Introduction to Grain Operations

Larry Hoekstra has spent the majority of his 45+ year career focusing on safety and training within the Agricultural industry. He has held roles as regional staffing and training coordinator with Land o’ Lakes, Inc., loss control/risk management consultant with Farmland Insurance, nationwide agribusiness and safety director/consultant with Farmers Coop. Society and Compass Compliance. Larry holds an Associate in Arts degree in Agricultural Business and Management as well as certifications for HR, Sales and Insurance trainings.

Jason Kelly has worked as an Operations Manager with Parrish & Heimbecker, Limited since 2005 years. Jason has taken advantage of a wide range of in-house education opportunities over his career to include: safety audits, computerized terminal operations, grain shipping/receiving plus general leadership topics. He has also obtained his Credential in Grain Operations Management (CGOM) from the GEAPS/KSU Distance Education Program.

Ms. Knutson has worked in roles of facility manager, crop claims adjuster and bookkeeper/controller with United Grain Cooperative. Before joining United Grains Corp. she worked with USDA Farm Service Agency as the acting executive director/administrator. In total, Mrs. Knutson has over two decades of experience in the Agriculture industry. She holds a formal degree in Education as well as a Credential in Grain Operations Management (CGOM) from the GEAPS/K-State Distance Education Program.

Ed LaPreze is a reliability specialist with Pepper Maintenance and has worked there for nearly two decades. His areas of expertise include equipment reliability and maintenance through infrared, vibration analysis and ultrasound inspections. Ed regularly provides ongoing education and training to trade groups and customers through one-on-one and classroom settings. He holds formal degrees in Computer Science/Mathematics and Mathematics/Physics. He also holds licenses and certifications for CMRT, motion amplification, field balancing analysts and vibration analyst, level II.

Beth Locken is the director of safety and environmental affairs at Agtegra Cooperative. She is responsible employee safety programs, regulatory compliance, on-going training and incident reporting/investigations. Prior to joining Agtegra, Beth also worked as a safety and health consultant for South Dakota State University. In total she has over 15 years of experience in the safety industry. Beth holds formal degrees in Ag Systems Technology and Chemistry, as well as OSHA trainer credentials.

Brandi Miller is the president and CEO of the Kansas Cooperative Council. She is responsible for overseeing and executing the strategic vision of the council as well as the day-to-day operations. Prior to her position at the Kansas Cooperative Council, she was the associate director of the IGP Institute at Kansas State University where she worked on education and training for the global grain industry. She spent five years at Quaker Oats preceding her work at K-State, where she worked in operations and implementation. Her areas of specialty are education and training with an interest in safety and process improvement. Brandi has a Bachelor of Science in bakery science and management as well as a Master of Science in Adult, Occupational and Continuing Education from Kansas State University.

Kaliramesh (Kali) Siliveru is an Assistant Professor with Kansas State University in the Department of Grain Science and Industry. His areas of focus include: grain processing/milling, particle technology, material handling, process molding and simulation. Prior to joining Kansas State, Kali worked with E l DuPont Pvt LTD in India, University of Manitoba and Indian Institute of Crop Processing Technology in India. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Food Science, Master of Science in Food Process Engineering and a Ph.D. in Grain Science.

Hank Wentworth is the district manager of the Delta District at Food Protection Services where he has worked since 2014. Prior to his position with the Food Protection Services, Wentworth started his fumigation career fumigating containers, hoppers, box cars, and small clean rice bins. He took on several roles including serving on the sealing team and working in the sanitation department where he was promoted to sanitation director. In that role, he oversaw the structural fumigations for mills at three different sites. Additionally, he has been a GEAPS member since 2014.