AMES, Iowa – Joe Kerns, risk management consultant and president of Kerns and Associates, will present the 2017 William K. Deal Endowed Leadership Lecture Oct. 5 at Iowa State University.
He will present, “Suddenly, suddenly, then all of a sudden: A tale of resiliency, entrepreneurship and the value of mentors” at 7 p.m. in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union on the Iowa State University campus. The event is free and open to the public.
Kerns has 25 years experience working with producers, suppliers and mills to support agricultural operations. He and his team assist clients in more than a dozen states with procurement and risk management activities related to: hedging, ingredient purchase, optimizing relationships with mills, feed quality control, cost-effective diet formulation, operational benchmarking, livestock marketing, generational transition and business development.
He and his team members have served as keynote speakers for international agricultural agencies and suppliers providing context about commodity markets, nutritional factors impacting production, operational sustainability, leadership and ownership.
Kerns graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in agricultural business in 1986. Prior to this consulting venture, he directed risk management activities for industry leaders such as ADM, Premium Standard Farms, Continental Grain and Iowa Select Farms.
The late William K. Deal, an Iowa State alum with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education, established the lecture series to help prepare future leaders and innovators in agriculture. The lecture is organized by the Department of Agricultural Education and Studies in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and co-sponsored by the Committee on Lectures funded by the Government of the Student Body.