Ag Lending Conference - Info

Dave and Matt: They're Back!!

What a Crowd!

Bank of Fayette County Goes in Style!!

Speaker Information

David Kohl is an internationally renowned speaker and writer on agricultural issues. He is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics at Virginia Tech and received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Agricultural Economics from Cornell. Dave has conducted more than 5,000 workshops and seminars for agricultural groups such as bankers, Farm Credit, FSA, and regulators, as well as producer and agribusiness groups. He has published four books and over 500 articles on financial and business-related topics in journals, extension, and other popular publications. Kohl writes for "Farm Journal," "Top Producer," "Ag Lender," and "Soybean Digest." Dr. Kohl was one of the leaders in establishing guidelines for the standardized reporting and analysis of agricultural producers' financial information on a national and international basis. Recently, a $2 million endowed Chair of Agribusiness Management and Finance was established at Virginia Tech in the name of Dr. Kohl. Kohl’s talks are designed to provide a big-picture overview of the economic and business management techniques that can be used in business, family and personal lives. He has a fresh, unorthodox presentation style that you cannot miss and will not forget.

Tom Payne is the Horace and Sara Dunagan Chair of Excellence in Banking at the University of Tennessee at Martin where he also serves as Professor and Chair of Accounting, Finance, Economics and Political Science. He holds B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Arkansas, an MBA with a concentration in Finance from the University of Texas at Dallas, and a Ph.D. in Finance from the University of Arkansas. Since coming to academia from the private sector where he worked for two Fortune 500 companies, Tom has earned a reputation as an outstanding teacher, author and consultant in the financial services industry. He has taught banking and finance at the undergraduate, MBA, and Executive MBA levels. He is a visiting professor at the University of Orléans (France) where he teaches Financial Analysis and Risk Management. He served with the Financial Services Volunteer Corporation to assist the Savings Bank of Albania during its privatization and, in 2005, hosted a lending and risk management program for Russian bank executives. Dr. Payne works closely with the Tennessee Bankers Association and serves on the faculty of the Graduate School of Banking at LSU and the Barret School of Banking in Memphis. He is chairman of the Martin Industrial Development Board and a director of the Weakley County Economic Development Board; he is founder of the UT Martin Regional Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (REED) Center supporting small business growth in Northwest Tennessee. Tom is a graduate of the WestStar Leadership Program and past president of the Martin Rotary Club and the Southwestern Finance Association.

Carl Babler has been involved in the futures industry as a broker, educator, and hedgers since 1975. Having grown up on a dairy farm in northern Illinois, he earned a Master of Science Degree at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and completed Agri Business Course work and Harvard University. Mr. Babler stays in touch with production agriculture as the Managing Partner of Lafayette Acre, Incorporated - a 1700 acre farm in Southwest Wisconsin and 1690 acre irrigated corn farm in the panhandle of Texas. Carl has principal interest in First Capitol Ag (with branch offices located in Galena and Neponset, Illinois, Bristow, Iowa, and Visalia, California) where he serves as Consultant and Senior Hedge Specialist. Mr. Babler co-authored Six Step Grain Hedge Plan - now a nationally recognized guidebook for grain producers. Carl enjoys sharing his expertise and commodity price risk management experiences any time, any place with anyone whose business is impacted by commodity prices.