Board of Directors
Craig D. Hill, Chairman of the Board
Craig D. Hill, 58, is the Chairman of the Board and chair of the Executive Committee. He was elected President of the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation and its subsidiary, Farm Bureau Management Corporation, in December 2011 and has served on its board of directors since 1989. He was its Vice President from 2001 to 2011. He has served on the board of Farm Bureau Life from 1989 to 2007, and again from December 2011 when he also became its President. He has been on the board of Farm Bureau Property & Casualty since 1989, and also serves on the board of Western Ag. Hill is also a director of the American Farm Bureau Federation and FB BanCorp. Hill farms 1,000 acres of row crops and has a swine operation near Milo, Iowa.
Steve L. Baccus
Steve L. Baccus, 64, became a Class B Director in May 2002 after being named President of the Kansas Farm Bureau. He is also Chairman of the board of directors of Farm Bureau Property & Casualty, and a director of Farm Bureau Life, Western Ag and FB BanCorp. In 2004 Baccus was elected to the board of directors of the American Farm Bureau Federation. His family farm in Ottawa County, Kansas produces wheat, milo, soybeans, sunflower and irrigated corn. Baccus earned bachelor's and master's degrees in psychology from Washburn University and Chapman College, respectively.
James P. Brannen
James P. (Jim) Brannen, 51, was named Chief Executive Officer of FBL Financial Group, Inc. in August, 2012. Prior to his appointment as Chief Executive Officer, Brannen served as Chief Financial Officer, Chief Administrative Officer and Treasurer since 2007. He joined FBL in 1991, and held various positions in finance and executive management. Prior to joining FBL, Brannen worked in public accounting. A graduate of the University of Iowa, Brannen is a certified public accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Iowa Society of Certified Public Accountants. Brannen is active in civic and industry organizations, currently serving on the board of directors of United Way of Central Iowa and The Greater Des Moines Partnership. He also serves as a member of the Property Casualty Insurance Association of America (PCI) Board of Governors and as vice president of the Federation of Iowa Insurers.
Roger K. Brooks
Roger K. Brooks, 76, became a Class A director in May 2009. Brooks is the retired Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of AmerUs Group. He retired from AmerUs in 2005, after nearly 50 years of service. Brooks has served on numerous community boards and is a member of the Iowa Insurance Hall of Fame and Iowa Business Hall of Fame. He is also a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries. Brooks graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of Iowa. He also participated in Stanford University's Executive Program.
Jerry L. Chicoine
Jerry L. Chicoine, 71, Class A director since 1996, is the Lead Director of the independent directors and Vice Chairman of the Board. Chicoine retired effective January 1, 2001 as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. He had served in those capacities since 1999, and was Pioneer's Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer since 1997. From 1988 to 1997 he had served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. He was named a director of Pioneer Hi-Bred in March 1998. He was named Outstanding CPA in Business and Industry by the Iowa Society of CPAs in 1998. He was a partner in the accounting firm of McGladrey & Pullen from 1969 to 1986 and also holds a law degree.
Joe D. Heinrich
Joe D. Heinrich, 52, Class B Director since 2013, was elected Vice President of the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation in 2011 and to its board of directors in 2004. He is a director of Farm Bureau Life, Farm Bureau Property & Casualty and Western Ag. Mr. Heinrich and his family farm with his nephew. Together, they have a diversified operation including corn, soybeans, oats and hay, plus a beef cow-calf herd and a dairy operation.
Paul E. Larson
Paul E. Larson, 61, Class A director since 2004, retired in 1999 as President of Equitable Life of Iowa and its subsidiary, USG Annuity and Life, after 22 years with the companies. Larson holds both a law degree and a certified public accountant designation. He was named Outstanding CPA in Business and Industry by the Iowa Society of CPAs in 1999, and inducted into the American Institute of CPA's Business and Industry Hall of Fame in 2000. He is a member of the board of directors of non-public companies Wellmark, Inc., Wellmark of South Dakota, Inc., GuideOne Mutual Insurance Company and GuideOne Specialty Mutual Insurance Company. He was also a board member of EquiTrust Mutual Funds (which was then managed by one of our subsidiaries), where he was chair of the Audit Committee and the committee's financial expert. He resigned from the EquiTrust Mutual Funds board upon election to the FBL Financial Group Board in 2004.
Frank S. Priestley
Frank S. Priestley, 65, Class B Director since 2013, owns and operates a farm in Franklin, Idaho. He raises alfalfa, hay, wheat, barley, pasture and Holstein dairy heifers. He was elected President of the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation in 1997, having first been elected to the Board of Directors of Idaho Farm Bureau Federation in 1985. He is President and a director of Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company of Idaho and Farm Bureau Finance Company (Idaho), and a director of Farm Bureau Life. He is also a director of FB BanCorp, American Agricultural Insurance Company, American Farm Bureau Insurance Services and The Mountain States Legal Foundation. He previously served as Class B Director of FBL Financial Group, Inc. from 1998 to 2004, and served on the Board of Directors of the American Farm Bureau Federation.
Kevin G. Rogers
Kevin G. Rogers, 53, was elected as a Class B Director in February 2008. He has been President of the Arizona Farm Bureau Federation since 2003. He also served on the board of the American Farm Bureau Federation and its executive committee for six years through 2010. He is a director of FB BanCorp. He is an officer of the Arizona Cotton Grower's Association and serves on the board of the National Cotton Council, the USDA's Cotton Board (chairman) and is on the USDA's Air Quality Task Force. Rogers is also a director of Farm Bureau Life, the vice chairman of Farm Bureau Property & Casualty, and a director of Western Ag. His family farms 7,000 acres in the Phoenix metropolitan area and produces cotton, alfalfa, wheat, barley and corn.
Scott E. VanderWal
Scott E. VanderWal, 50, was elected a Class B director in May 2011. VanderWal has been president of the South Dakota Farm Bureau Federation since 2004, and a member of its board of directors since 1997. He is also a member of the boards of directors of Farm Bureau Property & Casualty (since 2004), Farm Bureau Life (since 2004), Western Ag (since 2006), FB BanCorp (since 2004) and American Farm Bureau Federation (since 2006), and member of a number of American Farm Bureau task forces. VanderWal received a bachelor's degree in General Agriculture, with a Plant Science minor, from South Dakota State University in 1985. His family farm operation near Volga, South Dakota includes corn, soybeans, custom cattle feeding and custom harvesting. VanderWal does the overall financial management, accounting, crop management and planning for the farm operation. He has also participated in agricultural and marketing trips to Brazil, China, Switzerland, Cuba, Panama and Colombia.