Who We Are
About
AgrisAcademy
Mission Statement
Providing world class education opportunities to farmers that give them the skill to merchandise, manage risk, and increase the profitability of their production with confidence.
Who We Are
At AgrisAcademy, we understand the significant divergence between what farmers are told they need to be effective marketers of their production and what they really need. Having been farmers and 30+ year veterans of a major grain and processing company, we have seen growers miss thousands of dollars in opportunities, not from speculating on markets, but from not using the correct tools for the situation.
We have learned the tricks of the trade, and we know that our ability to simplify and provide relevant examples, combined with your desire to improve, will allow you and critical members of your team to learn and grow. We believe farms spend too much time focused on events and data that they cannot control. Reallocation of precious time to learning a lifetime skill will help you secure the competitiveness of your operation today, and for many generations to come.
At AgrisAcademy, our success stems from our exceptional team’s collective expertise and commitment. We are passionate professionals with diverse backgrounds in agriculture, economics, risk management, and sustainable practices. We share a common goal: to empower farmers, agricultural businesses, and industry stakeholders with the knowledge and tools necessary to thrive in today’s dynamic agrarian landscape. Get to know the faces behind AgrisAcademy and discover the wealth of experience and dedication that drives our organization forward.
Mike Rohlfsen
Mike has spent 30 years in agriculture, 19 of which were with Cargill. While at Cargill domestically Mike had two elevator system merchant roles in Illinois and Texas and 2 regional trading management roles, 1 of which served the Southwest US feed market and other as the head of all Eastern US Feedgrain Trading. Mike also spent 5 years in Ukraine beginning Cargill’s trading operations of all ag and industrial commodities and the build-out of grain storage, processing, and export infrastructure. Like Jeff Kazin, Mike also worked as a project team leader in the internal consulting group executing mergers and acquisitions and strategy. Mike ended his time at Cargill with a 5 year stint in Cargill Ventures. Since then, he has been a part of 3 ag tech startups and 4 years in ag tech venture capital. He does not actively farm, but maintains that connection through the ownership of two farms in Rice County, Minnesota.
B. A. St Olaf College in Economics, Russian Language, and Russian and Soviet Studies; MBA University of Minnesota Carlson School.
Jeff Kazin
Jeff spent a 30 year career with Cargill incorporated holding a number of trading and leadership positions. His experience includes product line management of their physical Spring, Soft white, and Soft red winter wheat as well as the head of exporting trading winter wheat. Jeff worked as a project team leader in the internal consulting group executing mergers and acquisitions and strategy. He became the CEO Renessen, a joint venture between Cargill and Monsanto in the biotech and processing space. He was the head of trading and risk management for the refined oils business in North and South America. In addition to being the head of trading for Cargill’s aquaculture business Jeff was a member of the Leadership team of the business. Finally Jeff was the head of risk and trading for Cargill’s feed Business in Central and South America.
In addition to Jeff’s corporate experience he owns and operates farms in Ohio and Minnesota. His farms produce corn, soybeans, hay with his wife and three children.
B. S. The Ohio State University Agriculture Economics; MBA University of Minnesota, Carson School
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