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| Leadership Team |
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| Brad Cowan, CEO/President |
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Brad Cowan joined the coop system in October of 2000 as the General Manager of Frontier Equity in Goodland, KS. His prior employment experience was with ADM in several locations. After a series of mergers and acquisitions Brad is now the CEO and President of Frontier Ag, Inc. In this role Brad oversees management of the coop’s 26 locations and approximately 260 employees across NW Kansas. Brad reports to a 10 member Board of Directors and membership of over 5,000 member/owners. Brad’s family consists of his wife Kris and 4 children. Two children attend college in Kansas and two are in high school. Brads leisure activities include restoring muscle cars, camping and fishing with the family. |
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| Brian Linin, CFO |
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Brian is the Chief Financial Officer of Frontier Ag, Inc. He has a significant background in industry and agriculture, having worked for The Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Company, ITW Dymon, Liquid Soap Products, the Wallace County Coop, and Frontier Equity Exchange. Brian grew up on a farm in Goodland, and has been actively involved in production agriculture all his life. He has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Kansas State University, where he graduated cum laude.
Brian is an agricultural producer in Sherman County, and serves in several professional associations, including the Kansas Wheat Commission, the Kansas Grain & Feed Association, the Kansas Agribusiness Retailers’ Association, and the Oncology Advisory Board to The Children’s Hospital in Denver, CO. Brian has served on the Goodland Area Chamber of Commerce, and is actively seeking a position on CoBank’s Board of Directors. Brian and his wife, Janda, have three children: Annika (6), Mirari (3), and Blair (3), and they enjoy boating, biking, skiing, billiards, dancing, and movies. |
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| Ben Brandvik, Grain Division Manager |
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Ben Brandvik has managed Frontier’s grain marketing division for the previous 4 years. His role is to oversee the merchandising staff in the Quinter, Oakley and Goodland office. Ben is responsible for the grain buying, hedging, selling and transportation activities for the company. Ben also works closely with the operations managers prioritizing grain movement to help achieve logistical requirements for the different locations.
Ben started in the industry 25 years ago by working in an elevator near his home in Texas. He quickly moved into location management and then into merchandising. Ben’s farm and ranch upbringing allow him to understand the needs and desires of our customers. Ben’s goal is to maximize farmer returns while limiting company risk. |
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| Greg Duncan, Operations Manager-West |
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| Jim Foltz, Operations Manager-Central |
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Jim started working for Frontier Ag, Inc. in October of 2007. Jim has over 29 years in Grain handling, Marketing and Operations of Grain Facilities. Jims past experience includes Managing large Grain Terminals in Topeka, Kansas, Lubbock, Texas and 100 Car Train loading Terminals in Shelton, Nebraska, Colby, Kansas, WaKeeney, Kansas, and Coolidge, Kansas. Jim currently oversees the Grain and Agronomy Operations of Frontiers Page City, Oakley, Grinnell, Breton, Rexford, Menlo, and Sequin Facilities. Jim and his wife Mindy have three grown children and one grandchild. |
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Curtis Meier, Operations Manager-East |
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Curtis Meier is operations manager in the eastern territory. He has worked in cooperative system for 23 years. He has lived his whole life in the graham county where he worked with his dad on the farm until he went to work for the Farmers Coopertive in 1986. Through the last 23 years he has worked under five different company names. He is based out of Morland where he also lives and serves on the city council and fire dept. |
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| Dave Frederking, Feed Division Manager |
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David Frederking came to work for Frontier Ag, Inc. as the feed division manager on March 1, 2009. David has over 30 years of experience in the feed industry in feed mill operations, retail and wholesale feed sales. He is responsible for overseeing all feed operations including our 5 grind and mix facilities as well as our main manufacturing plant in Grinnell. He also manages the feed sales team.
David’s goal for Frontier Ag’s feed division is to be your first choice as a supplier of animal nutrition and farm/vet supplies by providing the “Best Service” for all of our customers. |
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| Mike Shirley, Agronomy Division Manager |
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Mike started as a salesman for CO-AG in 1997 and has held several positions within the cooperative. He assumed the Agronomy Division Manager position in 2004. He is responsible for the purchasing, pricing of inputs, and agronomy personnel management for Frontier Ag Inc. Mike is proud to have been a part of several mergers and acquisitions that make up our CO-OP today including CO-AG / Mingo Coop merger in 1998, the acquisition of Holzmeister Ag Aviation in 1999, the Frontier Equity / CO-AG merger in 2007, and the Midwest Coop purchase in 2007. Mike also proudly represents the cooperatives interests in several local, state, and national organizations. Mike lives in Oakley and has two children. He enjoys golf, kart racing, and coaching his children’s athletic teams. |
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| Jason Dinkel, Petroleum Division Manager |
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Jason Dinkel currently serves as our energy division manager; he oversees all aspects of the energy department and is based out of our WaKeeney office. Jason started his coop carrier in September 1999 as assistant manager of the WaKeeney service station prior to that he worked for an independent tire dealer. He later became the manager of the WaKeeney station and managed the petroleum department for Midwest Coop. Jason and his wife Shelly have to children and they live in WaKeeney. |
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| Dennis Taylor, Shop Division Manager |
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Dennis Taylor is Frontier Ag’s Shop Division Manager. Dennis is a western Kansas native originally from Scott City, Kansas. After high school, Dennis was in the Army for six years as a military policeman. After serving his country, Dennis attended Garden City Community College, Fort Hays State University, and North Central Kansas Technical College, majoring in Auto-Mechanics. In 1983 Dennis worked for Turnbull Tire and Supply in Plainville, Kansas as an on the farm tire serviceman and mechanic. In 1985 Dennis went to work for the Garden City Coop as a Farm tire truck operator and mechanic and in 1987 the Coop bought a Midas Franchise and Dennis became ASE Certified in alignment, brakes, and exhaust. Dennis went to work for the Goodland Coop in 1989 as the Midas shop manager. Frontier Ag has nine automotive and tire shops as well as a Carquest automotive parts store. Dennis has also served as Petroleum Manager prior to accepting his position as Frontier Ag’s Shop Division Manager.
Dennis’s wife is LeAnn along with their three children Wade, Briana, and Andrew. Dennis interests are anything involving family, work, hunting, reloading, fishing, and supporting the students and athletes of Goodland U.S.D. 352 schools. |
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| Matt Frederking, Safety and Compliance Manager |
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