37th Annual South Dakota Corn Conference | Get to Know Our Speakers

Get to Know Our Speakers

The 37th Annual South Dakota Corn Conference on Saturday, January 21, features the following speakers. The daytime sessions are free and open to the public. For more information, view the agenda.

Mike Pearson

Mike Pearson was born and raised in South Central Iowa, where he grew to love agriculture on his family’s hog and cattle farm. After graduating from Simpson College, Mike moved to Grinnell, Iowa where he had the chance to build his own cow herd in addition to working as an agricultural lender.

Over the next 10 years, Mike left the world of finance and entered the world of media. He’s previously hosted “Market to Market” on Public Television, the Ag News Daily podcast, and currently, viewers can find him behind the anchor desk on “This Week in Agribusiness” on RFD-TV and listeners can hear him every day as the host of Agriculture of America, a daily ag-focused radio show carried by affiliate stations across the country.

Jarrett Whistance

Jarrett Whistance is a Research Scientist at the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri (FAPRI-MU) where his work focuses primarily on U.S. biofuel markets and policies. Jarrett joined FAPRI-MU as a graduate student in 2007 and has since earned both a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in agricultural economics from the University of Missouri.

Eric Snodgrass

Eric Snodgrass is the Principal Atmospheric Scientist for Nutrien Ag Solutions, where he develops predictive, analytical software solutions to manage weather risk for global production agriculture. He provides frequent weather updates that focus on how high-impact weather events influence global agriculture productivity. His current research uses machine learning to better understand field-level weather impacts on yields in the US and to increase confidence in long-range weather prediction. He presents his research as a featured speaker at over 50 conferences annually where he provides logistical guidance and solutions to weather sensitive financial institutions, farmers, commodity traders, and other stakeholders.

Darin Newsom

Darin Newsom, formerly with DTN has 30 years’ experience analyzing commodity markets; covering grains and oilseeds, livestock, energies, metals, etc. and understanding the different characteristics of each. He has appeared on numerous financial television programs to talk markets and is a regular analyst on the Iowa Public Television program Market to Market. He is a market columnist and technical analyst blogger, whose work has been featured on websites and in magazines for decades. Newsom is well known, speaking internationally and providing his unique analytical observations and years of experience on market outlook and how markets work in an entertaining and informative manner.

Vernon Brown

Vernon Brown is South Dakota State University's first-ever associate vice president of external affairs. His Sioux Falls-based position bridges the gap between the state's largest university and the state's largest city by building business, government, and non-profit partnerships and focusing on recruiting more Jackrabbits.

Previously, Vernon worked 20 years as marketing vice president at SDN Communications, he served eight years on the Sioux Falls City Council and a dozen years reporting for KELO-LAND TV. He and his wife, Tami, own The Spice & Tea Exchange in Downtown Sioux Falls. They have a freshman daughter, Emma, who is following in her parents' footsteps as a Jackrabbit.

Chad Greenway

A native of Mt. Vernon, South Dakota, Chad Greenway grew up on a family livestock and grain farm where the family raised cattle, hogs, corn and soybeans.

A four-sport athlete in high school, Greenway went on to accept a scholarship to the U of Iowa to play football. There Greenway was a 2X All-American and 3X All Big Ten performer along with getting his degree in Communication Studies. After his four years Greenway was drafted #17 overall by the Minnesota Vikings in the 2006 NFL draft. He went on to play all 11 seasons with the Vikings where he was a 4X Viking Man of the Year, All-Pro and Pro Bowler. Greenway and his wife Jenni have 4 daughters and run the Lead the Way Foundation to serve families with sick children who suffer from childhood disease.