Teddy Bekele

Chief Technology Officer for Land O’Lakes, Inc.

Teddy Bekele is the Chief Technology Officer for Land O’Lakes, Inc. Prior to joining Land O’Lakes and WinField United, Teddy spent 13 years at Ingersoll Rand in numerous IT, engineering and supply chain roles including Director of Program Management, Director of Innovation & Engineering Technology and Custom Software Development Manager. Teddy holds an MBA from Indiana University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina State University. Teddy has spent significant time internationally and speaks fluent Italian and Ethiopian.

Brittany Ullrich

Digital Technology Manager

Brittany Ullrich is a Digital Technology Manager for WinField United with nearly 10 years of experience in agriculture and precision ag technology. In her current role, Ullrich provides training and technical support for agronomists and farmers. She drives the implementation of the R7® Tool and other precision ag offerings, and helps WinField United sales staff, retailers, and farmers use them effectively.
 
Prior to WinField United, Ullrich worked for a cooperative in North Dakota as precision agriculture lead. She graduated from North Dakota State University with a degree in agricultural economics and remains active with the NDSU Sigma Alpha alumni association to help promote women in agriculture.

Joel Wipperfurth

Director of E-business for WinField United

As Director ofDirector of E-business for WinField United, Joel Wipperfurth evaluates new precision ag technologies, tracks the rapidly evolving competitive landscape of ag technology and develops new partnerships. He also serves as the WinField United spokesperson positioning the company in the ag technology/precision ag marketplace. 

Previously, Joel served as WinField United Ag Technology Applications Lead, a WinField United master agronomy advisor team lead in southern Minnesota, and a district sales manager for CROPLAN® seed. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota in agricultural industries and marketing. Joel grew up on a Holstein dairy farm in southern Wisconsin that also produced corn and alfalfa. He currently resides on a small acreage in Owatonna, Minn., with his wife and three children. 

Amanda Neely

Ag Technology Success Team Lead

Amanda Neely is the Ag Technology Success Team Lead for WinField United. She spends much of her time supporting the strategy and subsequent execution of the Decision Ag Technology Portfolio for WinField United. Amanda is also a member of the Agronomy and Product Development Leadership team where she collaborates with the others members of leadership to push the Agronomy and Product Development group to new heights! Amanda has a Bachelors in Wildlife Biology and a Masters in Environmental Science, with an emphasis in Geographic Information Systems.

Mike Vande Logt

EVP and COO, WinField United

For nearly 40 years, Mike has worked in all aspects of the seed industry, with nearly 30 of those years in evolving roles at Land O’Lakes, Inc. Today, Mike leads Land O’Lakes’ combined seed and crop protection products business, WinField® United. He focuses on delivering data-backed, insights-driven agronomics, operational excellence and sustainable solutions to help locally owned and operated agricultural retailers meet farmers’ needs.

After earning degrees in agronomy and plant breeding, Mike began his career working directly with farmers, first as an extension service county agent and then in a variety of sales, sales management and technical agronomy roles. Mike joined the Land O'Lakes seed team in 1990 and assumed leadership of the overall business in 2012. Throughout his tenure at Land O’Lakes, Mike has focused on using insights to support local agricultural retailers in helping farmers increase productivity using fewer resources. Mike earned master’s and bachelor’s degrees from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and Green Bay, respectively.
 

Will Mangen

Digital Technology Manager

Will is a Digital Technology Manager for WinField United covering central Minnesota. He works to develop agriculture technology strategies to support the adoption of agriculture technology with his local WinField United sales team and his aligned accounts. Will earned his Bachelor of Science in Agriculture and Food Business Management from the University of Minnesota; is currently working on his Masters in Agronomy at Iowa State University; and currently resides in Glenwood, MN.

WinField United Ag Tech Team

WinField United Ag Tech Team

Our industry-leading research and processes translate comprehensive data into actionable insights, allowing farmers to optimize their yield potential season after season.

Elizabeth Woodside

Technology Manager

Elizabeth Woodside is a Technology Manager for WinField United covering western Kansas. In her current role, Woodside devotes most of her time to helping retailers and farmers implement ag technology tools to fit their needs. She facilitates the implementation of the R7® Tool and other precision ag offerings to help farmers understand field variability and increase the bottom line.  Woodside graduated from Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas, with a bachelor’s in business administration in marketing and a minor in agriculture. She and her husband live on their fourth-generation family farm near Prairie View, Kansas.

Alex Rust

Product Owner, Answer Tech Data Silo and NutriSolutions

Alex Rust is the Product Owner for Answer Tech Data Silo and NutriSolutions with WinField United, where he spends most of his time assisting the Ag Technology Specialists in driving the adoption of “decision ag” tools across farming communities. Rust provides technical support for sellers utilizing the R7 Tool and other precision ag platforms. When he isn’t providing field support, he enjoys working on the development of new technology. Prior to joining Winfield United, Alex worked for a precision ag company as an intern. He earned a bachelor’s degree from St. Cloud State University.

Mark Heineman

Agronomist

Mark Heineman is an Agronomist in Eastern Nebraska for WinField United.  He spends most of his time supporting local sales staff on agronomic needs and positioning of products. Mark is a Certified Crop Advisor which is a recognized agronomic education commitment system to help train professional agronomists.  Mark is also on the PGR/Plant Nutrition Steering Committee where future strategic decisions are made to enhance and develop this vital component of WinField United business.  Mark has a Bachelors in Diversified Agriculture with Minors in Agribusiness, Ag Economics, and Animal Science.

Kevin Eye

Vice President

Kevin has over 30 years of experience in the cooperative system. Some of his past roles include Agronomist, Agronomy Retail Manager, Agronomy/Seed Representative, Director-Seed Sales West, and Director-Answer Plot® & Agronomy Seed Services.  In his current role, Kevin oversees a unified WinField United agronomy and research team for Ag technologies, crop protection and seed products. His team provides research and development, data insights, and technical training programs, including the National Executive Grower Answer Plot® events. The WinField United Intern and Associate Program also fall under Kevin’s leadership. Kevin also provides resources to the FFA Community Garden Project for the Land O'Lakes Foundation. Kevin is a graduate of Ridgewater College with an Associate Agricultural Business degree. Kevin and his wife Cindy have two grown sons, a daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren. 

Travis Holm

District Sales Manager

Travis is a District Sales Manager in Southeastern Nebraska. He works to develop a knowledgeable sales team with his local WinField United retailers. Travis earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Nebraska; and, currently resides in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Tom Ryan

Strategic Sales Director and Master Agronomy Advisor Director

Tom is a 16 year veteran of the cooperative system.  Tom Graduated from North Dakota State University with a degree in Ag Economics with an emphasis in farm management and commodity marketing. He began his career with Belgrade Co-op as an Agronomist and Seed Team Lead in 1999 and became Agronomy Manager in 2003.  Tom joined Land O’ Lakes in 2005 as a Seed and Agronomy Advisor.  In 2010 Tom transitioned into  the Master Agronomy Advisor Program for Winfield United where he served as a Team Lead for the upper Midwest. Tom Currently serves as the Director of Strategic Sales leading Winfield United’s large grower strategy across the country and still works with growers on a daily basis.  He has a proven track record in retail sales as well as a strong agronomic background in production agriculture and precision ag.  Tom is also an active partner in his family’s 1200 acre corn/soybean farm near Springfield, MN.  He currently resides in Springfield, MN with his wife Kori. 

Ryan Moeller

Regional Technology Manager

Ryan works with Technology Managers in the Northern and Western United States in developing their technical abilities and coaching them for high performance.  He works to develop agriculture technology strategies to support the adoption of agriculture technology with the local WinField United sales teams and their aligned accounts.  Prior to the RTM role Ryan spent 9 years as a Technical Seed Manager for WinField United in the U.S. and Canada working to help build and promote the CROPLAN seed brand and before that worked for three years at a local independent retail cooperative as an Agronomy Production Specialist through Agriliance.  Ryan earned both his Master of Science and Bachelor of Science degrees from North Dakota State University.  Ryan currently resides in West Fargo, North Dakota.

Ryan Miller

Product Owner, Ag Technology Special Projects

Ryan Miller is the Product Owner for Ag Technology Special Projects with WinField United.  He works primarily with the R7 Tool and supports implementation and testing of new features, In-Season Imagery programs, as well as supporting other Winfield United Ag Technology offerings.  Ryan holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls in Geography, and has previously worked for Xcel Energy as a software support specialist, and with the Minnesota Dakota County’s Environmental Management Department.

Ryan Halvorson

Retail Development Manager

Ryan Halvorson, Retail Development Manager, for WinField United.  An a RDM for the past 5 years, Ryan likes solving problems and giving his retailers the best service he can.  With an agronomy degree from South Dakota State University and a farm management degree from North Dakota State College of Science, along with working in the seed industry for 15 years, Ryan brings a lot of experience to his retailers.  Training is one of the areas he enjoys most when it comes to working with the retail sales staff.  Outside of work, Ryan enjoys spending time with wife and two daughters.

Rick Behrens

Technology Manager

Rick Behrens, of Red Oak, IA started with Winfield United in June of  2011.  He is a graduate of Northwest Missouri State University and holds two bachelor’s degrees in Vocational Agriculture Education and Ag Computer Science plus a master’s degree in Geographic Information Science.  He has thirteen years of experience teaching experience at the high school and community college levels. Rick also has about ten years retail experience working at the local cooperative environment as salesman, branch manager, seed and precision agriculture lead.  Rick has about twenty years of experience of working with precision agriculture between his education and cooperative experience.  

Aaron Seifert

Digital Technology Manager

As a Digital Technology Manager (DTM), Aaron works with ag retailers to create a better customer experience through digital engagement. He helps with the development of a digital marketing strategy and guides the retailer through various phases of that strategy, including web site development and marketing campaign delivery utilizing WinField United’s ATLAS Platform and Data Silo. Prior to joining Winfield United, Aaron spent 5 years at Ziegler, Inc. engaging with growers and retailers around their precision ag hardware needs. He attended Waldorf College in Forest City, IA and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management and Finance. Aaron grew up in Southwestern Minnesota where his family still produces corn, soybeans, and livestock. Today, Aaron enjoys being actively involved in multiple farming operations with his family. Aaron and his wife, Jamie, live in Ankeny, Iowa with their three daughters Avery, Harper and Finley.

Allen Pung

District Sales Manager, Seed

Allen Pung is a District Sales Manager in West/Central Michigan. He spends most of his time working with large growers on behalf of the WinField United dealers in his area. His role is to help these growers increase their ROI in their operations. This is accomplished by using the vast assortment of tools in his WinField United toolbox. Tools such as R7, MAX-IN products, WinField United Branded HIF's and many times, just a new way thinking about the age old problems that growers face. He also relies heavily on several local sellers and also on the rest of his WinField United team in Michigan. Allen has an AA in Business Management and is also a Certified Crop Advisor. He has been in agricultural sales for 30 years, 20 years with a local retailer and ten years with WinField United. He is married with three grown sons.

Andrew Hartman

Ag Technology Support

Andrew works with the WinField United Agriculture Technology Specialists across the United States to drive the development of technical ability within the agricultural community. His fingers are on the pulse of developing agricultural technology, and he pursues the advancement of farm efficiencies driven by technology. Andrew attended Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota and has been in the agricultural industry for years.

Chris Heidrich

Seed District Sales Manager

Chris Heidrich is a Seed District Sales Manager for WinField United in western North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming. He spends much of his time assisting our owners with the adoption of Ag technology on the grower’s farm and in the field.  Chris is a graduate of Bismarck State College. Prior to WinField United, his experiences include the roles of Coop Location Manager, Seed Coordinator and Precision Ag Lead at a Coop in Western ND.

Steve Anthofer

Answer Plot Operations Senior Manager

Steve joined WinField United as operations lead for the Answer Plot® Program in 2009. With nearly 20 years of experience in both cooperative and research-focused roles, Steve oversees all processes involved in operating WinField® United’s Answer Plot® program, which comprises more than 200 research and demonstration locations across the United States. He guides teams in producing more than 5 million data points to help farmers make localized, data-backed decisions.

Steve holds a Master of Science degree in agronomy from Iowa State University and lives in Iowa.

 

Austin Mattern

Technology Manager

As a Technology Manager for WinField United, Austin Mattern consults with agricultural retailers, aiding them in the area Operational Ag Technologies. Using a consultative approach of learning current workflows, bottlenecks, goals and priorities, Mattern helps find technology partners that can increase an organization’s efficiency. Whether it’s for the sales team or on the custom application side, Mattern and the RTS team can help implement solutions that fit the retailer’s needs today and align with their goals moving forward. Prior to joining the Winfield United team, Mattern worked in Ag Retail as an Account Relationship Manager and Branch Location Manager. He Attended Purdue University and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Agronomy/Crop and Soil Management. Currently Austin lives in Lagro, Indiana with his wife Hannah and two daughters.

Craig Houin

Data Management Lead at Sunrise Cooperative

Craig Houin joined Sunrise Cooperative in 2010. In 2014, the cooperative’s precision ag offerings were organized as Sunrise Total Precision Partners (TPP), with Houin as head of TPP data management. In this position, Houin demonstrates his keen understanding of precision ag and its potential every day. He has piloted several additions to the R7^® Tool and continues to explore more technologically sophisticated ways to help farmers be successful.
 
Houin was nominated as the 2015 PrecisionAg Awards of Excellence Crop Adviser of the Year. He graduated from Purdue University, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural economics with a focus on rural development.

 

Drew Garretson

Regional Digital Technology Manager

Drew works with local Digital Technology Managers in the Eastern and Southern United States in developing their technical ability and coaching them for high performance.  He works to develop agriculture technology strategies to support the adoption of agriculture technology with the local Winfield United sales teams and their aligned accounts.  Drew spent almost 4 years as an Agriculture Technology Specialist in Indiana where agriculture technology adoptions continued to enhance the grower experience and yield improving practices.  Before coming to work for Winfield United Drew spent 4 years at the local agriculture retail level helping growers with their agronomic practices and implementation of technology on their farms.  Drew earned a degree in Agriculture Education and a minor in Agronomy Plant; Soil science from Purdue University.  Drew currently resides in southwest Indiana with his wife and son living on his wife’s family farm.

Dylan Barth

WinField United Associate

Dylan is a WinField United Associate located in south central Minnesota and a recent graduate of the University of Minnesota. Dylan works closely with retail sellers to bring personalized and high quality data and insights to their growers. With a degree in agriculture and food business management he understands that each operation has specific individual needs. He uses WinField United Answer Plot data to find solutions to those grower needs. When he’s not in a field or at the farm gate Dylan enjoys hunting and attending Golden Gopher sporting events.

Jason Dvorak

Technology Manager

Jason Dvorak is a Technology Manager for WinField United covering eastern Kansas and northern and western Missouri. He works with other WinField United staff, coop agronomists, and growers on the adoption and implementation of new ag technology to increase efficiency, economics, and sustainability.  Prior to joining WinField United as an ATS, Jason worked as a Sales Agronomist for 8 years at Ag Partners Coop in Hiawatha, KS. There he worked to build a precision ag program from the ground up while scouting and managing growers fields.  He also was tasked to further incorporating new technologies and products into the coop’s offering as they were developed.  Jason started his career as an independent Agronomist and worked for Seaman Crop Consulting in Hugoton, KS there he scouted irrigated Corn, Soybeans, Cotton, Wheat, and Alfalfa for 6 years.  After growing up on a livestock farm in Southern Missouri, Jason attended Fort Hays State University earning a degree in Agronomy.  Jason currently resides near Hiawatha, KS with his wife Nancy and four daughters.

Jessica Irvine

Content Manager, Digital Transformation

Jessica Irvine is the Content Manager on the Digital Transformation team for WinField United, working with retailers in southern Indiana and the northeastern United States. She supports WinField United sales, as well as in-field application and market implementation of WinField United technologies.
 
Irvine grew up on a farm in southern Minnesota and holds a Bachelor of Science degree from South Dakota State University in agricultural communication and leadership, with an emphasis in agronomy. 
 

Joel Johanningmeier

Technology Manager

Joel Johanningmeier is a Technology Manager for WinField United covering southeastern Minnesota. He works with other WinField United staff, coop agronomists, and growers on the adoption and implementation of new ag technology to increase efficiency, economics, and sustainability.  Prior to joining WinField United as an ATS, Joel worked as a Precision Ag Agronomist for 15 years at Greenway Coop in Rochester, MN incorporating new technologies into the coop’s offering as they were developed.  After growing up on a diversified crop and livestock farm in Northeast Iowa, Joel attended Iowa State University earning a degree in Agriculture Business.  Joel currently resides near Rochester, MN with his wife Katie.

Josh Krieck

Associate Development Manager

Josh Krieck is an Associate Development Manager for WinField United covering California, Nevada and the Pacific Northwest. He works to find value for Agriculture Technology on the diverse crops and cropping systems of the West. He works closely with the WinField United staff and aligned accounts. Josh earned his Bachelor of Science in Agronomy at South Dakota State University. He has spent time as a coop Agronomist in North Dakota and at another coop in Washington before joining WinField United. He and his family currently resides in Kimberly Idaho.

Keaton Krueger

Digital Technology Manager

Keaton Krueger is a Digital Technology Manager for WinField United. He has been part of the agriculture technology team since its inception with the launch of the R7® Tool in 2011. His primary role is to train and support sales staff in their use of agriculture technology platforms. When he isn’t providing field support, he works on the development of new technology, such as the R7® Tool iPad app. Prior to joining Winfield United, he held corn product development roles with multiple seed companies.
 
Krueger earned a Master of Science in Crop Physiology and Seed Science and a Bachelor of Science in Agronomy from Iowa State University. Krueger is based in northeast Iowa.
 

Kelsey Berger

Technology Manager

Within this role, Kelsey utilizes WinField United and partnered ag technology programs to bring value to retailers as they work with their customers. She provides training and technical support to accounts and offers assistance with ag technology at the farm gate.  Before joining the WinField United team, Kelsey held roles in farm management and agronomic sales. She graduated from Wilmington College with a degree in Agronomy.

Korey Werk

Master Agronomy Advisor

As an MAA, Korey helps growers select optimum performing products, such as seed and other crop inputs, uniquely targeted to the needs of their operation. With a degree from Minnesota’s Southwest State University and co-op experience, Korey brings vast experience in the precision agriculture arena. With technology in farming growing as fast as it is, he is excited about the cutting edge information that is available to help make research based decisions. From GIS mapping and correlation projects for the University of Minnesota to individual farm planning, Korey brings a determination to do his best and perform at the highest level in every aspect of his life – from commitment to his family and his career to his favorite hobby, fishing.

Matt Mesenbrink

Master Agronomy Advisor

As a Master Agronomy Advisor, Matt helps growers select optimum performing products, such as seed and other crop inputs, uniquely targeted to the needs of their operation.  Growing up and working on a farm he has always had a passion for agriculture.  With a UMM Degree in Agricultural Industries and Marketing, Matt has always had roles tied to the grower with the bulk in the coop system.  Seed has always been a bright spot for Matt and as technology grew his interest leads more to it.  Using multiple information sources along with the retail partner, Matt has helped growers identify opportunities and get the most out of their acres.  Away from work Matt enjoys spending time with his wife and two boys as well as gardening, hunting and fishing.

Zach Vavak

Digital Technology Manager

Zach Vavak is a Digital Technology Manager for WinField United based in St. Louis, supporting retail accounts in Missouri, Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi. In his role, Zach helps retailers and farmers successfully implement ag technology into their operations. Prior to his current role, Zach served as a Retail Development Manager for WinField United, after a stint at Black Gold Farms. He holds a Bachelor’s of Applied Science degree in agronomy and crop science from Arkansas State University.

Cameron Pyle

Technology Manager

Cameron Pyle is a Technology Manager for WinField United covering Texas and Oklahoma. His passion is to help retailers position ag technology offerings that make sense from an agronomic and economic view for their growers. From his previous work in retail, Cameron understands the challenges sellers and growers face. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural leadership and development from Texas A&M University.

Emily Alm

Technology Manager