Inducted:2015
Daniel T. Kelley, Former Chairman of the Board & President GROWMARK, Inc.
McLean County, IL. An authentic leader and champion of cooperative development, Kelley spent more than three decades serving the cooperative sector. Most recently, he retired as board chairman and president of the agriculture supply cooperative GROWMARK, Inc. Kelley's roots in the cooperative movement began in 1970 when, as a full-time farmer, he joined his local cooperative, Evergreen FS. He later served as president of the organization from 1985 to 2008.
A tireless champion of new ideas and innovation, Kelley is widely credited for shaping GROWMARK into the organization it is today. AgriVisor, a grain and livestock marketing analysis and brokerage service, was initiated during his tenure. A joint venture between GROWMARK and Illinois Farm Bureau, the venture has since expanded to serve Farm Bureaus in Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, Missouri and Ohio.
In the 1980s, Kelley shouldered efforts to reform the Farm Credit Banks, creating a foundation for success that the Farm Credit System, its member-owners and rural communities enjoy today. Over his career Kelley has served on many cooperative boards. He is currently on the board of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, CoBank and Illinois Agriculture Leadership Foundation, which he chairs.