Meet our Team
Joe Sinclair
President & Chief Executive Officer
Joe is a Monroe County Iowa native and graduated from Albia High School in 1983. In 1987 Joe received his Bachelors degree in Ag Business from Iowa State University and began an 11 year career at Dow Chemical. He became a Certified Crop Advisor in 1994. Joe founded Quality Ag Service in 1995. Joe has been instrumental in developing the strategies and strengthening the capabilities that have led to Quality Ag's growth in products and services offered to growers and ag businesses. Under his leadership, the company has become a national wholesale agro-chemical provider with retail agronomy roots in southern Iowa. Joe and his wife Allison live in rural Melrose, Iowa and have three grown children.
Joe Knowles
Wholesale Market Manager
Manager Joe oversees the inventory and delivery logistics of the wholesale operation, is the inside salesman for the wholesale market, and oversees the warehouse operations at the Albia location. Joe Knowles grew up on a farm in rural Melrose, Iowa and graduated from Albia High School. He received an associate's degree from Muscatine College in Ag Business in 2001. Joe has been at Quality Ag since near its founding and has been instrumental in the growth of the wholesale segment Joe and his wife Kari are busy with their son Logan, and twins Michael and Halley.
Kari Knowles
Crop Insurance Specialist
Kari is our lead crop insurance agent. She heads up the sales and service of our crop insurance clients. Kari has a degree in agriculture from Iowa State University and is married to Joe Knowles, our wholesale market manager.
Wholesale Team:
Ray Erwin
National Sales Manager
Ray Erwin brings more than 37 years of experience in the crop protection and specialty agriculture markets to Quality Ag Service. He began his career with American Cyanamid in East Arkansas before joining BASF following the companies’ merger in the late 1990s.
Over the course of his career, Ray has held leadership roles across sales, forestry, right-of-way, and wholesale agricultural chemical markets, including positions with UPL, where he served as a key account manager and regional manager for both the Midwest and Southern regions.
P
rior to joining Quality Ag Service in 2025 as National Sales Director of Wholesale, Ray led sales at Top Line Crop Protection, focusing on wholesale ag chemical distribution and strengthening relationships with retail partners. Today, he leads a team serving retailers across 28 states nationwide.
You can reach Ray at : Email
Ben Kaltenbach
Sales
Ben started in the Ag Industry in 1987 with the JR Simplot Co where he worked as a Crop Advisor and in various roles, including manager, during a 29 year tenure. He then moved on to Adama chemical as a Regional Sales Manager in the Upper Midwest, where he worked for 8 years. Ben joined Quality Ag in October of 2022 as a Midwest Sales Manager. He supports the territory of North & South Dakota, Northeast Nebraska and Northwest Iowa. Ben also farms 400 acres of corn, soybeans and alfalfa. Ben is married with 3 children and 6 grandchildren.
You can reach him at: Email Or 605-205-0670.
Eric Beatty
Sales
Eric is the newest member of our wholesale team, supporting Illinois, Indiana, Missouri & Kentucky. He has 12 years wholesale & end-user sales experience, including time with Big Ass Fans, Dart Container & Amhil Packaging. He lives in rural Melrose, Iowa with wife Mary Pat, wholesale coordinator, and they stay busy raising 3 young daughters.
You can reach Eric at : Email
or his cell 859-948-7511.
John Walsh
Sales
John lives in Springfield, Illinois, supporting key customers in the Central Illinois market.
Kotton Guest
Sales
Kotton manages accounts in Arkansas, with a specialty in rice and cotton crop protection products.
You can reach Kotton at : Email
or at 870-338-2910.
Ryan Shade
Sales
Ryan supports the wholesale market in the Eastern Cornbelt, including parts of Missouri, Illinois and Indiana.
You can reach Ryan at : Email Or 573-248-6113.
Trace Tool
Sales
Trace is the account manager for Nebraska, Colorado & Kansas and portions of South Dakota.
You can reach Trace at : Email
or on his cell 308-233-4550
Will Woodruff
Sales
Will comes to Quality Ag with 40 years of experience selling fertilizer, seed and crop protection. His territory covers Iowa and Minnesota selling wholesale fertilizer and crop protection products for Quality Ag Wholesale. Will lives in Boone, Iowa with his wife Lori. They have 2 children Brodey, & Sydney.
You contact Will at : Email Or 515-709-9737
Kevin Griffin
Retail Operations Manager
Kevin manages all of the day-to-day activities of the retail fertilizer and spraying operations and oversees the Melrose location. Kevin has been with QAS since 2002 and lives in Albia with his wife and three kids.
Joe Kearney
Seed Treatment Specialist & Sales
Joe is our resident seed treatment specialist and sales representative. He also assists with Fertilizer & Chemical blending operation in the Melrose location.
You contact Joe at : Email
Nate Rea
Retail Operations, Albia
Nate joined Quality Ag in the spring of 2026. His key responsibilities include managing our Albia Fertilizer inventory & blending operation and coordinating operations among our Southern Iowa locations.
Rob Kennedy
Applicator
Rob works as the senior chemical and fertilizer custom applicator for our retail operation. He also uses his many years of experience to guide plant and equipment improvement projects. Rob has been with QAS since 2005 and lives in Russell.
Cary Kosman
Applicator
Cary works as a chemical and fertilizer custom applicator for our retail operation. He also works in our Melrose location blending and dispatching fertilizer orders and working on repair/improvement projects. Cary has been with QAS since 2009 and lives in Moravia.
Jordan Gradeless
Applicator/Driver
Jordan works as a chemical and fertilizer custom applicator for our retail operation. He also does some driving and makes agronomy sales calls. Jordan has been with QAS since 2016 and lives in Moravia with his wife and little girl.
Bill Flahive
Driver
Bill’s driving duties include customer deliveries, hauling grain, and delivering product to applicators in the field. He also uses his years of mechanical skills to keep trucks and equipment fine-tuned. Bill has been with QAS since February of 2019 and lives in Albia.
Eddie Cochran
Driver
Eddie keeps our buildings full hauling fertilizer from the terminals to our plants. He also hauls customer grain and tends applicators. Eddie has been with QAS since 2017 and lives in Centerville with his wife.
Mike Gray
Applicator/Driver
Mike works as a chemical and fertilizer custom applicator for our retail operation and also acts as a salesman for the agronomy side. He also does some of the trucking; ensuring our buildings are full of fertilizer as well as hauling grain for customers. Mike joined the QAS team in January of 2021 and lives in Albia with his wife.
Steve Johnson
Warehouse Specialist/Driver
Steve is the warehouseman at the Albia location. His duties include loading in and outbound inventory, blending fertilizer and maintenance of the facility. Steve also makes local customer deliveries. Steve has been with Quality Ag since October 2022 and he lives in Albia.
Ilya Kritskiy
Mechanic
Ilya lives in Melrose and is our skilled mechanic, keeping our equipment tuned up and running effectively.
Kent Thompson
North Location Manager
Kent joined our Quality Ag Team in Jesup, Iowa in 2024. He is the Location Manager and oversees the fertilizer & chemical operations for our North location.
You contact Kent at : Email or at our Jesup office: 319-827-2118
Hugh Sinclair
Northern Division Operation Manager
Hugh’s duties include fertilizer and chemical sales, custom application and customer deliveries. He started full-time with Quality Ag in September of 2021 after working seasonally for several years. Hugh is married to Becca, logistics and North Location Office Manager, and they are raising their young family in Fairbank. Hugh is the son of QAS owner, Joe Sinclair.
You contact Hugh at : Email
Lonnie Newhall
Northern Division Applicator
Lonnie joined the North QAS team in early 2026 after several years in custom application. He brings a wealth of experience and knowledge on blending and application.
Dillan Federspiel
Driver, Northern Division
Dillan serves as a driver for our North location, tending Hugh & Lonnie for fertilizer and chemical custom application and making customer deliveries.
Kris Knowles
Treasurer/Administrative Manager
Kris oversees all the administrative functions of the operation and has been part of the company since 1999. Kris graduated from Iowa State University with degrees in Accounting and an Agriculture degree. She and her husband Joe also have a farming operation near Melrose.
Lisa Flahive
Office Manager
Lisa oversees inventory vendor payables, vendor finance customer programs, customer invoicing & seed reporting. She has been with QAS since 2007 and lives in Albia.
Lori Amoss
Administrative Specialist
Lori’s duties include Accounts receivable and payables. Lori joined Quality Ag in January of 2023 and lives in Albia.
Becca Sinclair
North Division Office Manager & Logistics Coordinator
Becca started working for Quality Ag in May 2023 after she graduated from Iowa State University with an Ag-Business and Economics degree. Becca is married to Hugh and lives in Fairbank. Becca’s duties include customer invoicing, coordinating shipments and advertising.
Mary Pat Beatty
Wholesale Coordinator & Office Assistant
Mary Pat joined Quality Ag in the fall of 2024 after moving home to Melrose, Iowa. She previously worked for Nestle USA in various Human Resources roles, ending her 15-year tenure as Factory HR Manager in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Her key responsibilities include coordinating pricing for the wholesale team, processing wholesale orders, retail customer invoicing, and payroll & benefits administration. She is the daughter of owner, Joe Sinclair, and is married to Wholesale rep, Eric Beatty. They are raising their 3 daughters on the family farm in Melrose.