Nominating Committee - Mountain Plains

2025-2026 Nominating Committee Candidates

Candidate information includes a brief description of their farming operation, role in that operation, and/or business experience.

MOUNTAIN PLAINS

Robert Boynton – Winter Park, CO

My sister and I own a 100-acre, organic dairy farm in Northern California which has been in our family since it was homesteaded in 1858. The dairy is rented to my first cousin and together we manage the dairy operation. My focus is on regulatory compliance and facilities maintenance. My career was spent in various corners of the dairy industry, first as a professor of Agricultural Economics at Purdue University and Cornell University (focus on agricultural cooperatives and milk marketing), then as Executive Director of the Dairy Institute of California, and then as Sr. VP of Marketing & Sales for Leprino Foods Company. (a manufacturer of mozzarella cheese).

John Caldwell – Longmont, CO

The Caldwells have sprinkler irrigated farmland, feed cattle and graze cattle. I am involved in strategic planning, investments and marketing of cattle. I am actively involved in futures commodity trading, private equity, public equities and real estate investments. Past director of American AgCredit. I owned and operated a cross-country grain merchandising business for 40 years and have been in cattle business continuously since I was 18 years old. Active and on board of several non-profit organizations.

Quade Erker – Keenesburg, CO

My name is Quade Erker, and together with my brother, we own Middle J Farms, LLC – a first-generation farm based in northeastern Colorado. Our journey began in 2017 with the lease of 817 acres. Today, we operate across 10,000 acres in five Colorado counties – producing wheat, corn, milo, millet, and feed crops. We also provide custom farming services to other local producers, consisting of custom harvesting, planting, and tillage. My primary roles on the farm consist of business management, grain marketing, seeding and tillage operations. In the other farm roles that are managed by my brother, I serve as the secondary manager. Together we have built a structure of management that allows us to independently preside over day-to-day operations while always filling in to help amongst each other’s tasks. In addition to ourselves, we also manage several full-time employees and part-time harvest workers. Outside of the farm, my brother and I are the owners of Lost Creek Estates, LLC where we own farmland that is leased back to our farm, as well as several small rental properties. 

Tim Gittlein – Fort Lupton, CO

My farming operation is a multigenerational business located in Weld County Colorado, and Scottsbluff Nebraska. The farm consists of 850 owned acres, and 2500 leased acres. Crops include alfalfa, corn, wheat, dry beans, mixed forages, a custom hay harvesting business, and a cow calf herd. I handle the day-to-day decisions, including budgeting, forecasting, financial documents and tax planning, marketing, and employee engagement. I attend many courses throughout the year to keep up to date on trends in agriculture and finance. My wife Jolene and my two sons, Vincent, and Dominic are an integral part of the operation. The farm has been in existence since 1935. I have been in a management role for 30 years.

Andrea Ingo – Montrose, CO

I am an active partner in my family’s cow-calf operation located in southwestern Colorado. My responsibilities include managing the day-to-day operations for the cattle and haying enterprises and assisting with our big game hunting enterprise. Before working solely on the ranch for the past twenty years, I worked at a local bank for five years.