IFB Ag Leaders of Tomorrow graduate

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Thirteen Illinois Farm Bureau members and agricultural professionals graduated from the Agricultural Leaders of Tomorrow program, an extensive leadership development program designed to help participants develop leadership and advocacy skills.

“Illinois Farm Bureau places great demands on member leaders to not only champion the cause within Farm Bureau, but also to represent agriculture in a wide range of activities,” said Tammie Obermark, IFB training and development manager.

ALOT provides selected IFB members an opportunity to learn a broad range of process and content skills to enrich their leadership abilities and enhance agriculture’s voice in Illinois.

Started in 1979, ALOT is an extensive leadership development program offering more than 80 hours of comprehensive classroom instructions covering the following four major areas of study: communication skills, political process, agricultural economics and global issues.

Sessions are conducted by university educators, business leaders, past ALOT graduates and IFB staff.

The 2026 ALOT graduating class represented 10 Illinois counties and included five full-time farmers, four part-time farmers and participants from other agriculture-related industries.

About The Graduates

Emily Cler is the director of engagement at the Champaign County Farm Bureau, where she helps connect the community with local agriculture and supports programs that strengthen the county’s farming heritage.

She lives on a farm with her husband and two daughters at one of the highest points in Champaign County. In her free time, Cler enjoys gardening and spending time outdoors with her family.

Aaron DeGroot is a partner in DeGroot’s Vegetable Farms, his family’s fifth generation vegetable and grain farm, located in Kankakee County.

DVF grows potatoes, peppers, winter and summer squash, cabbage, corn, beans and wheat. It also partners with farms across the country.

DeGroot’s role at the farm includes sales, food safety, regulatory compliance, vendor relationships and planning. He is also involved with the family’s produce marketing company, 4D Farm Products Sales, and third-party logistics company DeGroot Logistics.

Prior to working full-time for his family’s farm, DeGroot worked in government and political communications. He resides in Christian County with his wife, Avery, and three children, Marshall, Eloise and Harriet, at their sesquicentennial farmhouse.

Ed Dubrick, of Iroquois County, is a first-generation farmer from Cissna Park. There, he and his wife, Lindsey, and their two children raise laying hens, turkeys, broilers, sheep and produce on their 7-acre farm.

Their farm, DuChick Ranch, sells to local grocers, other farms and area food banks and pantries. In 2025, they raised 7,000 broilers, 400 turkeys, 300 laying hens and a dozen sheep.

Dubrick has held various roles throughout his professional career. He has worked in precision agriculture, managed an FS ag retail location, sold crop and farm insurance policies and advocated for legislation that kept farmers on the land and their communities economically resilient.

He believes his wide range of agricultural experiences provides him with a unique perspective and ability to discuss the many nuances of Illinois’s diverse agricultural landscape.

Michael Gill is a farmer with a passion for markets in the agriculture industry. Originally from the East Coast, he graduated from the University of Illinois and has worked for The Scoular Company as a grain merchandiser.

He has now moved back to central Illinois to assist in the family farm operation. He serves on the Peoria County Farm Bureau board of directors.

Brian Grotefendt, of Madison County, lives in Edwardsville and manages his family’s farm, which has been in the Grotefendt family for three generations.

He works alongside his mother, Lynn, and his three brothers to focus on soybean and corn production. He and his wife of 29 years, Andrea, also keep a small cow-calf operation.

When Grotefendt isn’t out on the farm, he enjoys catching up with his two daughters, Madelyn, 22, and Allyson, 18, who are both away at college. He values hard work, family and the simple routines of farm life.

Nicolas Gvillo resides in Highland. There, he sits on the Madison County Board as director of Leef Township.

He has been married to his wife Leslie for 16 years. Together they have three children: Peyton, 13, Hayden, 12, and Brecklyn, 5.

He is a sixth-generation farmer and grew up in Fosterburg. There, he was raised by his parents, Bob and Daphne Gvillo. He has two younger siblings, Daniel and Emily.

He now farms with his father-in-law and his heavily involved children. They grow corn, soybean and wheat and raise Polled Hereford cattle and show pigs.

Oliver Kragelund, of McLean County, is a student at Heartland Community College, pursuing the educational requirements needed to enter the agricultural safety sector.

He aims to leverage his unique, firsthand experience to help reduce and prevent major agricultural accidents in the future.

After graduating high school, Kragelund served in the U.S. Marine Corps, where he developed a strong foundation in discipline and service. In 2016, he transitioned into agriculture, pursuing grain elevator operations.

His career path shifted significantly in the fall of 2022 when he survived a severe accident inside a grain bin, which resulted in an amputation.

Motivated by this life-altering event, Kragelund is redirecting his career focus toward agricultural safety advocacy and risk prevention, committed to creating safer working environments for all in this industry.

James Maher is a sixth-generation small farmer from Peoria county. He and his father, Dennis, operate a heritage farm of 150 years. Maher is married with a 3-year-old son, who he hopes will be the seventh generation.

Matt Miller, of McLean County, joined COUNTRY Financial in 2011 and currently serves as the crop underwriting operations manager. In this role, he leads and oversees the day-to-day operations of crop underwriting, compliance, training, systems and product development.

Miller is a 2023 graduate of the CIRB Emerging Leader Program and holds a Yellow Belt certification, reflecting his commitment to advancing continuous improvement and leadership within the crop insurance industry. Prior to his current position, he held various roles in crop underwriting and crop claims.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Benedictine University in Springfield.

Miller and his wife, Shayla, live in Bloomington with their son. Outside of work, he enjoys helping on his family’s farm, woodworking and traveling to national parks.

Chase Ochsner, of La Salle County, grew up in Ottawa and earned an undergraduate degree in economics from Illinois Wesleyan University and a master’s degree in economics at Texas A&M University.

Although his original focus was on labor and financial economics, Ochsner became increasingly drawn to agricultural economics for its practicality and direct application to real-world challenges.

What stood out most was the close connection between agricultural economics and the lives and livelihoods of farmers.

While not raised on a farm, Ochsner was influenced by his grandfather, who farmed and passed down values of hard work, humility and perseverance — principles that continue to guide both his personal and professional life.

Mallie Pyles, of Tazewell County, serves as an agribusiness insurance operations supervisor at COUNTRY Financial, where she leads process improvement initiatives and supports operational efficiency across teams.

Outside of work, she is actively involved in her community as the vice president of her children’s school PTO and helping coach youth sports.

Pyles enjoys cheering on the Indianapolis Colts, is an avid reader, enjoys traveling, going to the beach and loves spending time with her husband and their four children.

Zach Rincker, of Shelby County, comes from a multigenerational farm where they primarily focus on row crops and a seed-stock cow operation. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in agronomy management from Illinois State University.

Rincker currently works for United Producers as a key account sales representative with a primary focus on beef and dairy cattle. He enjoys spending time with his wife and kids, running, cows and being involved in the auction industry.

Courtney Sandidge, of Mason County, was born to a multigenerational grain and livestock farm in Scott County near Winchester. She attended John Wood Community College, majoring in ag business and beef management.

She then attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale, where she majored in plant and soil science, graduating with a bachelor’s degree. In 2010, she married Matt and moved to southwestern Mason County.

They have three children: Paul, 12, Burl, 10, and Delta, 8. After her son Paul was born in 2013, she left the workforce and dedicated herself to her children.

Sandidge and her husband took over his family’s farm operation in 2015, and she has since overseen the office responsibilities, such as the financial and human resources side of the farm, along with their small trucking company. She is also responsible for cooking for six to 13 employees daily.