:
Interview with Brian Gier, CEO, Akralos (4:48)
Find more interviews in the Official CattleCon Virtual Newsroom
2026 NCBA Officer Team Approved at CattleCon
(L-R)Skye Krebs, Dan Hanrahan, Travis Maddock, Brad Hastings, Kenny Rogers, Buck Wehrbein, Kim Brackett, Gene Copenhaver, Scott Anderson (NCBA photo)
Kenny Rogers of Colorado was elected chair of the NCBA Policy Division and Scott Anderson of Oklahoma was elected policy vice chair. Travis Maddock of North Dakota and Dan Hanrahan of Iowa, were elected as chair and vice chair of the NCBA Federation Division, respectively. Brad Hastings of Texas will serve in the role of NCBA treasurer.
Copenhaver’s family has been raising crops and livestock since 1850. “I’m a fifth generation cattleman from from southwest Virginia and near the Tennessee line. And I’ve previously, I was a ag banker for 38 years. So I was doing 2 full-time jobs like a lot of our industry does in the business,” said Coperhaver. “I’ve been involved with NCBA, a member of 35 years, and been in policy leadership for the last 12 years. So it’s been a good way to be a servant to the industry. It’s important. My parents taught me that. My dad was involved in the cattle industry and local, state, and national cattle organizations.”
Copenhaver currently manages his family’s stocker operation in southwest Virginia with his son, Will. He has been married to his wife, Jodi, for more than 35 years, and they have two other grown children, Brad and Jaymee, and three granddaughters.
Listen to interviews with Coperhaver, Brackett, and Krebs from CattleCon in Nashville last week.
Gene Copenhaver, NCBA, President
Interview with Gene Copenhaver (7:06)
Kim Brackett, NCBA, President-elect
Interview with Kim Brackett (7:51)
Skye Krebs, NCBA, Vice President
Interview with Skye Krebs (6:11)
Find more interviews in the Official CattleCon Virtual Newsroom
Crop Insurance Industry Navigating Change
The 2026 Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau (CIRB) Annual Meeting is being held this week in Indian Wells, California, bringing together industry leaders, experts, and stakeholders across the crop insurance industry.
CIRB Executive Director Mike Torrey says the industry is dealing with lots of changes right now. “I think coming into the conference, the one guiding principle for the board of directors was there is so much change happening both in Washington and in the marketplace,” said Torrey. “So we spent a little bit of time talking about the changes, not just in Washington, D.C. and what’s happening on policy, but also what’s happening from an economic standpoint around the country. And some of that flows from Washington, D.C. So that was the first focus of the meeting. Another part of the meeting where they really focused was on the rapidly changing in developing technology applications and what that means for our agricultural system, whether it’s on the production side and farmers being able to deliver more for less and efficiently, and at the same time what implications that has for what folks here do, and that is deliver crop insurance for America’s farmers and ranchers.”
Torrey says CIRB is very focused on the next generation of leadership, which is why they have grown what is now called their Leadership Development Program. “The program, the leadership development program is about 11 years old, and I think after this class graduates, there will have been over 100….I mean, that’s a significant number. And it’s all about helping them be better at what they do within their company, but also what they do on protecting and defending the program.”
Learn more in this interview with Torrey.
Mike Torrey, CIRB (8:27)
RFK Jr. Gets Warm Welcome at CattleCon
Sec. Kennedy chats with NCBA president Buck Wehrbein (NCBA photo)
“We now have a food pyramid, which we flipped upside down, because it made more sense. That puts protein at the top of the food pyramid,” Kennedy said in a fireside chat with National Cattlemen’s Beef Association President Buck Wehrbein. “Food is medicine, and meat and chicken and eggs and animal protein are now at the top of the priority list.”
Kennedy, who recently had his 72nd birthday, talked about the health benefits he personally experienced by switching to a carnivore diet. “I eat beef every day. I usually eat it twice a day,” said Kennedy. “My blood markers dropped dramatically. So I really, for me, .. it’s been incredible — it’s been transformative.”
Kennedy’s bottom line message to producers is eat real food and get production back up to where it used to be. “We had 132 million head in 1972. We have 92 million today. And a lot of producers are now, because of fluctuations in the markets and uncertainty, slaughtering the breeding cows. And I’d ask you to stop doing that. We need a lot of beef, and we want to make it here in America. We don’t want to be importing it from other countries.”
Listen to some of Sec. Kennedy’s comments:
Sec. Kennedy comments (7:43)
BQA Awards Presented at CattleCon
Greta Halahan accepts 2026 BQA Dairy FARM Award for Singing Brook Farms (NCBA photo)
And the winners are:
2026 BQA Cow-Calf Award – East Foundation Ranches, Hebbronville, TX
2026 BQA Dairy FARM Award – Singing Brook Farms, Imler, Pennsylvania
2026 BQA Feedyard Award – Ordway Cattle Feeders, Ordway, Colorado
2026 BQA Marketer Award – Sysco Corporation, Houston, Texas
2026 BQA Educator Award – Jerry Yates, West Virginia University, Wardensville, West Virginia
The national BQA Awards are sponsored by Cargill and Sam’s Club. Award winners are selected by a committee comprised of BQA certified representatives from universities, state beef councils, sponsors and affiliated groups, who assess nominations based on their demonstrated commitment to BQA practices, their service as leaders in the beef industry and their dedication to promoting the BQA message.
BQA may stand for Beef Quality Assurance, but it also works on the dairy farm. “BQA standards give us tools to ensure that we’re creating healthy animals that thrive, which then translates into profitability,” said Greta Halahan with Dairy FARM Award winner Singing Brook Farms. By adhering to these standards, the farm aims to achieve optimal animal welfare, higher productivity and financial sustainability. These standards emphasize continual employee training and meticulous record keeping, ensuring the well-being of the cattle and the overall success of the dairy operation.
Interview with Greta Halahan, BQA Award winner (8:58)CattleCon 2026 Breaks Attendance Record
NCBA photo of trade show floor
“There’s a lot of smiles, a lot of optimism, and everybody’s having a great time, not only with the just current state of the beef industry and how good things look for us, but also we’re having a great CattleCon,” said National Cattlemen’s Beef Association CEO Colin Woodall. “A lot of good speakers. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was a hit. And of course, having the largest trade show in the beef industry doesn’t hurt either, and folks are able to get out there and see some new products, some new services to help them get even better at producing beef.”
On the agenda Thursday, cattle producers will hear from Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who Woodall says gave the industry a big win this year already.
“A year ago, we were still dealing with the proposal that we saw from the Biden administration that took meat off the center of the plate. It replaced it with beans, peas, and lentils. And we just weren’t happy with that. And we had to fight and fight hard to be able to present the science to Secretary Kennedy and his team. And you know what? Secretary Kennedy and his team took that science. They looked at beef, and as a result, we have the new dietary guidelines for America. We have that inverted pyramid that has beef at the top. And, you know, he went so far as to even talk about how beef tallow is a great fat to cook with as well. So a huge win for us as cattle producers.”
Listen to an interview with Woodall from CattleCon.
Interview with Colin Woodall (6:00)
Environmental Stewardship Awards at CattleCon 26
ESA National winner Wine Glass Ranch in Imperial, Nebraska
“This ranch has been in my family for 140 years, and we are the stewards of the ground,” said Logan Pribbeno with Wine Glass Ranch. “We are grazing the best and leaving the rest for the benefit of our soil health.”
Jeff and Connie Pribbeno and their son and daughter-in-law Logan and Brianna Pribbeno own and operate Wine Glass Ranch, located in western Nebraska near the Colorado border. The Pribbenos believe long-term care for their operation’s ecology translates to profitability, which is why they have married together the values of ranching for profit and environmental stewardship to make a living.
The Pribbenos were the Region VII winners. The other regional winners included:
Region I: Whispering Hills Farm, Lawrenceburg, Kentucky
Region II: M&D Overstreet Ranch, Kathleen, Florida
Region III: Smith Family Farms, Bankston, Iowa
Region IV: McFaddin Ranch, Victoria, Texas
Region V: G&G Livestock and Cathey Cattle Company, Polson, Montana
Listen to interviews with three of the regional ESA winners below:
Interview with Britany Cathey and Gregory Gardner, ESA Award Region V Winner (7:26) Interview with Bob McCann, ESA Award Region IV Winner (6:18) Interview with Jack Smith, ESA Award Region III Winner (8:30)Precision Ag News 2/4
