Krista Corkill grew up in Texas and has been in the mortgage industry for 35 years. She is self-taught, and knows every aspect of the business, from application to processing, underwriting and closing. Krista is a former Vice-President of a National mortgage company and had over 100 employees working under her supervision. She has received numerous awards and promotions and has always been the top producer in her field.
Krista is currently a Senior Consumer Residential Lender with Frost Bank in Austin, TX. She is married to John Corkill, and they have five grown children and seven grandchildren. Krista and John like to travel and snow ski in their free time.
Krista is the daughter of Keith and Ruthie Bolsen. She knows every aspect of her parent’s business and is a signature holder on all of their accounts. This will allow Krista to step in and manage the Foundation, if needed.
Doug DeGroff was raised in a large dairy community in Upstate New York. During his high school years, he worked on dairy farms in the area and had his own farrow to finish swine operation. He earned a Bachelor’s degree from Cornell University in Dairy Science in 1996.
After graduation, Doug relocated to California where he entered the dairy industry in sales and marketing with both the Monsanto Company and Cargill Animal Nutrition. In 2001 he spent one year managing a large dairy near Green Bay, WI.
In 2006, Doug started his own company, Diversified Dairy Solutions, a dairy nutrition and management-consulting firm. Doug keeps busy as a volunteer for his church, his children’s school, the California Ag Leadership Program, working as a Cornell Alumni Ambassador, and spending time with his family.
Doug, his wife, Alison and their 3 children; Drew, Luke and Makenna live on an almond farm in Tulare, CA.
Connie Kuber is the Vice President of Connor Agriscience in Clovis, CA, and oversees the educational and marketing pieces of the company. Connor developed oxygen barrier film usage in the western US, with the assistance of Dr. Keith and Ruthie Bolsen. In addition to championing safe, efficient silage, Connor recently introduced their own silage film line: Sealpro®, offering farmers a variety of silage protection options.
Connie grew up on Sapa Ska Farm, a registered Holstein family dairy, and graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in Agricultural Journalism in 1982. She moved to California and began promotions work with World-Wide Sires in Hanford. In 1988 she left that position and wrote freelance for a number of US and international dairy trade journals, and was a Contributing Editor for Dairy Today. In 1992, Connie and her husband, Ron, formed Connor Marketing, and later Connor Agriscience, with the goal of bringing new science to livestock farmers. Their focus has been on silage making and management for the past ten-plus years.
Connie and Ron have three children: Catharine, married to Kyle, of Omaha, NE; Christopher, of McKinney, TX; and Madeline, of Clovis. All are versed in the silage and dairy industry and are former 4-H and FFA members.
Chais Price graduated with honors from the University of North Texas where he received a Bachelors of Science Degree in Mathematics. He is a dedicated teacher at Byron Nelson High School, Trophy Club, TX. He currently teaches Algebra 2 and Algebraic Reasoning.
Chais has spent the last 6 years as a worship leader at Shiloh Church in Flower Mound, TX. He loves spending time with his wife, Cecelia, and their two children, Corbin and Cambria. He also enjoys golf and writing music. Chais is the grandson of Keith and Ruthie Bolsen.
Justin Waggoner was raised on his family’s farm in central Kansas. He obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Animal Science in 2000 and Master’s degree in equine nutrition and management in 2001 from Kansas State University. Justin completed his PhD in Ruminant Nutrition at New Mexico State University (NMSU) in 2007, while managing the NMSU ruminant nutrition laboratory and metabolism facility.
Justin began his professional career as an Assistant Professor and Beef Systems Specialist at Kansas State University’s Southwest Research and Extension Center in Garden City in January 2008. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 2013.
Lance Whitlock grew up near Silver Lake, KS and always had the desire to be part of agriculture. This led him to Kansas State University where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Animal Science and a Master’s degree in Ruminant Nutrition under Dr. Keith Bolsen. His research focused on forage quality and silage management. Lance’s passion for knowledge led him to South Dakota State University where he earned a Ph.D. in Dairy Science under Dr. Dave Schingoethe. His focus was on modifying fat composition of milk through dietary manipulation.
Lance is a dairy nutritionist for Progressive Dairy Solutions in Oakdale, CA. He brings a strong science as well as practical perspective to the teams he works with both on and off the farm. He is keenly aware of the complexity and has first-hand experience with herds ranging from 1,000 to 20,000 plus cows. He consults for progressive, intensively managed, highly productive dairies across the Southwest, West and overseas. Lance understands how dairy systems work on a day-to-day bases and can find opportunities to increase profits by paying close attention to details. He drives home the importance of dairy profitability through proper execution of fundamental principles, which ensure healthy transition cows that achieve good peak milk yields and early pregnancies. Lance believes that forage quality is the basis of all diets and strives to motivate dairy farmers to recognize the potential in those forages to save costs on purchased feeds.