Norman Peiffer joined The Andersons in February 1987.  He has held various management positions throughout the Cob Products business unit.  He has been involved in marketing of cob based products, supply logistics including cob purchasing and new product development.  Over his 22 year career Norm has seen the demise of ear corn harvesting and the advent of various methods for collecting field cobs.  His cob collection activities and programs have included back of combine collection to vacuuming cobs out of the field.

Mr. Peiffer received his Bachelor’s degree from Bowling Green State University in 1969 and an MBA from the University of Central Oklahoma in 1974. He holds patents on various corn cob products and on a consumer friendly package for granular products.

Reed Mayberry, Biomass Manager with POET since 2006, manages the biomass supply for POET’s biorefineries.  His areas of responsibility include biomass producer relationships, coordination with biomass harvest equipment manufacturers, definition of biomass supply chain requirements, and overall program management.  Reed’s first responsibilities at POET included market development and the evaluation of biorefinery co-products, such as chemical building blocks and polymers.  Prior to joining POET, he served as a Retail Sales Manager with Monsanto in Nebraska and South Dakota.  Reed Mayberry was born and raised in Northeast Nebraska, working on farms throughout his high school years.  He received a B.A. in Human Resource Management from Dana College in Blair, Nebraska.  He now resides in Brandon, South Dakota with his wife Angie and two children, Avery (3) & Ryley (4 months).

Mark Chaney is a Staff Engineer for the World Wide Product Development Center of John Deere Harvester Works.  He has 12 years of experience in combine harvesting systems.  Assignments include work in crop gathering, processing, power and electrical systems.  Mark has also been involved with world wide combine and header development programs.  He is the recipient of 5 patents and 2 John Deere Ag Division Managers awards.  Mark is currently leading the biomass harvesting development team at John Deere Harvester Works, emphasis on defining and developing equipment for efficient collection and delivery of crop residue feed stocks.

Steve McGrew and his three brothers and nephew farm near Emerson in southwest Iowa.  Steve will describe their systems they have used on their farm for the past 18 years to harvest, store, and transport cobs. The cobs have been sold for industrial uses and lately as livestock feed.