Our People
Stakeholder Advisory Board
Ray Gaesser
Organization
Gaesser Farms
Bio
Ray Gaesser has 54 years of farming experience. Ray and his family farm approximately 5,400 acres in a corn/soybean rotation and grow rye seed for their cover cropping needs, plus they sell rye seed to others. Gaesser Farms plants 2/3 with cover crops each year with the goal of 100% cover. Caring for the land is a priority.
Gaesser Farms has a long history of on-farm research, cooperating with Iowa State University, Iowa Soybean Association, Iowa Corn Growers Association, and several agriculture industry partners. Ray has advocated locally, nationally, and globally for Iowa and US agriculture as president of the Iowa Soybean Association and American Soybean Association.
Bio
Ray Gaesser has 54 years of farming experience. Ray and his family farm approximately 5,400 acres in a corn/soybean rotation and grow rye seed for their cover cropping needs, plus they sell rye seed to others. Gaesser Farms plants 2/3 with cover crops each year with the goal of 100% cover. Caring for the land is a priority.
Gaesser Farms has a long history of on-farm research, cooperating with Iowa State University, Iowa Soybean Association, Iowa Corn Growers Association, and several agriculture industry partners. Ray has advocated locally, nationally, and globally for Iowa and US agriculture as president of the Iowa Soybean Association and American Soybean Association.
Joe McClure
Organization
Iowa Soybean Association
Bio
Joe McClure is the Chief Officer of the Research Center for Farming Innovation at the Iowa Soybean Association. The Center is focused on providing information to Iowa Farmers increase profitability, production, and sustainability through on-farm research and the implementation of edge-of-field and cropping system techniques in Iowa.
ERIN MEIER
Organization
Green Land Blue Waters
Bio
Erin Meier is the Director of Green Lands Blue Waters, a collaborative initiative focused on shifting the agricultural landscape of the Upper Mississippi River Basin to more acres of marketable continuous living cover to improve water quality, soil health, agricultural and community resilience, and the long-term stability of the Basin to the Gulf of Mexico.
Kevin Morris
Organization
National Turfgrass Evaluation Program
Bio
Kevin Morris joined the National Turfgrass Evaluation Program in 1982 as Technical Coordinator. Mr. Morris was National Program Coordinator before being named Executive Director of the NTEP in July 1998. Also, as President of the National Turfgrass Federation, Inc., Morris interacts with Congress and the federal government, representing the turfgrass industry.
HILARY OLSON
Organization
NRCS
Bio
Hillary Olson was raised on a family grain and farrow-to-finish hog farm in Central Iowa. She has worked for NRCS as a Soil Conservationist in various field offices across the state. She and her husband farm in Central Iowa and have a row crop operation and a cow-calf herd. She started in the State Soil Health Specialist role for Iowa NRCS in 2020.
Andy Vickers
Organization
POET
Bio
Andy Vickers is Agronomy Manager for POET Research. POET is the world’s largest producer of bioethanol. POET’s mission is to be good stewards of the Earth by converting renewable resources to energy and other valuable goods as effectively as humanly possible. This includes partnering with growers and researchers to find innovative approaches to a more sustainable world.