Below is a list of the current sitting Nominating Committee members. Members are elected annually and are responsible for reviewing and selecting the nominees for the Board of Directors and the next year’s Nominating Committee.
GREAT PLAINS TERRITORY
Chandler Cupp
Scott City, KS
New Member
Mr. Cupp owns and manages a farm and ranch in 13 counties in Kansas and Colorado and has rental houses in Manhattan, which his son manages. He formerly worked at a commercial bank and two Farm Credit associations. In the past, he was a partial owner of four banks, and he is currently a minor shareholder in a bank in Indiana. Mr. Cupp owned 50% of an insurance agency, which he managed, and he was a partial owner of a sale barn.
Gwen Wells
Marienthal, KS
Third Year on Committee
Ms. Wells is a fifth-generation Western Kansas farmer and rancher. She and her husband farm and ranch in Wichita, Logan, Lane, and Ness counties. They are primarily dryland farmers and grow wheat, sorghum and corn. They also raise commercial Red Angus cattle and have a small feedlot. Ms. Wells is involved in the daily operations on their farm and ranch, as well as on the business side of their operations. She manages the books for their two entities and handles a portion of the programs they participate in through the FSA/NRCS.
HEARTLAND TERRITORY
Cindy Baldwin
McPherson, KS
Fourth Year on Committee
Ms. Baldwin and her husband own and operate a diversified grain farm with a mix of dry land and irrigated acres in McPherson County, Kansas. They also own and operate Blaze Fork Enterprises LLC, through which they market their homegrown popcorn under the Papa Baldy’s label in Kansas retail outlets and nationally through their online store. While Ms. Baldwin provides input in farm management decisions, her primary role on the farm is bookkeeping. She also performs the accounting for the LLC and manages packaging and shipping of their product. In addition to the over 40 years of business experience with the farm, Ms. Baldwin also owned and managed a niche newspaper distributed throughout Kansas for 14 years, which she recently sold. She also works as an editor and freelance writer.
Dennis Rau
Derby, KS
Second Year on Committee
Mr. Rau has a diverse farming operation that is made up of three generations. His father, wife, two sons, and daughter work together with him to manage and operate our farm. Mr. Rau is currently the primary manager of all business, crop production and day-to-day operations.
MOUNTAIN PLAINS TERRITORY
John Caldwell
Longmont, CO
Fifth Year on Committee
The Caldwells have sprinkler-irrigated farmland, feed cattle, and graze cattle. Mr. Caldwell is involved in strategic planning, investments, and marketing of cattle. He is actively involved in futures commodity trading, private equity, public equities and real estate investments. He also previously served as a director at American AgCredit. Mr. Caldwell owned and operated a cross-country grain merchandising business for 40 years, and he has worked in the cattle business continuously since he was 18 years old. He is also actively involved and on the boards of several non-profit organizations.
Andrea Ingo
Montrose, CO
Second Year on Committee
Ms. Ingo is an active partner in her family’s cow-calf operation located in southwestern Colorado. Her responsibilities include managing the day-to-day operations for the cattle and haying enterprises, as well as assisting with their big game hunting enterprise. Before working solely on the ranch for the past 20 years, Ms. Ingo worked at a local bank for five years.
NEW MEXICO TERRITORY
Troy Sauble
Maxwell, NM
Second Year on Committee
Mr. Sauble is a fourth-generation rancher and part of a family-owned ranch. He holds several responsibilities: ranch infrastructure maintenance, heavy equipment operator, cattle and financial records, primary point of contact dealing with government agencies and programs, purchasing of breeding livestock, and general ranch hand.
Jett Sharp
Clovis, NM
Third Year on Committee
Mr. Sharp has managed his family’s cow-calf operation for the past 12 years.
WESTERN TERRITORY – CENTRAL REGION
Lomesh Agrawal
Fremont, CA
New Member
Mr. Agarwal owns a 140-acre pistachio farm in Kerman, California. He manages the farm and is involved in farming. His full-time job is in the technology industry as vice president at Magicleap.
WESTERN TERRITORY – HAWAII REGION
Michelle Galimba
Na’alehu, HI
Third Year on Committee
Ms. Galimba is vice president and manager of a cattle ranch, managing beef marketing and retail feed store operations.
WESTERN TERRITORY – NORTHERN REGION
Elaine Foppiano
Healdsburg, CA
Second Year on Committee
Ms. Foppiano is a wine grape grower, owner, and manager. She has 10 years of wine grape management experience. She manages 22 acres planted in Chardonnay, Zinfandel and Sauvignon Blanc.
WESTERN TERRITORY – SALINAS REGION
Daisy Huang
Saratoga, CA
Third Year on Committee
Ms. Huang co-owns a 50-acre almond farm. She has managed the farm’s finances since 2018.
WESTERN TERRITORY – SOUTHERN REGION
Bryan Vander Dussen
Ontario, CA
Third Year on Committee
Mr. Vander Dussen owns and operates a cow-calf operation, as well as markets custom beef.