Grainnet

Washington, DC—The National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) elected Hal Reed (top picture) of Ohio as its new chairman this month during the organization’s 114th annual convention. Reed is president of the Grain and Ethanol Group at The Andersons Inc. (Nasdaq: ANDE), Maumee, Ohio, a diversified company founded in 1947.

NGFA members also elected as their new first vice chairman David R. Hoogmoed (bottom picture), executive vice president of Land O’Lakes Inc., Shoreview, Minn., and chief operating officer for feed for the company’s Land O’Lakes Purina Feed LLC business unit.

Bailey Ragan, vice president and general manager of Bunge Grain, St. Louis, Mo., was elected NGFA’s new second vice chairman.

Reed is the 63rd industry leader to serve at the helm of the NGFA. He also serves on the NGFA’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee. Reed previously served two-year terms as first and second vice chairman, respectively.

In his capacity as president of The Andersons’ Grain and Ethanol Group, Reed oversees the operations of 20 grain terminal elevators with a combined storage capacity exceeding 100 million bushels.

The Andersons’ grain facilities ship more than 300 million bushels annually, primarily in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois.

The company also merchandises substantial additional quantities of grains and oilseeds, primarily in the Eastern Corn Belt.

Reed also oversees The Andersons’ investments in three ethanol plant LLCs (one each in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio), to which The Andersons provide management, operations and merchandising services. He also oversees The Andersons’ investment in Lansing Trade Group LLC.

He began his career at The Andersons in January 1980 as a certified public accountant. He subsequently held various accounting, operational and marketing positions within the company’s Grain Division.

He was named vice president and general manager of the Grain Division in 1998, and became division president in January 2001. He became president of the company’s Grain and Ethanol Group in 2006. An Ohio native, Reed is a graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, with an undergraduate degree in accounting. He received his masters in finance from The University of Toledo. He is active in the community, serving on several business and philanthropic boards.

Hoogmoed, elected NGFA’s first vice chairman, is a 30-year veteran of the feed industry. As executive vice president of Land O’Lakes Inc. and chief operating officer for feed, he leads the company’s Land O’Lakes Purina Feed LLC business unit.

Prior to being promoted to his current position in January 2010, he served as its vice president for feed, where he oversaw the firm’s national sales organization and was responsible for sales administration, training and strategic positioning.

He also was responsible for the cooperative’s retail development team and feed solutions group, the latter of which serves both private label and non-traditional distribution channels.

Hoogmoed began his career with Ralston Purina Co., St. Louis, Mo., and later served in top management with Purina Mills Inc. prior to its acquisition by Land O’Lakes in 2001.

His previous responsibilities included serving as general manager, vice president of regional operations and various other officer roles. He is a graduate of Rutgers University, with an undergraduate degree in agricultural economics.

With the NGFA, Hoogmoed also serves as chairman of the Feed and Animal Agriculture Strategic Issues Committee, a unique forum in which senior-level managers from feed, feed ingredient and integrated livestock and poultry operations identify and develop strategies to address major domestic and international developments affecting the feed sector.

The committee also interacts with animal agriculture and species organizations to maintain and enhance the economic viability of U.S. animal agriculture production. And it interfaces with the grocery and retail food industry, which influences feed and food-animal production practices.

Hoogmoed also is a member of the NGFA’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee.

Ragan, elected NGFA’s new second vice chairman, heads Bunge Grain, where he oversees all operational and commercial activities of one of Bunge North America’s six business units.

Ragan joined Bunge in 1981 as procurement manager at its soybean processing facility in Decatur, Ala., and was promoted to commercial manager within two years.

In 1998, he was promoted to Bunge North America’s headquarters in St. Louis, Mo., to assume responsibility for the firm’s soybean crushing facilities in the South Central region. He transferred from the soybean processing unit to Bunge’s grain operations in 2002 before assuming his current responsibilities in 2006.

Bunge North America, the North American arm of Bunge Limited (BG), is a vertically integrated food and feed ingredient company, supplying raw and processed agricultural commodities and specialized food ingredients to a wide range of customers within the livestock, poultry, food processor, food service and bakery industries.

Bunge North America and its subsidiaries operate grain elevators, oilseed processing plants, edible oil refineries and packaging facilities, and dry corn mills in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

With the NGFA, Ragan serves on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee. He also is a past member of the NGFA’s Country Elevator Committee, and has served as an arbitrator within the association’s system that resolves commercial trade disputes. Kendell W. Keith, Washington, D.C., serves as the NGFA’s president, the association’s top executive staff officer.

For more information, call 202-289-0873.

See Related Websites/Articles:

• NGFA

more GRAIN NEWS...