AMES, IOWA, U.S.  — Matt Carstens will join Landus Cooperative as its chief executive officer (CEO) effective March 9.

In October 2019 the Landus Cooperative board began searching for a new CEO after Milan Kucerak departed. Recently, the board unanimously selected Carstens to take on the role of CEO.

“Carstens brings to Landus Cooperative both a personal connection to cooperative heritage and a focused drive to move our business into a new chapter,” said Jim Carlson, president of the board of directors. “We are focused on advocating for our farmer-members and customers, empowering our employees, and leaning into the future of our industry.”

Carstens has nearly 25 years of experience in the industry spanning the supply chain from agronomy retail to end-user grain customers, food manufacturers, grocery stores and consumers.

“Whether you are an owner of this cooperative, a customer in any of our 26 Iowa counties, or you are feeding our value-added feed ingredients to dairy cows across the globe, your success will be the nucleus of our business,” Carstens said. “Our farmer-members and customers demand a trusted adviser, a partner who can advocate on their behalf, help them find value, and find new ways to make their operation better.”

Carstens most recently was senior vice-president of Truterra, a division of Land O’Lakes. There, he provided leadership for farmer-driven sustainability collaborations with food manufacturers and consumers by focusing on technology, data, and precision offerings. Previously, he was with United Suppliers, where he was responsible for the crop nutrient business, including sales, marketing, supply chain logistics, financial performance, and commodity procurement. He also has held various sales, marketing and management positions at several other agronomy businesses.

Carstens graduated from Iowa State University with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural business.