The most talked about event of the year is coming to Corning, KS February 26, 2022 Save the date!

Mark & Nanette Potter
"The Silent Epidemic"

Coach Potter inspires and challenges audiences with his real story of victory over severe depression. He was a head men’s basketball coach for 30 years, but left coaching to pursue his passion for educating and motivating people from all occupations. Potter speaks on many topics including motivation and mental toughness, but his greatest passion lies in his personal battle with severe depression. He has been on a crusade to educate people about depression and encourage others suffering from mental illness to seek assistance. His passion is to share his story in hopes that people will pursue treatment and find a way to live productively with mental illness. Nanette Potter, with over thirty years in education herself, wasn’t equipped to deal with mental illness. She was quickly thrown into the role of caretaker. Struggling with what to do, she did something about it! She made that first call for help. When Nanette speaks with her husband, she is very open about her journey as the caregiver. She tells the family perspective, which is the often forgotten side of mental illness. She helps people relate to the thoughts she had and gives people HOPE. She wants to make sure this illness is not ignored, but addressed and dealt with. She touches on the signs and symptoms and what to do when you feel alone and helpless.

We are excited to host Mark & Nanette as our

keynote speakers at this year's Women In Agriculture event. 

Candy Thomas
Soil Health

Candy Thomas got her start in 1994 working

for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Missouri as a Soil Conservationist and later holding the titles of Resource Conservationist and District Conservationist while there. In 2010, Candy was added to the National Education Center cadre in Fort Worth, Texas, as Training Instructor and National Conservation Boot Camp Coordinator. In 2013, she transferred to the Kansas NRCS State Office in Salina as the Kansas State Agronomist. As of 2015, Candy was promoted to position of Regional Soil Health Specialist for Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska with her duty station being at the Kansas State Office. She assists farmers and ranchers with indicators of soil health and training the NRCS staff on the benefits of soil health management systems. In 2018, she was given additional duties as the content manager for the Science and Technology Training Library which hosts new webinars weekly and houses over 1000 webinars available to the public on many topics such as soil health, organic farming, and technical topics involving water quality, engineering and forestry. Candy completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Horticulture with a minor in Agronomy at Northwest Missouri State University and a Master of Science degree in Agronomy at Iowa State University. 

Debbie Lyons-Blythe
Grazing

Debbie Lyons-Blythe is a cattle rancher in the Flint Hills of Kansas. She and her husband Duane Blythe run a registered Angus cowherd, as well as a crossbred herd. In addition, they raise 275 heifers that they sell as bred heifers across the nation. Debbie and Duane are starting to transition the ranch to their grown children, three of them are working either full time or part time on the ranch. Blythe Family Farms is a founding member of the US Roundtable for Sustainable Beef and Debbie serves as co-chairman for the Outreach Working Group and is the chairman-elect for the USRSB. 

Mary Jo Irmen

Mary Jo Irmen is the author of the book Farming Without the Bank and a Farm Finance Strategist who has set out to change how the farming industry is financed. She helps farmers see there are financial solutions for them and the next generations. Mary Jo's mission is to take a 100 year old financial process and turn it around by making the bank plan B rather than plan A, give farmers back control, and allowing the next generation to take over without having to buy

the farm from the bank again  

Angela Dake

Angela Dake is the owner of Hidden Hill Farms, an agritourism farm near Auburn (Topeka) Kansas. She and her husband, RJ, raise grass fed beef, pastured poultry, produce, eggs and have a haying operation. Their 2,500 square foot “Guest House” is a retreat and lodging center, a community hub where events, farm experiences, classes and tours are available for the public to experience the wonder of the farm. Prior to her farming career, Angela taught high school music, theater and language arts and had a home decor sewing business. Since purchasing their farm in 2015 she has become an enthusiastic full-time farmer, focusing on adapting farming strategies to fit her skill set and raising awareness of the value of buying healthy and local. The farm has two high tunnels in place which was made possible by financial assistance from the Natural Resources Conservation Service 

She networks with other farmers (including her expert husband RJ, raised in farming) to find best practices and fosters cooperative support for local farms. Angela provides coaching and mentoring to farmers to develop “experience” businesses, manage event planning, encourage social media promotion skills and brings farm businesses together to strengthen the customer base. Angela has presented for a conservation district women’s local conference and leads networking sessions for a variety of agriculture and business events. She enjoys public speaking and currently serves on the Shawnee County K-State Research and Extension Board as Chair and a member of the Agriculture Program Development Committee. She is a Kansas Farm Bureau Member and serves on the Specialty Crop Marketing Committee.

Christine McNary
Shop Kansas Farms

Christine McNary is the co-founder of Shop 

Kansas Farms, a wildly popular Facebook group that began during the early stages of Covid and rapidly grew to 150,000 members. She, along with her husband, Rick, began the group in April of 2020 to connect their friends and family to farmers they knew who sold meat, dairy, produce, fruit, and other farm-grown, value-added products. They recognized a need for a website to provide additional resources such as a searchable map and directory, so they formed Shop Kansas Farms, LLC. Shop Kansas Farms was awarded the Kansas Department of Agriculture Hero Award in 2020 for their efforts to connect consumers to farmers. Christine did not grow up on a farm, but she grew up in a small agricultural town where her father managed a feedlot. She holds a B.S. degree in Finance from Kansas State University and an MBA from Baker University. She has spent her career in finance roles with international companies and currently serves as the Controller for American Maplan Corporation in McPherson. Christine lives with her husband, Rick, in Potwin, Kansas. They have five children and seven grandchildren.