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National School for Experienced Ag Bankers

The 2020 National School for Experienced Ag Bankers is a seminar for experienced ag bankers who want to further develop their ag lending skills, learn new skills, confirm existing methodology and meet fellow bankers who share the same career path. Taught by a nationally-recognized faculty of bankers, academics and other real-world ag banking practitioners, this program is focused on ag lending opportunities and challenges that are relevant to ag bankers from across the United States.

Set in beautiful Spearfish, S.D., right in the center of the United States, students will have ample time to enjoy the scenic Black Hills of South Dakota. Whether you enjoy hiking in Spearfish Canyon, rock climbing in the Black Hills National Forrest, viewing monuments such as Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse, or just testing your luck at the tables in historic Deadwood, S.D., Spearfish has you covered! For more information on Spearfish, visit https://visitspearfish.com/.

This school will be limited to 72 students. Register early as the school fills quickly.

Black Hills State University Campus Map (external link)

Sylvan Lake Custer  Spearfish Canyon  Mickelson Trail  Deadwood South Dakota  Black Hills South Dakota  Mount Rushmore

2020 CURRICULUM

Now that you have some experience in credit servicing, credit analysis and risk rating, the school instructors will provide course material primarily by case study, supported by lectures and intensive analysis. Instructors will provide valuable information and additional analytical tools that will guide and inform you on how to approach and resolve complex loans. You will gain skills that will help with early identification of problem loans and discovering solutions. 

The curriculum for this school is built on a foundation of six pillars that are essential to ag bankers:

1. Advanced Ag Credit Making Skills

  • Cash to Accrual
  • Understanding Advanced Marketing Concepts
  • Multi-entity Lending
  • Tax and Accounting Changes in Agriculture

2. Problem Loan Servicing and Resolution of Problem Loans

  • Analyzing Causes of and Corrective Actions
  • Understanding and Avoiding Lender Liability Situations
  • Improving Lender-to-Borrower Communications

3. Intermediate and Long-Range Farm Economic Outlook
4. Business Ethics
5. Real World Case Studies
6. Peer Interactions

All sessions will be presented in a relaxed, open format seminar approach that encourages you to interact with fellow students and faculty.

HOUSING

Students will stay on campus in new student housing in private rooms, with two units connected by a shared bathroom. Rooms are air conditioned with gorgeous views of the Black Hills. On campus housing is strongly encouraged; however, it is not required. There are also hotel room blocks at the following locations for those who wish to stay off campus.

Days Inn Spearfish
240 Ryan Road, Spearfish, S.D.
Phone: 605.642.7101
Rate: $109.99
Block Release: May 31, 2020

Hampton Inn
240 N. 27th St., Spearfish, S.D.
Phone: 605.642.3003
Rate: $169
Block Release: May 31, 2020

Spearfish Holiday Inn Convention Center
305 N. 27th St., Spearfish, S.D.
Phone: 605.642.4683
Rate: $124.99 Standard or
$154.99 Suite
Block Release: May 21, 2020

REGISTRATION

Includes tuition, on-campus housing, meals and student materials. Everything you need for the school is provided in the registration fee!

              

  • State Banking Association Members: $1,895 per person
  • Non-Members: $1,995 per person
  • A $250 cancellation fee will be charged if canceled after May 1, 2020.
  • No refund if canceled after June 1, 2020.
  • Substitutions are allowed at any time.

FACULTY

ROBERT H. CRAVEN is an extension economist and director of the Center for Farm Financial Management, Department of Applied Economics, University of Minnesota. Areas of specialty include business management, credit analysis and grain marketing. His work for the Center has focused on development of FINPACK, a nationally recognized ag credit analysis software. 

DANA DYKHOUSE is CEO of First PREMIER Bank in Sioux Falls, S.D. Under Dykhouse’s leadership, First PREMIER Bank’s total assets and assets managed have grown from $250 million to more than $1.5 billion. Together with its sister organization, PREMIER Bankcard, the organization has grown from 175 employees to approximately 3,000. 

DENNY EVERSON is co-developer of the SDBA’s beginning and experienced ag bankers schools. Everson is retired from First Dakota National Bank, Yankton, S.D., where he served as president of the agri-business division and director of branch administration. He received the coveted ABA Center for Agricultural and Rural Banking’s Bruning Award in 2008 and was inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame in September 2015 for his contributions to agriculture.

NATE FRANZEN is president of the agri-business division at First Dakota National Bank in Yankton, S.D., where he and his team service more than $850 million in agricultural loans for the $1.4 billion bank. He grew up on a diversified family dairy, grain and beef cattle farming operation in northeast South Dakota and draws from nearly 25 years of ag banking experience.  In 2011, Franzen was appointed to the American Bankers Association’s Agriculture and Rural Bankers Committee and served as chairman in 2015. 

CLAIR GERRY received his JD from the University of South Dakota in 1978. He was admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court of the United States; United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit; and U.S. District Court, District of South Dakota. 

ROBERT HAYES is a member of the Banking and Financial Services Practice Group at Davenport Evans.  He has long been recognized for his expertise in the field of creditors’ rights law, a fact reflected not only by his having served for years on the State Bar’s Debtor Creditor Committee but accumulating nearly a decade as chair of that committee. 

SAM MILLER is managing director, group head of agriculture banking for BMO Harris Bank, where he coordinates and leads production agriculture and agribusiness related banking activities. Miller has more than 35 years of agricultural banking experience, the past 31 at BMO Harris Bank. Miller is a Bruning Award recipient, an award for excellence in ag banking presented by the American Bankers Association. 

DALE NORDQUIST is an extension economist at the Center for Farm Financial Management in the Department of Applied Economics at the University of Minnesota. Nordquist has more than 25 years of experience in teaching farm management and developing software tools for farm financial planning and analysis. He has been a major contributor to the design and development of the FINPACK farm financial planning and analysis software.

DR. MATT ROBERTS is the founder of Kernmantle Group, a risk management consultancy in Columbus, Ohio.  Dr. Roberts is a nationally renowned expert and speaker on the grain and energy markets.  He received his bachelor’s from William Jewell College in Liberty, Mo., and a Ph.D. from North Carolina State University. 

EDWARD USSET serves as a grain marketing economist for the Center for Farm Financial Management at the University of Minnesota.  Working with his colleagues at CFFM and in Extension, Usset developed the award winning ‘Winning the Game’ series of workshops. In addition, he manages Commodity Challenge, an online marketing education game that uses real-time cash and futures data. 

PAULINE VAN NURDEN has worked in several areas of agricultural education and finance, including farm business management instruction, agricultural lending, and Extension education.  She currently is an Extension Economist for the Center for Farm Financial Management at the University of Minnesota.

Mental Health Resources 

Avera Farm and Rural Stress Hotline:  https://www.avera.org/services/behavioral-health/farmer-stress-hotline/

Helpline Center:  http://www.helplinecenter.org/

Helpline Center resources:  http://www.helplinecenter.org/suicide-and-crisis-support/community-based-resources/