Premier Executive Search Firm for the Agriculture Industry

Mike is the President and CEO of Ag 1 Source and Career 1 Source and has been involved in the recruitment industry since 1998. He co-founded Ag 1 Source in 2002 and has developed and led teams in several successful business territories in the agronomy recruiting segment. In 2008, he co- founded Career 1 Source following the same integrity-based model. In addition to recruiting, Mike conducts talent acquisition, training and development, and managing the companies’ ongoing personnel and business interests.

Mike’s career in sales began at the retail level with Collingwood Grain in southwest Kansas. A promotion to management virtually coincided with Collingwood Grain’s purchase into the ADM Grain Company. This led to experience leading and managing teams, expanding sales, hiring new employees, and ultimately delivering top profitability among his peers. Mike moved into the recruiting industry in 1998 where he has developed extensive working relationships with numerous candidates and companies nationwide.

Mike knows that credibility and integrity are not built overnight. It comes from years of delivering results that yield repeat customers. This is what Ag 1 Source and Career 1 Source are all about.

As a co-founder of Ag 1 Source, Rick serves as the COO and VP for the equipment group. His equipment team partners with manufacturers, dealers, and distributors across North America seeking to add the best talent to their operations.

Rick started his career as a livestock feed salesman for Land O’Lakes Feed. In 1993, Rick accepted a position with a regional agricultural equipment manufacturer, Wylie Manufacturing. In this position, Rick helped the company establish a wholesale/retail operation from scratch, including hiring, training, and leading a sales and operations team.

Rick began his career in the recruiting industry in 1999. Since then, he has partnered with companies to place over 400 sales, marketing, management, accounting, operations, manufacturing, and executive-level candidates into their businesses.

Through the years Rick has earned respect from clients and candidates as being a trusted advisor, career coach, and business partner. He works closely with his clients to understand their company culture, business goals, and personnel needs. When working with individuals seeking a new career opportunity or looking to advance their careers, Rick uses a common-sense approach to identify their key skills and talents, but also works closely with the candidates to determine their preferences on what companies to target and what type of opportunity they believe will be the ideal match. This integrity-based recruiting formula has made Rick an industry expert on which both clients and candidates can trust and rely.

Mark joined Ag 1 Source in 2006. Since that time, he has been responsible for leading the agronomy, seed, crop production, and grain activities in the upper Midwest. He became a partner in the firm in 2007 and has continued to be a leader in the industry while working with job seekers and organizations throughout Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Wyoming and Canada. Mark has partnered with employers and candidates to place salespeople to CEOs, in companies ranging from small agronomy operations to Fortune 100 companies.

With more than 15 years of sales and management experience in retail agronomy, along with sales, sales management, and product management in wholesale crop inputs and manufacturing, Mark attributes much of his success to having done and managed many of the roles he recruits for. Hiring managers can be confident that Mark understands the skill sets they need. And he truly understands the goals of candidates since he’s been in those roles and understands the advancement they are seeking.

Mark has been recognized for his high level of integrity, reliability, and trustworthiness. His method of working with companies and job seekers involves open and honest conversation with full disclosure of everyone’s strengths and weaknesses. This has led to a following of satisfied clients who only saw candidates that would be a good fit and candidates who only pursued career opportunities that matched their personal goals and needs.

Mike has 20 years of career experience in the production ag and livestock industry. After graduating from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a Bachelor’s of Science focusing in feedlot management and ruminant nutrition, he joined the ADM / MoorMan’s Feed group where he worked as a field sales consultant for many years. His customers were ranches, feedlots, and livestock production facilities large and small. Mike joins Ag 1 Source as a Recruiting Consultant for the Animal Health/Nutrition and Livestock Production Group. His core region is Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, South Dakota, North Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, and Western Iowa.

Mike’s focus has always been value driven, aiming to help people succeed and profit. He continues today with that same ambition of wanting to help people succeed.

Mike and his wife Darlene reside in rural central Nebraska with their active family of three children; Tyler, Alexis, and Tessa.

Ryan’s concentration is working with agriculture marketing and trading companies, manufacturing companies, independent retail and cooperatives, wholesalers, and production farm operations. His territory includes Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Western Missouri.

Ryan has a strong grasp of the ag industry because he has worked in the industry for 15 years and is still involved in production agriculture. After graduating from Kansas State University, he worked for Collingwood Grain /ADM and then relocated to Central Kansas where he worked for both an independent retailer and a cooperative in seed, chemical and fertilizer sales. Because his roots run deep in agriculture, he has a comprehensive understanding of his clients’ needs and the candidates that fit the positions.

Because Ryan believes that being honest with clients and candidates sets Ag 1 Source apart from other recruiting firms, he strives to make a cultural match for both the client and the candidate, not just to make a placement.

Ron has more than 25 years of livestock industry experience in a variety of disciplines. While completing his master’s degree in animal science at the University of Tennessee, he served as the livestock judging team coach, and he continues to have that same passion for the industry. After graduate school, Ron served as a Michigan State University ag agent with the Extension system, and quickly advanced into a nine-county district livestock specialist, where he was awarded state and national recognition for innovative program offerings.

Upon entering the commercial ag sector, Ron first accepted a position as a three-state swine feeds consultant for the Farmland Feeds group, with primary responsibility for building a new territory, providing swine sales and tech service support for eastern Corn Belt cooperative feed dealers. After the Farmland/Land-o-Lakes/Purina feeds mergers, Ron entered into a new role with McNess Feeds in Freeport, Ill., as a swine tech and new business development manager for the Feeds Division. Prior to joining the team at Ag 1 Source in 2012, Ron was an east Region sales and new business development manager for FAST Genetics USA.

Ron and his wife, Elayne, have two sons and reside on a small farm in southwest Michigan raising corn, hay and club calves. The family continues its passion for the livestock industry, showing cattle, lambs, and hogs at county, state and national levels. All are very active as 4-H and FFA leaders and participants, high school athletic boosters, active church members and volunteers for many local school, church, and community events.

Margaret joined Ag 1 Source after spending 30 years in the seed industry. Margaret has worked many of the same roles in her seed industry career that she now recruits for in research, market development, product development, sales, and product management. Her first hand experience has earned Margaret a reputation as one of the country’s most credible seed and agronomy industry recruiters across a broad range of specialties including seed coatings and technology, seed production, R&D, vegetable and flower seed, pest control advisors‚ crop consultants, product management, greenhouse production, farm managers and sales. Margaret’s experience spans across America, Mexico, Canada and Europe, adding to her understanding of the diverse cultures, growing conditions, and market needs of the global seed industry.

As an independent seed dealer in the Pacific Northwest, Margaret was able to build her business from scratch to over $4M, achieving greater than 50 percent market share in her primary market. That experience led to working closely with the largest growers, packers and shippers in the industry. That same ability to build something from scratch has helped Margaret develop, since 2009, the Seed and Agronomy segment for the western U.S. at Ag 1 Source. She is the company leader in developing clients and candidates in western states including, Utah, Washington, Idaho, Oregon, California and Arizona. Key positions that Margaret recruits for include farm managers, VP level roles in sales and marketing, R&D directors, directors of operations, supply chain managers, product development directors, national sales managers, and regional sales.

What attracted Margaret to join the team at Ag 1 Source is the high level of integrity the organization offered, which for her means developing a high level of trust and commitment with her clients and customers.

“Margaret’s knowledge of the Agriculture industry is second to none. She helped me find the perfect job that is a great fit for my skill set. Will definitely use Margaret and Ag 1 Source if I am ever back in the job market” – Jamie B. – Procurement and Contract Management

“Margaret is a true professional and very knowledgeable about the Ag Industry throughout the Western U.S. It was a pleasure to work with her and she did a great job placing me with the right company…making sure to take the right steps to ensure a good fit. I would highly recommend her and the Ag 1 Source team if you are considering options for your next career move. I now work with her as a client and she continues to be professional and extremely knowledgeable in the industry. 

Mike Koenecke serves as our HR Consultant & Recruitment Specialist for Ag1Source. Mike is a licensed and certified trainer in behavioral assessments, aiding the talent life cycle that supports the interviewing, selection, development and retention of talent. He most recently held the role of HR Recruitment/Talent Management for Ag Partners LLC, a mid-west recognized Agronomy, Grain and Feed organization in Northwest Iowa. His responsibilities included overseeing recruitment, staff management, training, and organizational development for a 240 full-time employee staff.

Mike is a graduate from Buena Vista University with a Bachelor’s degree in Human Resource Management and is a designated PHR/SHRM-CP with 13 years of service in human resource roles, seven of those in agriculturally focused recruiting pursuits. Mike has also previously served on the board for ACES (Agricultural Cooperative Employment Services) supporting 23 member cooperatives in the Midwest. Through his current role, he has impacted over 100 Ag related companies in the use of his services toward talent management solutions and recruitment, positively affecting the bottom line for organizations.

Mike is a board member for his local SHRM (Society of Human Resource Management) chapter, board member for his local YMCA, board member for Love Takes Root, a non-profit charitable organization and on a board of elders for his local church. From Northwest Iowa, he is an active participant in his family’s row crop farming operation. Mike, his wife Katie, and three children, Jack, Karson, and Claire reside in Spencer Iowa on their family acreage.

Ron Marshall joined Ag1Source bringing with him more than 25 years of experience in the Dairy and Animal Health Industry.  He has a track record of success in driving strategic growth through developing and implementing sales and marketing plans to maximize profitability. Based in the heart of California’s San Joaquin Valley, Ron’s focus is bringing together top professionals and employers in the Animal Health/Nutrition & Livestock industries focused in 7 Western states, including California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah, Nevada and Arizona. His past experiences of direct sales, business management, leading management teams and building/managing successful sales teams gives Ron the first hand knowledge to help both clients and candidates with their needs.  

Ron’s success has always been about fostering a culture of people to be part of a team atmosphere, putting them in the right positions to succeed, and giving them the tools and products to win.  Ron’s expertise is in sales and sales management, operations management, and mid to upper level management roles for companies ranging from production, logistics, processing, and manufacturing companies in the Animal Health/Nutrition industry.  In addition to these rolls, Ron has lead teams that have worked with large animal veterinarian practices, companion animal businesses, and providing technology to producers to use herd health and nutritional platforms.

Ron works out of his office in Central California.  Together with his wife Stacey, they have two grown children, Shane and Nicole.

Buck joins Ag 1 Source with over 16 years’ experience in the agronomy industry. His territory includes the Northeastern United States with a primary focus in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and the New England region. Buck’s agricultural roots run deep. He grew up on a small family farm in Western Illinois, and was actively involved in FFA and judging livestock. After graduation from the University of Illinois, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Crop Sciences, Buck started his career in the seed industry working for Agrigold Hybrids in Iowa. From there, he has expanded his experience by working for ADM, Waterstreet Solutions, DASCO, and most recently CF Industries where he was Eastern Regional Manager for North America’s largest Nitrogen manufacturer.

Buck matches highly qualified candidates with companies in the crop production sector supply chain including retail farm centers, crop input product manufacturers and related areas. Typical positions that Buck works to fill include agronomy sales to operational managers, territory and regional to VP and national sales managers, GM’s, marketing, directors of operations, supply chain managers, product development directors, and key farm operations managers.

Buck works out of his office in Northern Illinois. Outside of work, Buck enjoys spending occasional time on the golf course and spending time with his daughters, Brinley and Emmalyn.

Rylan Miller joins Ag 1 Source with over eight years of experience in the Ag equipment industry. As a part of the Ag 1 Source Equipment Recruiting Group, Rylan focuses on the states of AZ, CA, ID, NV, UT, OR, WA, and Montana. Rylan’s passion for the ag industry started at a young age as he grew up on a dairy farm in Eastern Iowa. After graduating from the University of Iowa with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing, Rylan started his career in the equipment industry working for Harper Industries Inc. in Harper, KS. He later served as the Ag Sales Manager for Harper before making a move to CA. After a recent stint in the turf equipment industry Rylan made his move back to working with the people he enjoys in the Ag Industry as a Recruiting Consultant with Ag 1 Source.

Rylan will partner with Western USA equipment dealers, distributors, and manufacturers to help them build winning teams. Typical positions he works include sales, product support, marketing, department management, branch management, mid management, and senior leadership roles.

Rylan works out of his home office in Oakland, CA. Outside of work, Rylan enjoys spending time with his wife and two young children exploring California, hosting many visitors and golfing. He is also an avid sports fan attending many sporting events and always cheering on his Iowa Hawkeyes.

Collin joins Ag 1 Source as a Recruiter for the Equipment Group. His areas of focus includes the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas. Collin’s specialty is placing candidates with equipment industry clients seeking top talent in sales, marketing, service, parts, and operations positions.

Collin was a competitive athlete into his early collegiate career. Early in life, he developed the true discipline of competition. His competitive nature in sports and school has taught him that hard work, dedication, persistence, and drive will put him in the best position to succeed.

Collin graduated from Newman University in 2015 with a degree in Biology/Pre-Med. He was an ASC Community Leader Scholar and a Presidential Scholar graduating Summa Cum Laude. Today, Collin resides in Wichita, KS. He has a passion for hunting, so whenever he isn’t hunting for key employees for his clients, you can expect he will be hunting for whitetail, turkeys, or waterfowl across the Midwest.

Troy is a 1997 graduate of South Dakota State University with an agronomy degree. He is a native of southwest Minnesota and is involved in the family farm on which he was raised. Following college, he spent several years as a sales rep with Dow AgroSciences, and also sold seed as a pro rep for Pioneer Hi-Bred.

Troy’s strong agronomy and seed industry experience parallels many of the very same types of positions that he works to fill in his native region. These roles include territory sales, agronomist, and retail management and sales opportunities. He is keenly aware that different skill sets are needed to succeed in each of these various positions. Troy believes in a mission of providing true value to clients by finding candidates that exceed their expectations.

Troy and his wife Angie currently reside in the Twin Cities west metro area of Minnesota where they are raising four children who are involved in various sports and activities. A favorite family activity is trips to the family farm where the kids get to drive tractors, ride horses, and, most importantly, learn the values and heritage their mom and dad were taught growing up.

Doug joined Ag1Source in January of 2015, bringing with him more than two decades of experience in the fresh produce and refrigerated transportation industries. Based in Eastern North Carolina, Doug works with employers and professionals in the post-harvest food and produce industries with a focus on the East Coast and Southeastern states. His experience in the production, sales, marketing, procurement and transportation of produce and food gives him a comprehensive knowledge of the types of positions for which employers typically recruit, and an appreciation for the skills and characteristics candidates must possess to excel in those roles.

Hiring managers can be confident that Doug understands the precise needs for the positions they seek to fill, and he will consult with them to effectively convey their organization’s value proposition. Job seekers can count on Doug’s knowledge of the industry and broad network of contacts to help them find opportunities uniquely matched to their backgrounds and career aspirations.

Colleagues who have worked with Doug on committees and trade groups such as the PMA, Southeast Produce Council, and United Fresh Produce Association, know him to be knowledgeable, trustworthy, and responsible in his business dealings and generous with his time and expertise. A frequent contributor to industry websites and trade publications, as well as a public speaker and presenter at conferences and conventions, Doug lives and breathes the fresh produce industry beyond typical office hours.

Doug is a recruiting specialist in the grain, accounting, and biofuels market. He has been with Ag 1 Source since its founding in 2002, and he continues to build his reputation for finding key talent in many very rural locations.

Doug recruits for a wide range of positions including grain merchandisers and commodity originators, general managers, and operations managers as well as leaders in division management through the Vice President and Chief Executive Officer level. Doug also actively recruits in the biofuels segment, as that market is very closely related to the grain industry. Typical positions include ethanol plant managers and commodity risk managers. Doug has also placed a number of candidates in key accounting positions such as CFO, controller and staff accountant.

Doug’s 30+ years of agriculture business experience includes local cooperative management, grain company management, agronomy company management and ag lending. Doug has depth of knowledge and experience working in many of the major positions for which he recruits; he was hired for most of the very same positions at some point in his career.

Elizabeth joined Ag 1 Source and Career 1 Source after 10 years of successful recruiting experience in the manufacturing industry. Elizabeth partners with clients in the Midwest and Western States, specializing in manufacturing, engineering, and operations. She is a pro at networking and connecting with production managers, engineers, quality assurance, and supply chain professionals to match her clients’ personnel needs with the right career opportunities for candidates.

Elizabeth, her husband and their two children live in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. They love spending time outdoors, four-wheeling, camping, snowshoeing, and skiing. They live and breathe an entrepreneurial family life, as she helps her husband grow his successful outdoor expedition vehicle manufacturing company. While leading a busy life, they also take time to contribute to the community by means of the Big Thompson Canyon Volunteer Fire Dept. and its Women’s Auxiliary.

In 2007, Rhonda joined Ag 1 Source to focus in the South and Eastern U.S., becoming a partner in the firm in 2009. Rhonda recruits for the agronomy and seed Industry, which is also where her career in the industry began. Rhonda has many successful years of experience working in sales, management and agronomy roles in the industry she now serves. She began her career with Rhone-Poulenc where she successfully completed their sales rep training program and worked as a Territory Sales Representative in South East Alabama. She was promoted back to the home office after the Bayer Crop Science merger where she worked with distribution clients in the MidAtlantic and MidWest. She then moved back to Kentucky where she became the General Manager/Salesman/Agronomist for Waters Agriculture Laboratories. Waters is an independent Plant and Soil Analysis Laboratory located in Owensboro, KY.

Working with Rhonda gives both the client and candidate a unique experience. They quickly come to find an open and honest conversation regarding expectations, strengths, weaknesses and total disclosure.

With clients, Rhonda not only provides well-qualified candidates, but she also takes a consultant approach to her recruiting. Rhonda gets to know her clients, their culture, what has worked for them in the past, and what key traits they need in candidates. This enables Rhonda to submit only the best-matched candidates for specific roles.

Candidates can be assured that Rhonda has worked in many of the roles she is recruiting for, so she understands the business and the companies in the industry. She quickly becomes a trusted advisor, helping candidates build their career paths and futures.

Shannon is a fourth-generation rancher with 15 years as a sales professional in the livestock industry, who specializes in recruiting for the livestock industry in the southern states.

Shannon’s family ranch, Grote Angus Ranch, founded in 1888, has received the State of Texas Century Award, as well as the Historic Herd Award from the American Angus Association. Shannon and her husband, James, also operate Worrell Enterprises, a seed stock Hereford ranch. They are extremely active in the national cattle shows and do custom embryo and cattle breeding. Shannon’s vast network allows her to work closely with some of the leading companies and individuals in the industry. She utilizes these avenues to access top talent for clients.

Shannon’s successful career in the animal health industry contributes to her understanding of the culture of large pharma, distribution and retail, and livestock production. Her experience covering the U.S. and Mexico as a national accounts manager for Destron Fearing, and as a territory manager covering Texas and New Mexico for Merial, give her key insights into the industry she now serves as recruiting consultant. Shannon’s particular familiarity allows her to feel and understand the intangible qualities that make a great placement. A previous position as a loan officer in the Farm Credit system gives her the added dimension of financial knowledge and understanding that allow her to partner with her clients to develop business models and long-range planning, including strategic placement of the right candidates.

The values of high integrity and honesty originally attracted Shannon as a client for Ag 1 Source, which ultimately led to her position as a recruiting consultant.