Full Name
Heather Hampton Knodel
Job Title
President
Company
Knodle Ltd Family Farms
Speaker Bio
Heather Hampton-Knodle farms in south-central Illinois with her three sons. She grows corn, soybeans, and wheat, and raises Angus cattle. Heather also keeps the books and manages public aff airs for her family’s farm.
Heather is the founding chairman of the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation, which serves close to 30,000 residents of Montgomery County. She was also the founding chairman and serves on the board of the Central Illinois Economic Development Authority, and served as founding chairman for the Montgomery CEO program from 2015 through 2023.
She is Immediate Past President of American Agri-Women, the nation’s largest coalition of women in farming, ranching, and agribusiness; serves on the AIFARMS Advisory Board, and has served as executive director for the Upper Mississippi, Illinois, and Missouri Rivers Association. She was an elected member of the Montgomery County Board and is an appointee to the Illinois Governor’s Rural Aff airs Council. On the FCC’s Precision Agriculture Task Force she served as the chairman of the Examining Current and Future Connectivity Demand for Precision Agriculture working group from 2021-2023 and chaired the Accelerating Broadband Deployment working group in 2024, which she was Vice Chair of from 2019 to 2021. She is also on the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) Illinois Leadership Council, and Mississippi State’s Autonomy Institute Advisory Committee. In addition to serving as a Farmer Ambassador, Heather is also a member of Farm Journal Foundation’s Board of Directors.
Heather is dedicated to developing rural economies through incentivizing investments in telecommunications, innovative workforce development, and enabling entrepreneurship. Her commitment to rural communities shows in recent eff orts to attract a $15 million private investment in fiberoptic-to-the-premises by leveraging $6,000 of public funds. Heather is a regular contributor to the North American Ag podcast, leads Starr Shooters 4-H club, and is a “Storyteller” at her community’s Vacation Bible School.
Heather holds a bachelor’s degree in agriculture news/editorial from the University of Illinois and the equivalent of a minor in Russian language and area studies. Her course of study included an academic year in Nottingham, England, and a summer in Pushkin, Russia.
Heather is the founding chairman of the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation, which serves close to 30,000 residents of Montgomery County. She was also the founding chairman and serves on the board of the Central Illinois Economic Development Authority, and served as founding chairman for the Montgomery CEO program from 2015 through 2023.
She is Immediate Past President of American Agri-Women, the nation’s largest coalition of women in farming, ranching, and agribusiness; serves on the AIFARMS Advisory Board, and has served as executive director for the Upper Mississippi, Illinois, and Missouri Rivers Association. She was an elected member of the Montgomery County Board and is an appointee to the Illinois Governor’s Rural Aff airs Council. On the FCC’s Precision Agriculture Task Force she served as the chairman of the Examining Current and Future Connectivity Demand for Precision Agriculture working group from 2021-2023 and chaired the Accelerating Broadband Deployment working group in 2024, which she was Vice Chair of from 2019 to 2021. She is also on the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) Illinois Leadership Council, and Mississippi State’s Autonomy Institute Advisory Committee. In addition to serving as a Farmer Ambassador, Heather is also a member of Farm Journal Foundation’s Board of Directors.
Heather is dedicated to developing rural economies through incentivizing investments in telecommunications, innovative workforce development, and enabling entrepreneurship. Her commitment to rural communities shows in recent eff orts to attract a $15 million private investment in fiberoptic-to-the-premises by leveraging $6,000 of public funds. Heather is a regular contributor to the North American Ag podcast, leads Starr Shooters 4-H club, and is a “Storyteller” at her community’s Vacation Bible School.
Heather holds a bachelor’s degree in agriculture news/editorial from the University of Illinois and the equivalent of a minor in Russian language and area studies. Her course of study included an academic year in Nottingham, England, and a summer in Pushkin, Russia.
Speaking At
