Group gathered at annual event for young and beginning producers

Side by Side Conference

Exclusively for Young and Beginning Producers

July 30 to August 1, 2025
Omaha, Nebraska

Our Side by Side conference is a unique opportunity for young and beginning producers to invest in their future. We bring together leading industry experts whose insights and fresh perspectives help the next generation successfully manage and grow the family farm.

Why Attend Side by Side?

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Educational Sessions

A mix of mainstage speakers and small breakout sessions provides a tailored experience filled with practical information to take home.  

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Inspirational Speakers

Finances, family discussions, the weather – it can all run together on the farm or ranch. At Side by Side, these and other topics are sources of inspiration for continual improvement.

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Networking Opportunities

There are many reasons attendees ask to come back. Connections built through organized activities, hallway conversations and off-hour gatherings regularly top the list.

Conference Agenda

Explore the presentations and activities planned for the three-day conference. Agenda is subject to change.

1

5:30 p.m.
Registration and Social Hour

7:00 p.m.
Conference Kickoff and Dinner

8:15 p.m.
Producer Panel

2

8:00 a.m.
Breakfast

8:45 a.m.
General Session
Economic Shockwaves: Challenges and Opportunities, Dr. David Kohl
Economic shockwaves have become a fact of life in managing businesses and financials in the agricultural industry. Disruptors such as inflation of energy and increasing interest rates, along with consumer and societal trends, must be incorporated into the strategic game plan. This program is designed to look into the future, challenge the status quo, and see how macroeconomic trends impact everyday decisions.

10:15 a.m.
Breakout Sessions

11:30 a.m.
General Session
The Cost of Waiting, Lisa Quist
When is the best time to plan? Yesterday was the best; today is the next best. Procrastination risks your farm or ranch’s future for the next generation. Our session, “The Cost of Wating,” explains why “They can figure it out when I’m gone” is dangerous. We’ll show how early planning protects your business and ensures a smooth transition for all involved.

12:30 p.m.
Lunch

1:45 p.m.
Breakout Sessions

3:15 p.m.
General Session
High Impact Meteorology, Eric Snodgrass
Weather risk in production agriculture is ubiquitous and the successful execution of a crop plan requires accurate weather forecasting and analysis. We plan our operations based on weather averages and our experiences over recent growing seasons, but each year presents a new set of weather challenges. In this talk, we will focus on how to use the abundance of weather data to stay ahead to disruptive weather events.

4:15 p.m.
Wrap Up Day 2

6:00 p.m.
Dinner and Party on the Plaza

3

7:30 a.m.
Breakfast

8:15 a.m.
General Session
The Level 10 Life: Financial and Life Hacks for Success, Adam Carroll
On a day-by-day basis, we are bombarded by decisions, stresses, and to-dos. Many of them related to the business of farming, some of them related to raising kids, nearly ALL of them having something to do with money. In this interactive session, financial literacy expert Adam Carroll will share the keys to living your life at a Level 10.

9:30 a.m.
Breakout Sessions

11:00 a.m.
General Session
What's Your Business and Financial IQ?, Dr. David Kohl
This session is designed to assess your business and financial IQ which will be critical to placing the odds of success in your favor. The discussion will focus on the key elements of success regardless of the business and economic cycle.

12:00 p.m.
Wrap Up Conference and Lunch

Keynote Speakers

Dr. David Kohl

Dr. David Kohl

Professor Emeritus, Virginia Tech

Dr. Dave Kohl is an academic Hall of Famer in the College of Agriculture at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA. Dr. Kohl has keen insight into the agriculture industry gained through extensive travel, research, and involvement in ag businesses. He has traveled over 10 million miles; conducted more than 7,000 presentations; and published more than 2,500 articles in his career. Dr. Kohl’s wisdom and engagement with all levels of the industry provide a unique perspective into future trends.

Eric Snodgrass

Eric Snodgrass

Principal Atmospheric Scientist, Conduit

Eric Snodgrass is a Principal Atmospheric Scientist for Conduit, where he develops predictive, analytical software solutions to manage weather risk for global production agriculture. He provides frequent weather updates that focus on how high-impact weather events influence global agriculture productivity. His current research uses machine learning to better understand field-level weather impacts on yields in the US and to increase confidence in long-range weather prediction. He presents his research as a featured speaker at over 100 conferences annually where he provides logistical guidance and solutions to weather sensitive financial institutions, farmers, commodity traders, and other stakeholders.

Adam Carroll

Adam Carroll

Professional Speaker and Founder of the Shred Method

Adam Carroll has spent 15 years helping people do more with the money they make. He is an internationally recognized financial literacy expert, author of three Amazon best-sellers, a two-time TED talk speaker with over 6 million views on YouTube, and creator of the Broke, Busted & Disgusted documentary which aired on CNBC and is shown in hundreds of high schools and colleges across the country. He is the host of the Build A Bigger Life podcast and curator of MasterOfMoney.com. When Adam isn't speaking at conferences, consulting with companies, or hosting leadership retreats, you'll most likely find him at home shooting hoops or having Nerf wars with his kids.

Lisa Quist

Lisa Quist

Central Regional Vice President, Land As Your Legacy®

Lisa Quist is the Central Regional Vice President for Nationwide’s Land As Your Legacy® program, a division of the Nationwide Retirement Institute®. Along with her team in Ohio, Lisa helps farmers, ranchers and other ag business owners build transition plans with the goal of keeping their family's operation intact and suited to transition to the next generation.

Conference Highlights

Our Side by Side conference equips young and beginning producers with the information they need to make the right decisions for their operations. Watch the highlights from previous Side by Side conferences.

Frequently Asked Questions

1

There are typically three main reasons our customers choose to accept the invitation to attend this conference, and they happen to be the three areas that this conference is best-in-class:

  • Networking – this conference plays host to an incredible group of young farmers, ranchers and agribusiness owners who are eager to meet their peers, share stories, and learn from each other.
  • Learning – we’ve brought together some of our industry’s best thought leaders. Past attendees have consistently rated these engaging and useful sessions as some of the best they have attended.
  • The Right Mix – while we may pack a lot into the conference agenda, we make sure that we have plenty of food and fun to go with it.

So here’s our commitment to you: If you attend this conference, you will learn something that will change the way you do business; you will meet some folks from another operation that you will continue to stay in touch with for years to come; and you’ll have some great food, drink and fun with some truly amazing people.

2

We’ve designed this conference for our young and/or beginning customers who have a strong business sense and who appreciate the value of education and networking. Our lending teams from across our five-state territories select operations to attend.

3

Typically, attendees are husband and wife, siblings, or close relatives that work with the same operation. There are also several participants that attend by themselves or invite a friend from a neighboring operation to attend. Feel free to talk with your retail team if you have a unique circumstance. Please note that each selected operation is provided with one hotel room. If you have a situation where you need more than one room, we can work with you to coordinate with the hotel.

4

Farm Credit Services of America and Frontier Farm Credit will provide your room, food and other accommodations while you are at the conference. Your travel to and from the conference is your responsibility.

5

We are inviting more than 100 different operations from Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming to attend the conference. These are young farmers, ranchers, and agribusiness owners who all share in the excitement to spend time with ag industry experts and other producers who face similar challenges. In addition to the attendees, there are industry professionals that will be presenting and our Side by Side team, who help coordinate and run the conference. Other FCSAmerica and Frontier Farm Credit staff, along with Board members, attend on a limited basis.

6

We want the producers who attend this conference to be able to focus on the learning and networking opportunities that are provided and to be able to give their full attention to the planned activities. Furthermore, we do not have any accommodations or activities planned for our customer’s children. For these reasons, we recommend that your children do not attend. Contact us at SideBySide@FCSAmerica.com with any questions or if you have extenuating circumstances.

Are you interested in attending Side by Side?

We are accepting requests from young and/or beginning producers in eastern Kansas to join our waitlist.

Fill out the information below and one of our team members will reach out. 

Side by Side Conference Contact

Contact us for more information about our Side by Side conference.