W.J. “Bill” Cook has been involved in agriculture for more than 60 years. He is a life-long family farmer and rural entrepreneur. In the 1970s, Bill and his wife, Emily, founded NeCo Seed Farms, Inc., which they successfully operated for more than 30 years before passing it onto the next generation.

Over the course of Bill’s career, he has held many diverse roles, each contributing to his deep understanding of agriculture. From 2010 to 2014, he worked in South America, Asia, and Africa to grow new soybean traits and genetics in winter nurseries. Earlier in his career, Bill owned and operated a feed and chemical retail store; owned an implement dealership; managed an irrigation, bin and equipment company; and led a corn and soybean marketing company. In addition to his entrepreneurial ventures, Bill has been involved in various financial and agricultural organizations. He’s served on bank boards, worked with the Production Credit Association, and maintained strong affiliations with groups like Missouri Crop Improvement, Missouri Foundation Seeds, and the International Business Club.

In 2019, Bill turned his attention towards industrial hemp. After years of research, Bill and his team have secured their own USDA hemp research license- becoming the first non-university to do so. Their research is focused on creating Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and Return on Investment (ROI) models, aiming to make hemp a practical and profitable crop for farmers. Bill firmly believes that hemp is a miracle crop that will change the future of agriculture.