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Davis Michaelsen is a former editor at Pro Farmer.

Mike Walsten has covered major business trends in agriculture for more than 35 years. From the southern corn leaf blight of 1970 to today’s biofuels focus, he’s lived, reported and analyzed the impact of volatile markets on farm and ranch businesses and on land prices. After growing up on a grain and livestock farm in Western Illinois, Mike graduated from the University of Illinois with an undergraduate degree in agriculture communications and a master’s degree in business administration in the early 1970s. Since then he’s covered business and management issues as well as price outlook and marketing issues in various positions with Farm Journal Magazine and Professional Farmers of America. He now applies his extensive background and analytical skills as editor of LandOwner.

Chip’s hometown of Oxford Junction is in east-central Iowa. His family farm was a typical diversified farm with corn, soybeans, oats, alfalfa, a commercial cattle herd, a farrow-to-finish hog operation and sheep. After graduating from Iowa State University, Chip joined Pro Farmer in January 1988 as a floor reporter for Futures World News. He spent 3 years in Chicago reporting from the floors of the Chicago Board of Trade and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Chip moved to Pro Farmer headquarters in April 1991, was named editor in 1997 and remained in that role for 17 years. In 2014 he started the P.M. hour of AgriTalk and became the host of both hours of AgriTalk in 2019.

Jim Wiesemeyer was a Pro Farmer contributor as the Washington Bureau Chief. His columns provided expertise and insight on farm policy, trade policy and Washington politics.

Writing from the level land of the Delta just outside of Clarksdale, Miss., Bennett has blogged for several years on agriculture, surrounded by cotton and plenty of cottonmouths.

Rhonda Brooks is the Agronomy Editor for Farm Journal and AgWeb, covering all aspects of crop production. A Missouri native with a background in agricultural communications, she has previously worked on multiple Farm Journal brands.

Margy Eckelkamp is the brand leader for Farm Journal’s Top Producer and The Daily Scoop, specializing in business reporting for CEO farmers and agricultural professionals. She provides actionable intelligence to help operations navigate farmland dynamics, diversified revenue streams and overall profitability. Margy’s expertise spans regulatory and EPA issues, ag retail trends and tech innovations – topics she explores in depth on The Scoop podcast. Her nuanced analysis of modern business management ensures agricultural leaders are equipped to make informed decisions in a rapidly changing economic landscape.

Taylor Leach is the Assistant Editor of Dairy Herd Management and Milk Business Quarterly, blending her background in journalism and dairy farming. Raised on a dairy farm in Kansas, she now farms in Wisconsin with her husband. She is actively involved in cattle showing and agricultural advocacy.

As the brand leader of Farm Journal’s PORK and host of “The PORK Podcast,” Jennifer Shike pairs her deep animal science expertise with a heart for the people in the pork industry. Her work is a vital resource on swine health and biosecurity, reporting on threats such as PRRS, PED and African swine fever. By keeping a close watch on national and state policy, she translates trade deals, California’s Proposition 12, environmental regulations and farm bill updates into what they mean for American pork producers.