When the Wisconsin Corn•Soy Expo opens its doors at the Kalahari Resort and Convention Center in Wisconsin Dells Jan. 29-30, it will welcome an array of voices from across agriculture.

Among them is Wisconsin native Mike North, whose history with the event stretches back to its earliest days.

“Like I tell everybody, I’m just a farm kid,” North said. “I grew up in southeast Wisconsin with a love of agriculture.”

Now a respected commodity risk expert with Ever.Ag with a lifelong connection to farming, and a reputation for making complex risk strategies approachable, North is set to deliver insights that could help growers navigate the unpredictable world of crop markets in the coming year.

“During some of my college training I really found that I had fallen in love with the markets,” he said. “And here 31 years later, I’m still doing it. I still love it. More importantly, I love the people involved in it.”

Dairy farm roots

North’s story begins on a small family dairy farm in southeastern Wisconsin, where he learned the value of hard work, attention to detail and resilience in the face of uncertainty. It was on that farm that he first witnessed the ups and downs of agricultural markets and the challenges of running a family farm. These early experiences would shape his approach to risk management and commodity marketing for years to come.

“I’ve served in a lot of different capacities on different boards for different organizations inside of agriculture, but I am most known for my work in markets,” North said.

North’s formal education began at the University of Wisconsin–Platteville, where he earned a B.S. in Agribusiness with a minor in Dairy Science. During college, he also served as a state officer for the Wisconsin FFA, gaining early leadership experience that would inform his career in both business and education.

Launching a career

In 1995, North began an internship in the futures industry, immersing himself in commodity markets and developing a keen sense of how global and local factors influence pricing. Over the years, he became a recognized expert in managing risk through innovative market strategies. Farmers, processors and agribusinesses relied on his insights to hedge against price volatility and protect their operations from the swings inherent in commodity markets.

North’s expertise eventually led him to launch the Commodity Risk Management Group (CRMG) in 2014, offering practical, farm-friendly tools to manage market risk. In 2019, CRMG merged with Rice Dairy to become Ever.Ag, a leading provider of marketing, risk management, insurance, advisory and technology solutions for agricultural producers and supply-chain partners. Today, North serves as a senior leader at Ever.Ag, guiding clients through complex markets and helping them make strategic decisions that balance risk and opportunity.

“We work with different producers and others inside of the agricultural supply chain to manage risk,” North said. “We try to take some of the noise out of their day and make better decisions about the revenue and cost side of their operation.”

Making the complex accessible

With the agricultural landscape in 2026 being characterized by volatility and rapid change planning will no doubt be a challenge for corn and soybean producers, North’s decades of experience allow him to provide practical, actionable strategies that growers can implement immediately.

“It starts with the person. There’s no way to understand risk until you understand the person, their operation, their family dynamics, their dreams, their hopes, their ideas, their plans,” he said.

“Once you can get to that, the risk kind of takes care of itself. You have to look at the market with a very objective view to understand what is possible, to maybe try to calculate what is probable, but really to identify where the opportunities and the risk as defined by that person’s situation lives in a marketplace.”

Looking ahead

When North steps on stage at this year’s Corn Soy Expo, he won’t be a newcomer trying to get the lay of the land — he’ll be returning to a place that has shaped much of his professional life. North has been attending the event since long before it even carried its current name.

“I literally have been going to Corn Soy Expo since before it was Corn•Soy Expo, when it was being held at the Alliance Center in Madison,” he recalls. That early era, he says, feels like a different world compared to what the Expo has become today.”

The shift to the Kalahari Resort in Wisconsin Dells marked a turning point he remembers vividly. “I will say that the move to the Kalahari was a magical one,” North notes. “The degree of growth in participation and the quality of offerings — content and interaction — exploded as we moved into that new facility.”

The Expo not only expanded in size but transformed in energy, drawing larger and more diverse crowds while deepening the agricultural conversations that happen in every corner of the venue.

For North, the event’s evolution has been both personal and professional. “I love what it’s become,” he says. “I’m an old-timer when it comes to being at Corn•Soy Expo.”

Despite a schedule that often has him traveling the country to speak for other organizations, he estimates he has missed only a couple of Expos over the years, and he says he’s looking forward to bringing his commodity market expertise to this year’s show.

“ We are going to take a very objective view of what is taking place in the market, and we’re going to spend some time talking about how to think about the year ahead, what to look at and how to coach yourself in these markets so as to not get caught in another market cycle that seemingly takes you by surprise.”

One of North’s greatest strengths is his ability to simplify complex concepts. While commodity markets can be intimidating, his teaching style breaks down intricate topics into understandable, actionable steps. Farmers appreciate his no-nonsense explanations, real-world examples and emphasis on making decisions that make sense for their unique operations.

“The conference isn’t the conference without the people, and I love the interactions,” North said. “I love how it brings the industry together, not just across corn and soybean, but across livestock as well as the pork producers and even cattlemen and dairymen show up for the event.”