Agricultural Business Council to Honor Three Agribusiness Leaders

January 9, 2017, KANSAS CITY, MO:  The Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City will honor three of the region’s leading business figures on March 16 at a luncheon in the Chamber Board Room in Kansas City’s historic Union Station.  Agricultural Business Council Chairman Cliff Becker notes the honorees are champions for agriculture in separate but very key areas in the region. 

The honorees are:

• Glen O. Klippenstein, Klippenstein Farms, Maysville, MO.  Klippenstein rose to prominence as the partner/operator of GlenKirk Farms which was one of the nation’s top purebred cattle operations.  From 1966 to 1993, GlenKirk Farms sold more than 7,000 bulls and 7,500 females into all 50 states and 22 countries.  His industry and civic service has included:  two-term chairman of the National Beef Promotion and Research Board; chairman, American Polled Hereford Association; director, National Cattlemen’s Association; member and vice chair of the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation Board; CEO of the American Chianina Association; and as a member of both the Missouri State House of Representatives (2011-2013) and Missouri Senate (1993-94)
• Ken McCauley, K & M Farms, White Cloud, KS.  McCauley, along with his wife, Mary, and son, Brad and his wife, farm corn and soybeans on 4600 acres of no-till cropland.  McCauley is a past president of the National Corn Growers Association (2007).  He is also a member and past chairman of the Kansas Corn Commission, former board chair of the Kansas Corn Growers Association, member of the National Association of Farm Broadcaster’s Board, and trustee of Iowa Township, Doniphan County, Kansas.
• Dr. Thomas L. Payne, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CAFNR), University of Missouri.  Dr. Payne has just retired from his position as vice chancellor and dean of CAFNR, a position he held since 1999.  An entomologist by training, he was head of the Entomology Department at Virginia Polytechnic Institute from 1987-1993, before moving on to the Ohio State University where he was associate vice president from 1993-1998.  His tenure at Mizzou was marked by growth in the college’s research programs, recruitment of world-class faculty members and an increase in private funds raised in support of the college.

The honorees will receive the Council’s highest award, the Jay B. Dillingham Award for Agricultural Leadership and Excellence. 

“These individuals have had a positive and lasting effect on our community, said Council Chairman Becker.  “They are strong examples of what being an advocate for agriculture can accomplish.”

The March 16 event will be held at the Chamber of Commerce Board Room in Union Station (30 W Pershing Rd in Kansas City, MO) beginning at 11:30 a.m. for networking followed by lunch at noon.  Visit www.agbizkc.com for more information.

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