Trevor Mecham leads Valley technology strategy, assuring growers continue to receive innovative solutions and a strong return on investment. Prior to joining Valley, Trevor served Leica Geosystems, a leading aftermarket GPS technology provider, as the General Business Manager for the Americas. This included bringing new innovations such as real-time diagnostics and telematics services to the global market. Trevor brings a wealth of vision and experience in the AgTech space, including senior positions at Hortau, Uptake, CNH Industrial, Leica Geosystems, John Deere/Gem Equipment, and Novariant. Trevor has also earned his bachelor’s degree in Business Marketing and worked for years on his family’s 4,000-acre farm.

Edward Hargroves is a co-founder and Partner of Goldcrest Farm Trust Advisors and serves on the Investment Committee. Hargroves is responsible for farmland property deal evaluation and execution, portfolio construction, capital markets, finance, fund management and administration, research and strategy and investor relations. From 2008-2013, Hargroves was a senior analyst at two prominent hedge funds, SAC Capital Advisors and Duquesne Capital Management, where he primarily focused on research and investing in agricultural commodities markets. While at Duquesne, he worked for the team that co-founded AgCoA, the largest private farmland REIT in the United States, and which was sold to the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB). Hargroves also worked in the Corporate, Investment Banking and Markets division at HSBC. He is a member of the Economic Club of New York. He received a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

Shay Myers is a keynote speaker, produce industry influencer and ag executive (“agri-preneur”) working with asparagus, onions and sweet potatoes. Myers serves as CEO of Owyhee Produce in Nyssa, OR, one of the largest vertically integrated onion farms in the country. Being vertically integrated allows them to control their operations, from what and where they plant to packaging and logistics. A third-generation farmer, Myers and his family grow enough food to feed tens of millions of Americans. Part of his job is to educate consumers that their food is inexpensive and safe, but that takes investment, care and passion to achieve. He is also CEO of Buck Naked Onions, which takes externally imperfect onions, and turns them into perfectly usable whole peeled onions, saving customers time and money while reducing food waste. Myers has a degree in Spanish from the University of New Hampshire, a business degree from Boise State University, and volunteers with the Boy Scouts of America.