Meet the Promotion & Engagement Committee

1st District - Ashley Goodman - Committee Co-Chair

Ashley lives in Jackson County in the 1st District with her husband, Jeff, and their son, Clay. Together they raise soybeans, corn, milo and wheat along with helping Clay grow his 4-H show pig, farrowing out some of his past show gilts. Ashley works for Kansas Department of Agriculture on the dairy inspection team. She just finished her second four-year term on the Jackson County Farm Bureau board where she was active at both the local and state level. Ashley has participated in Leadership KFB, served as chair of the state Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee, went to Washington, D.C., as part of the Leaders Engaged and Acting in D.C. trip, was selected as a Kansas Farm Bureau (KFB) Farm Family of the Year, has served as a voting delegate at KFB’s Annual Meeting, served as president and vice president of the Jackson County Farm Bureau board and most recently helped co-chair the committee and create the Jackson County 4-H Livestock Summit. Ashley has also participated in the Kansas Soybean Emerging Leader program, served on the Jackson County Fair centennial planning committee, and served as one of the fair swine superintendents. In her free time, she operates a custom leather work and silversmithing business.

2nd District - Ashley Hornberger - Committee Chair

Ashley Hornberger lives in Douglas County in the 2nd District with her husband, Clint, and their three boys, Chase, CJ and Cord. Together they run a cow-calf operation and sell 100 percent of the beef off their farm to local restaurants or local farmers markets. Ashley also works off the farm as a senior associate underwriter for crop insurance with Great American Insurance.

Ashley has been very active in Farm Bureau, both at the county and state levels in recent years. She and her husband served on the Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee, and Ashley went on to serve on the Douglas County Farm Bureau board for seven years (including one as vice president and three as president). Ashley is a graduate of Class V of Leadership KFB and Cohort 2 of the Casten Fellows program. She is also active in her community in other ways, including the Baldwin City Chamber of Commerce, the Douglas County Extension Council and her sons' 4-H Club.

3rd District - Kurtis Gregory, DVM

Bio and photo not yet available

4th District - Kacie Lockyear

Kacie Lockyear was raised on a farm in rural Cowley County where she continues to raise the next generation on the farm that has been in her family for more than 150 years. ] She values being part of an organization like Kansas Farm Bureau, which works tirelessly to preserve the way of life she has come to love and deeply respect.

Lockyear is a kindergarten teacher in a local community and was honored as the 2020 Janet Simms Kansas Ag in the Classroom Teacher of the Year. Her husband sells farm equipment for a local dealership. Together, they manage a cow-calf operation, run a custom hay business and raise wheat, soybeans, corn, milo and hay grazer.

She has served on the Cowley County Farm Bureau board for six years, including five years as president. Lockyear is currently a member of Leadership KFB Class XI and is in her first year serving on the P&E Committee. She looks forward to continuing to serve farmers and ranchers across Kansas.

5th District - Stacy Wurtz

Stacy Wurtz is the founder of One Iron, where she provides coaching and consulting to equip leaders, entrepreneurs and individuals. She also serves as an advisory manager at Innovate24.

Wurtz lives outside Randolph with her husband, Brian, and their four children. Together, they manage a cow/calf herd, manure hauling and custom feeding business. In addition, their family owns Frontage 109, a salon and event center that keeps them active in the community by hosting events that support agriculture, churches, organizations, and schools.

She previously spent 12 years with Farm Bureau Financial Services in leadership roles. Wurtz currently serves on the Riley County Farm Bureau board and is in her first year on the Promotion & Engagement Committee.

She values being part of Kansas Farm Bureau for the opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals who care deeply about agriculture and rural resilience.

6th District - Kali Kootz

Kali Kootz represents District 6 in Ellsworth County. In addition to her work as a rural clinic nurse, Kali farms with her husband, Jeremy, and their young son, Walter. Together they run a cow-calf operation and raise wheat, sorghum and soybeans along with various hays. Kali has been on the Ellsworth County Farm Bureau board for five years, including two as president. This is her second year on the P&E Committee. She loves being a part of Kansas Farm Bureau because it gives her an outlet outside of the farm and brings like-minded people together to make positive changes in agriculture not just for our generation, but for generations to come.

7th District - Lori Elpers

Lori Elpers represents District 7 in Kingman County. She operates a cow-calf herd, backgrounds cattle and grows feed. After downsizing the operation due to her husband’s health and following his passing in September 2025, Elpers chose to continue running a portion of the cow/calf pairs while renting out the remaining ground.

She was married to Pat Elpers for 34 years until his passing on Sept. 11, 2025. They have two daughters, Annie Pitts and Renee Elpers. Annie is married to Nate Pitts and serves as director of Harvey County Extension and Services as the 4-H and Youth Development agent. They have two sons.

Elpers is actively involved in her community. She is a member of the St. Rose Altar Society, serves on the Kingman County Extension and Research PDC and is secretary of the Kingman County Extension and Research Executive board. She also serves on the Kingman County Health Coalition board.

For the past seven years, she has served as the Kingman County coordinator, representing the county on the Health Coalition board. Elpers helped establish the Kingman County Farm Bureau Scholarship and Train the Trainer program for FFA and 4-H, and she works to promote mental health initiatives in Kingman County. She participated in Ag Academy in 2024 and attended the American Farm Bureau Federation convention in January 2025.

Outside of her work and volunteer roles, Elpers enjoys visiting antique shops in search of pink depression glass and furniture, traveling and spending time with her grandchildren.

8th District - Kristi Pierce

Kristi Pierce is the county coordinator for Lane County and represents the 8th District. Pierce is married and has three children. As part of the Lane County Farm Bureau board, she strives to support her community in several ways, like organizing an Ag Day for their local grade school to donating to annual community efforts.

Kristi has served as the county coordinator for 11 years, working to strengthen local agriculture and community engagement.

She enjoys spending time with her family, reading and baking.

9th District - Jamie Gooch

Jamie Gooch is from Stevens County, representing Kansas Farm Bureau’s 9th District. Along with her husband, she helps manage a commercial cow-calf operation and raises irrigated milo and wheat in rural Stevens County, continuing a family tradition that spans more than 45 years. In 2025, their family was honored as a Century Farm, a recognition that holds special meaning for them.

She and her husband have two grown daughters who live in Oklahoma and are proud grandparents to five grandchildren.

Gooch enjoys promoting Farm Bureau programs throughout the community and working closely with the local Chamber of Commerce, Health Department, Extension office and schools. She is also an active member of First Christian Church.

She currently serves as the county coordinator for Stevens County Farm Bureau and enjoys encouraging members to take part in district outings, educational workshops, political action and community forums. Gooch also supports FFA and 4-H through educational opportunities and helps promote legislative efforts.

Outside of her Farm Bureau involvement, she enjoys vegetable gardening, spending time with her grandchildren and relaxing in the mountains.

10th District - Beth Zillinger

Beth Zillinger lives in Norton County with her husband, Blake, and their two daughters, Becca and Bailee. With deep family roots in agriculture, Beth and her family operate a cow-calf operation in Norton and Phillips counties. Their daughters are involved in 4-H and Beth serves as both a local 4-H club leader and county project leader.

Beth works off the farm as a speech-language pathologist, serving children with complex communication and physical needs. Her husband, Blake, is an agricultural education instructor and FFA advisor who champions agricultural education through service on multiple state committees. Beth is a graduate of Leadership KFB Class IX and has served on the Norton County Farm Bureau board for several years, currently serving her third year as Women’s Leadership Committee Chair in her district. She is also active in her local church as a Sunday school teacher and chair of the education committee. Beth values the role Kansas Farm Bureau plays in supporting agriculture, developing leaders, and strengthening rural Kansas communities.