SPOKANE, Wash. — AgWest Farm Credit is an agricultural cooperative with customer-member governance primarily serving seven western states. The AgWest Board of Directors is elected by voting stockholders. This year, Nate Riggers and Greg Hirai from Region 3 (Idaho) and Brian Talley from Region 7 (Coastal California), were re-elected to the AgWest Farm Credit Board of Directors effective Jan. 1, 2025. Nate will serve a four-year term, ending Dec. 31, 2029, while Greg and Brian will serve a five-year term ending Dec. 31, 2030.
Nate Riggers – Nezperce, Idaho. Nate owns and operates Riggers Clearwater Farms JV, a dry land small grains farm located in north-central Idaho. The farm grows wheat, malt barley, turf grass seed, canola, and chickpeas.
Greg Hirai – Wendell, Idaho. Greg and his family own and operate Hirai Farms in Gooding, Jerome, and Twin Falls Counties of Idaho, growing potatoes, corn, alfalfa, and forage grains.
Brian Talley – Arroyo Grande, California. Brian is president of Talley Farms and Talley Vineyards. Talley Farms is a grower, packer and shipper of vegetables, lemons and avocados and operates a direct-to-consumer harvest box program. Talley Vineyards specializes in estate grown chardonnay and pinot noir wines.
In other board news, Craig Gnos, of El Macero, California, will retire from the AgWest Board effective Dec. 31, 2024. Craig has been a dedicated member of the board since 2002, also serving as a member of the Sacramento Valley Farm Credit Board. He has contributed significantly to the organization’s growth and success over his tenure. This board position will not be filled as part of AgWest’s board transition plan, reducing the board size over time.
Board Chair Doug Filipponi and Vice Chair Mark Cook have been reelected to serve in these leadership roles in 2025.
AgWest Farm Credit is governed by a 22-member Board of Directors; 20 directors are elected by the voting membership, which consists of customer stockholders representing each geographic region of the association. Two directors are appointed by the board, and cannot be customer-members, stockholders, employees or agents of any Farm Credit institution. A full list of current AgWest board members can be viewed on AgWestFC.com/about/governance/
About AgWest Farm Credit
AgWest is a financial cooperative with approximately $32 billion in total assets that provides financing, crop insurance and related services to farmers, ranchers, agribusinesses, commercial fishermen, timber producers and rural homeowners primarily in seven Western states. AgWest is part of the 108-year-old Farm Credit System – the leading provider of credit to American agriculture. AgWest serves customers in 59 locations throughout the West. For more information, visit AgWestFC.com.
–AgWest Farm Credit
