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So much goes into hemp production: data collection, trial and error, management of pests and weeds, seed selection and more. How can research and collaboration impact all of these factors for the benefit of the industry as a whole? What financial resources are available to help offset the costs associated with being a part of a nascent industry? Speakers:
Christi Southerland is the Managing Partner at Prosperity Ag, working with clients throughout the United States. With a Bachelor’s of Science from Indiana University, Christi offers over eleven years of experience in the energy and agriculture sector. With a passion for agriculture and rural communities, she enjoys helping clients find solutions and navigating them to success. Christi is from Hamilton County, Indiana where she enjoys spending time with her family and loves exploring her community.
Nick was appointed by President George W. Bush as the State Director of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Office of Rural Development in Mississippi. While State Director, Nick received special recognition for his role in the rebuild of his home state after Hurricane Katrina. He is one of three founders of the National Hemp Growers Cooperative. Nick was the first person to receive the designation as a Development Finance Certified Professional from the national Council of Development Finance Agencies. This designation assists the Co-op in project finance and the best way to leverage funding. He serves as the managing partner of the co-op and is one of two co-hosts of NHGC’s podcast called “The Industrial Hemp Growers’ Digest”. He currently owns Easy Grants, a non-profit grant writing firm, and Hetman Consulting Services – a nation-wide sales and marketing firm. Nick also serves on the adjunct faculty of Belhaven University as a professor of history. Nick is a seventh generation Mississippian from Wiggins, Mississippi. He holds both a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in History from Mississippi College. He and his wife Lisa and their three children live in Ridgeland, Mississippi. Nick has been active on many boards and commissions that keep him engaged in his church and community. Seth Boone, VP of Business Development, PanXchange
Dr. Ron Turco, Department Head - Agronomy, Purdue University College of Agriculture
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Christi Southerland, Managing Partner, Prosperity Ag
Nick Walters, Co-Founder, National Hemp Growers Cooperative
Seth Boone is PanXchange’s VP of Business Development and head of hemp markets.
Dr. Ron Turco is the Department Head of Agronomy. His research is concentrated on understanding how the behavior of microorganism and the processes they control in natural systems, is influenced by human activity. In particular his group has used enzyme activity, phospholipid analysis, and molecular techniques to understand community structure and function as impacted by management and introduction of materials. His early work has concentrated on the fate of pesticides and organics in soil systems. His group has also addressed rhizosphere ecology and managed systems such as turfgrass. His current projects are divided across three theme areas: understanding the fate of introduced E. coli in soil and water and the role these processes play in food contamination, developing a better predictive capacity to understand the environmental fate of manufactured nano materials (fullerenes, single wall carbon nanotubes and nanometals) in soil and water and defining the unintended consequences of using our soil resources for biofuel production. His work on environmental pathogens led to the development of EPI-Net.org a USDA national facilitation project. Dr. Turco teaches two graduate level courses: Soil Microbiology and a new course tentatively titled Biotransformation of Anthropogenic Molecules. He also teaches an undergraduate course on Soil Ecology.