Alan Kluis has been a commodity advisor and broker since 1976. He is president and managing partner of Kluis Commodities in Wayzata, Minnesota.

Alan is one of two approved Cargill Pro-Pricing Grain managers and is an introducing broker with R.J.O'Brien.

Alan is also a writer. He writes a column, Your Profit, which appears in every issue of Successful Farming magazine. Before that, Al was an expert columnist for Corn and Soybean Digest for 13 years; the magazine featured his Marketing Strategies column in every issue. Alan has published two books on commodities trading. His co-author on the first book, Loren Kruse, is now Editor-in-Chief of Successful Farming magazine. Alan is commonly quoted in major publications including the Wall Street Journal, and is a featured speaker at commodity conferences nationwide. He is a frequent market analyst for the Linder Farm Radio News Network. Alan was co-author of the weekly AgInvestor Newsletter for 12 years, and is now the author of new weekly commodity advisory newsletter, The Al Kluis Report

Alan, a Minnesota farmboy, was awarded his degree in Ag Economics from the University of Minnesota in 1974, after which he was executive director of the Minnesota Soybean Association before entering the markets full-time. Alan still owns a farm in southwest Minnesota and enjoys helping with fieldwork when the markets allow.

Katie grew up in the Midwest and moved to southern California for college. She was awarded her BA in Biology from the University of California, San Diego, and her MA in Molecular Pathology from the School of Medicine, UC San Diego. Katie co-founded two biotechnology companies before moving back to the Midwest to try something different.

In 1999, Katie got a job as a reporter for a small local newspaper in rural northwest Iowa, mainly based on her past success (well, okay: second place) as a sixth-grader in the Sioux Falls Argus-Leader State Spelling Contest. At the newspaper, they let her start her own farm column ("The Field Reporter") and Katie started writing the first of what would become hundreds of columns and news articles about bean leaf beetles, GMO field trials, manure, rendering, and soil types. She also started a website--FieldReporter.com--where she had her column, other farm columnists, and agriculture-related puzzles and games. Katie also starting doing freelance work for Successful Farming magazine. Her first article for them was about the arrival of soybean aphids in the US. She also wrote the quiz questions for each season of the magazine's online "Smart Farmer" game, and helped arrange the online "CabCam" project. During this time, Katie also wrote a novel about what would happen to US agriculture if there was a deliberate outbreak of FMD (foot-and-mouth disease). In her novel, the perpetrator was a commodities trader who made a fortune in the commodities markets. It includes a terrific chase scene through a rendering plant.

Then, while in Brazil writing for Successful Farming about sugar cane ethanol, and about American farmers in Bahia, Katie met an actual commodities trader, Al Kluis. Al was also there to learn about farming in Brazil. Back in the US they started work on the first Kluis Commodity Calendar. The next year, they started Al's Farmer's Almanac. Now Katie manages production of these each year. In 2010 she moved from Iowa to Minnesota to work full-time on Al's publishing: Daily AM Updates, weekly newsletter, twice-monthly webinars, annual Calendar and Almanac, special reports and webinars, website content, ads and seminars. She's also writing another novel but it has nothing to do with commodities or viruses.

Cory Bratland is the youngest of 5 children who grew up on the family farm near Willow Lake, South Dakota. Cory attended school at Willow Lake High School and graduated with an A.A.S. degree in Ag Business Management at Lake Area Technical Institute in Watertown, South Dakota.

In 1996, Cory went to work for Cargill as a cash grain marketer and grain trader. At Cargill, Cory got more training in marketing and merchandising, becoming a Cargill Certified Solutions Pro. In 2003 Cory also got licensed as a Series 3 and Series 30 commodity broker.

In 2008, Cory left Cargill to be an independent commodity broker, and started Prairie Ag Marketing Services. In 2009 he partnered with Al Kluis as an affiliated office, and in 2010 became the Kluis Commodities Chief Grain Strategist. In addition to working daily with Al on marketing strategies, Cory serves the Kluis Private Clients through Prairie Ag Marketing.

Cory still actively participates in the family farm near Willow Lake, which raises corn, soybeans, wheat and also runs a cow/calf operation.

Cory has a real passion for the outdoors and loves to hunt and fish. Best of all: Bow-hunting and pheasant hunting with his two English Pointers. During the summer months, you can find Cory along with his wife, 2 boys, and daughter, camping all over eastern South Dakota.

Cory’s specialties: Cash grain marketing and trading basis levels.

Mark was born in Chicago, Illinois and raised in Edina, Minnesota – making him the only “city kid” at Kluis Commodities.  He attended Arizona State University, majoring in Finance, and also earned an M.B.A. in Finance at the University of Colorado-Boulder.

Mark has been in the Financial Services industry for the past 20 years.  His experience includes 8 years as a Trader in the Eurodollar pit at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, trading bonds and equities for Ameriprise Financial and as a Financial Advisor for Merrill Lynch.  As a Series 7 certified broker with Kluis Commodities, Mark works on a personal level with farmers in helping them to implement a complete marketing strategy.  He also enjoys charting the various grain markets, and looking for opportunities for his clients.

Mark and his wife, Sara, have four children – a daughter and three sons – who keep them very busy.  He is involved in coaching their various sports teams and helping at their school and in the community.  When he isn’t in the car driving the kids, Mark enjoys playing hockey and golf, reading a good spy novel and traveling with his family.

Colette was born and raised in Hallock, Minnesota--part of the soil-rich Red River Valley.  She went to college at the University of Minnesota , majoring in English and Japanese.  After graduation, she went to Tokyo and spent two years teaching English Conversation to 120 students, ages 6-76, riding a bicycle everywhere, becoming addicted to sushi and managing to climb Mt. Fuji before she left.

Next, she became an Account Manager at Prometric, the “world leader in computer-based certification testing,” managing relationships with IT companies like Apple Computer and Adobe Systems.  Four years later, her first son was born, followed by her daughter, and she stayed home for a number of years to raise them.

In 2010, when her daughter was old enough for preschool, she joined the team at Kluis Commodities.  Colette enjoys helping farmers succeed—a noble task!  She dabbles with accounting, editing, website work, sales, technology and partnership development, enjoying the variety of duties and fast pace at Kluis.

Colette loves to learn about other cultures-- food, art, literature and people.  One day she hopes to join the Peace Corps to dive into another beautiful culture.  Her bucket list includes: learning to Tango and visiting the Okavango Delta and Egypt with her family.

Danielle was born and raised in the farm country of Mabel, Minnesota, and educated among Iowa’s vast corn fields at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. As a former FFA Historian, Danielle naturally went on to study History, Museum Studies and Archival Studies while attending school. She was awarded her Bachelor of Arts in History with a Minor in Museum Studies.

Danielle served as an Assistant Archivist at the Mitchell County Historical Society in Osage, Iowa and as an Archivist for the PHIRE Project in Cedar Falls, Iowa, before relocating to the Twin Cities to join our team at Kluis. Danielle spends her spare time blogging and making jewelry.

As part of the team at Kluis, Danielle keeps tabs on all of our Kluis information, creates many of our reports and archives our newsletters and webinars.

Christa was born and raised in sugar beet country, in the eastern Montana town of Sidney. She migrated east for college and earned her bachelor’s degree in Business Management at Minnesota State University-Moorhead.

After graduation, Christa moved to Minneapolis and spent the next 8 years working for software companies, the first specializing in equipment leasing, and the second specializing in retail management. Christa took a break from software companies to raise her two boys, who are now 6 and 4.

Today, Christa lives in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota and is enjoying her new career and commute to the Kluis office. Her responsibilities include managing large customer-outreach projects, revising the Al Kluis website, and updating customer records.