Jim Farrell to Present Deal Lecture at Iowa State Sept. 20

AMES, Iowa -- Jim Farrell, president and CEO of Farmers National Company, will present the 2012 William K. Deal Endowed Leadership Lecture Sept. 20 at Iowa State University.

He will present "The Changing Role of Leaders in a Bullish Farmland Market" at 7 p.m. in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union on campus. The event is free and open to the public.

Farrell, who grew up on an Iowa farm, is a graduate of Iowa State ('76 speech communications) and began his career with Farmers National Company in 1986. His talk will include an overview of the drivers and potential risks of the current land market, the changing face of farmland management and offer insight to today's farmland owners and challenges they face.

"Today, Farmers National Company is responsible for 2.5 million acres of farmland in 25 states," Farrell said. "Its success is driven in part by the demographics of aging farm owners and investor interest in U.S. farmland."

Farrell has served in numerous professional and civic leadership roles. In 2009 he was appointed to the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's Omaha Branch where he serves as chair.

William K. Deal, an Iowa State alum with a 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.

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