Truterra Appoints Jamie Leifker as New President
Truterra has announced Jamie Leifker as its next president.
Leifker has over 25 years of experience working to deliver data-driven products and services for ag retailers to position with farmers to help improve their operations' profits and sustainability. He also farms in northeast Iowa.
“Jamie’s career spans the spectrum of applicable experience that make him the perfect choice to help Truterra reach the next level as a leader in agricultural sustainability,” says Brett Bruggeman, chief operating officer at Land O’Lakes. “His background in agronomy plus his experience working with both local ag retailers and customers is in lock step with Truterra’s mission and go-to-market approach.”
Truterra was launched in 2016 and has grown to 50 employees. It's business focuses on working through its ag retail network as critical advisers to farmers on agronomic decisions. Its 53 Truterra aligned retailers span 900 locations and have engaged 4,000 growers in its data analytics platform and ag carbon offset programs.
Leifker has previously held leadership roles at WinField United and Land O’Lakes. As vice president of new markets and growth services at WinField United, he worked with ag retailers to provide risk management services, as well as downstream companies to deliver on customizable supply chain needs. Prior to that, he led the agronomy and product development team and the WinField United Innovation Center.
"Farmers sit at the intersection of a hard day's work, maximizing production and the environmental stewardship," Leifker says. "I aim to help lead the team to better identify the value proposition and the impact on the environmental side to improve where we are today. As a farmer myself, I understand the challenges livestock and crop producers face and the value sustainability can bring to the agriculture industry."
Specific to the opportunity around carbon offsets, Leifker while today it may seem like a niche market, there's wider opportunity to come.
"We're building a market that we believe by 2030 will be worth $2.5 billion," he says. "In the near term, we can help identify the farmers who are in motion and reward them and pay them for the practices done. We are also working to increase the confidence the industry has in these programs and the value of the credits that farmers can benefit from."
