Nate Kauffman is senior vice president and Omaha Branch executive with the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and is the Kansas City Fed’s principal expert in agricultural economics. He is a leading voice on the agricultural economy throughout the seven states of the Tenth Federal Reserve District and the broader Federal Reserve System. Nate oversees several Bank and Federal Reserve efforts to track economic and financial conditions for agriculture and hosts the Kansas City Fed’s Agricultural Symposium. He also speaks regularly on the agricultural economy to industry audiences and the news media, including providing testimonies at both U.S. Senate and U.S. House Agriculture Committee hearings. In his role as the Bank’s lead economist and representative in the state of Nebraska, Nate provides strategic direction and oversight for the Omaha Branch, regional research, and economic outreach throughout the state. He serves as a local connection to the nation’s central bank and is responsible for briefing the Kansas City Fed’s president – a member of the Federal Open Market Committee – on regional economic and business activity. Nate joined the Federal Reserve in 2012. He received his Ph.D. in economics from Iowa State University. Prior to receiving his Ph.D., Nate spent three years in Bosnia and Herzegovina coordinating agricultural economic development projects. Nate lives in Omaha with his wife and four children.