A Principled Approach
Executive Team
Bruce Rastetter, CEO
Bruce Rastetter is the founder and CEO of Summit Agricultural Group, a leading agribusiness firm with operations in North and South America. Rastetter’s hands-on experience in global agricultural and renewable energy sectors, matched with his strong focus on strategic business development, has been key to building successful companies and advising government leaders on policy matters.
Growing up on a 300-acre family farm near Alden, Iowa, Rastetter started his career with his own feed management business. He managed additional start-up companies that merged into Heartland Pork, a Midwestern pork production company acquired by Christensen Farms that has since become one of the largest pork producers in America. He also founded Hawkeye Renewables, which became one of the country’s largest corn-based ethanol producers, and FS Bioenergia, a Brazilian biofuels and energy platform that owns the largest corn-based ethanol production plant in South America.
Today Summit Agricultural Group is an agriculture and renewable energy business with farmland holdings across the globe. The company supports capital investments with strategic private equity partnerships and manages agricultural assets, including extensive beef, pork and grain production facilities. Dedicated to sound agricultural practices and enduring partnerships with farmers, Summit is committed to sustainable and profitable growth.
Rastetter is an active philanthropist and has served as an advisor and member of several boards, including the American Agriculture and Energy Council, AltEnergy LLC, Cultivation Corridor, Iowa Premium Beef, Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, Iowa State University’s College of Agriculture and Rural American Fund. He previously served as president of the Iowa Board of Regents, working on initiatives across the Regents system, which consists of more than 27,000 employees, 80,000 students and an annual budget of $5.6 billion.
A graduate of the University of Iowa, Rastetter holds a bachelor’s degree in political science.
Eric Peterson, President
Eric Peterson is President of Summit Agricultural Group and is responsible for overall management of the group’s businesses of farm operations, agricultural investment funds, and farm management services.
Eric started with Summit in 2007 and oversaw growth in the farming operation – row crop, cattle production, and swine finishing. In 2010 Summit’s first investment fund was launched, dedicated to Midwestern farm land, leading to the creation of additional funds investing in livestock facilities, farmland in Brazil, and that country’s first modern corn ethanol plant.
In 2011 Governor Branstad appointed him to the Iowa Finance Authority, the state’s housing and finance agency. He currently serves on the Iowa State University College of Agriculture Advisory Board and in 2015, he was named a 40 under 40 by Vance Publishing, publisher of Farm Journal.
Eric was raised on his family’s farm near Fargo, North Dakota. He is a graduate of Iowa State University with a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Business.
Justin Kirchhoff, Managing Director - Head of Private Equity
Mr. Kirchhoff is a Managing Director and Head of Private Equity for Summit Agricultural Group. In this capacity, he is primarily focused on overall investment execution and management related to various funds and portfolio investments in both the United States and Brazil. He currently serves on the board of FS Agrisolutions, a Brazilian biofuels and energy production company and previously served on the board of Iowa Premium, LLC, an Iowa-based beef processing company. In 2019, he was appointed by Governor Reynolds to the IPERS Investment Board, which is responsible for investment and oversight of Iowa state pension assets. Prior to joining Summit in 2012, he was an investment analyst with Aviva Investors North America. He grew up in Southwest Iowa and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in finance from Iowa State University, where he is a member of the College of Business Finance and Executive MBA Advisory Councils. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Iowa.
Kirk Beaubien, Managing Director - Head of U.S. Real Estate
As a Managing Director and Head of U.S. Real Estate, Kirk Beaubien is responsible for management of the day-to-day activities of Summit Ag Fund and its related entities. Prior to his current role, he served as an acquisition manager at Principal Real Estate Investors, where he was responsible for acquisitions/dispositions of commercial real estate properties in the state of California. He has also worked in the Cedar Rapids branch of U.S. Bank, serving as a portfolio manager in its commercial real estate group. He is a native of Denison, Iowa, and received bachelor’s degrees in both finance and real estate from the University of Northern Iowa, and a MBA with emphasis in finance from the University of Nebraska.
Mitch Baum, Business Development Manager
As the business development manager at Summit Agricultural Group, Mitch Baum’s responsibilities include land acquisitions, sales and trades; livestock facility development and contract management; internship recruiting; and operational support. Prior to joining the team at Summit in 2005, he worked with Smithfield Foods as a territory manager for Murphy-Brown, LLC in Iowa and Illinois. Mitch was raised in Henry County, Illinois, on a grain and livestock farm, and later attended Iowa State University majoring in agriculture business. He has two sons, Jake and Tom, who share his passion for agriculture and the outdoors. Mitch is a past president and trustee of the Iowa 4-H Foundation Board.