FMH’s Ken Ripley, Assistant Vice President – Regional Sales Manager, was selected to participate in this year’s Emerging Leaders Program through the Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau (CIRB). CIRB is a trade organization with a focus on congressional advocacy for the crop insurance industry and has been a key strategic partner of FMH for many years.

Ripley was recently featured in CIRB’s Washington Update newsletter. The feature is reprinted below with permission from CIRB.

Emerging Leaders Spotlight: Ken Ripley

Regional Sales Manager, AVP for the Northwest Region of Farmers Mutual Hail

Throughout the year, CIRB will spotlight members of the 2021-2022 Emerging Leaders Program and share their experience with the program.

Ken began his career with the John Deere Ag equipment division in 1995. He was fortunate enough to have several careers with John Deere, which allowed him to work and live in different divisions around the United States. In 2008, Ken transferred to John Deere Crop Insurance (JDCI), covering Minnesota and Iowa. In 2015, as part of the Farmers Mutual Hail acquisition of JDCI, he became a Strategic Account Manager calling on agents in Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, and North Dakota. This year, he became the AVP Regional Sales Manager for the Northwest Region for FMH.

As a participant in the Emerging Leaders Program, he has had the opportunity to learn about the history of CIRB from CIRB staff, Tara Smith, and received a legal update from CIRB legal counsel Kurt Henke. He has enjoyed all of the activities so far, but the fall fly-in is the activity he has enjoyed the most. Ken loved getting the opportunity to travel to Washington, DC, and participating in a fly-in. He had the privilege to hear from U.S. Senator John Hoeven (R-ND) and U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-SD) talk about how crop insurance benefits farmers in their respective states. "The Emerging Leaders Program has allowed me to open my eyes to the importance of advocating for crop insurance on Capitol Hill," said Ken Ripley.

This was the first fly-in Ken has ever attended. Ken stated he was very impressed with the CIRB team's connections with key lawmakers that affect agriculture policy. He strongly encourages anyone who is passionate about crop insurance to pursue this program. "The ELP gives you a look behind the curtain that you will not experience in normal daily agency interactions," said Ken Ripley.

Ken lives in Blue Earth, Minnesota, where he farms with his wife, Sheila, and family. He has four children, Samantha, Alyssa, Blake, and Taylor.