Dr. Leistritz is a Distinguished Professor of Agricultural Economics at North Dakota State University, Fargo.  For more than 35 years, he has been actively engaged in research, teaching, and outreach activities focused on economic assessments of agricultural and natural resource development initiatives.  Since 1970, he has been a faculty member at North Dakota State University.  He has authored more than 400 professional publications, most dealing with economic assessment of agricultural and natural resource development.   He has served as president of the Western Agricultural Economics Association and of the International Association for Impact Assessment. 

Ron Barmore is the Director of Project Development for Range Fuels, Inc.  In this role he leads the company’s efforts in the identification, development and permitting of new projects and the acquisition of feedstock supplies. Mr. Barmore has spent the majority of his career developing projects in the alternative energy field, primarily in the waste-to-energy industry (municipal solid waste to power). Most recently he spent six years as the senior executive in charge of business development efforts for Barlow Projects, Inc. His career also includes five years with ABB Resource Recovery Systems as a Regional Manager of Business Development and a number of years as an independent consultant. Ron began his career with one of the leaders in the waste to energy industry, Wheelabrator Technologies, Inc., a pioneer in the alternative energy field. Ron graduated from the University of Iowa with a Bachelors of Business Administration and a major in Accounting.

Steve Flick is currently Chairman of the Board of Show Me Energy Cooperative, a cellulosic biomass facility owned by 400 farmers.  The 7 million dollar project has been completed and is expected to be operational July 2008, developing and processing energy crops and Agricultural residues into biomass engineered fiber fuel.  This fuel is used for coal-firing at a local utility and for heating residents’ homes.

Steve is a graduate of University of Missouri Columbia with a Bachelor of Science Agriculture in 1980.

Steve is CEO/CFO of Flick Seed Company Kingsville Missouri.  The company specializes in Native/Energy/Conservation Seeds and under writes a PBS show, Jerry Adams Outdoors for the hunting and fishing enthusiasts.

Mr. Flick is a trained Environmental Ecologist and has consulted for 20 years for EPA, D.O.D., and D.O.E. along with several state agencies.  Missouri Bioenergy LLC-a research and development company of Flick Seed Co. is developing planting and harvesting techniques involving Miscanthus Giganteus.

Mr. Flick lives on the farm in Kingsville, Missouri with one daughter Kaitlin Marie Flick age 15.