At Dakota AG Energy, we go against the grain─literally and figuratively.
We believe that biofuels are the untapped answer to the very complex problem that starts with our Nation’s dependence on oil and ends with more than 50,000 premature and avoidable deaths a year.
Our clients demand better. So we help them simplify complex issues and reach the audiences who matter.
Our years of experience have taught us that trying to make a difference in this world takes an extraordinary amount of patience, perseverance and passion.
Our Motto: Drink the best and drive the rest.
David E. Hallberg
Principal
David has more than 35 years of experience in the biofuels industry. After time spent in the Middle East after the 1973 war, Hallberg received his Master of Arts degree in International Relations and Economics from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC. During his years in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, Hallberg served as legislative director and Chief of Staff and was actively involved in drafting and enactment much of the ethanol industry’s formative legislation.
As the founder and first President/CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, Hallberg helped foster the ethanol industry’s growth by harnessing the support of both the public and private sectors. Hallberg has extensive international experience, including serving as a member of the U.S. delegation to the G8 Forum on Climate Change in Shonan Village, Japan. He is the inventor of three U.S. patents to produce high octane ethanol with radically reduced carbon footprints.
Hallberg is a recipient of the American Coalition of Ethanol Grassroots and Merle Anderson awards. A South Dakota native, he currently lives in Omaha with his wife, Becky.
Bump Kraeger
Principal
Bump is literally a “boots on the ground” guy spending every day involved with livestock, livestock’s utilization of solar energy captured through photosynthesis and stored in grain, and the recycling of nutrients from manure back to cropland protected by cover crops, grazed by livestock. Converting solar energy to human consumable protein and energy in an environmentally responsible manner through livestock is his passion.
Serving on an advisory committee to a natural resources district, Bump has helped shape regulatory policy and worked with livestock operations to establish and operate within permits. Bump has worked extensively with ethanol byproducts with regard to their handling, storage and utilization primarily with beef cattle but other species as well. Educated at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Bump remains involved in beef cattle research on a daily basis. Bump lives in rural Nebraska with his wife, Leesa.
Berit Mansour
Communications Strategist
Berit has more than a decade of experience in strategic communications and public relations—with a significant focus in health care. As the current Principal of Manberg Strategies, she provides strategic counsel and content development for a variety of non-profits organizations—including communications support to DAE and its clients.
Prior to founding Manberg Strategies, Berit was the Director of Media Relations at the American Academy of PAs (Physician Assistants) where she built a proactive media program resulting in a 30 percent increase in PA-related media coverage in one year. Past work includes supporting health care clients for international PR firm, H+K Strategies. serving as the deputy press secretary for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and as a confidential assistant in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She has extensive experience promoting brands and organizations through high-profile events and traditional and social media relations. She lives in Florida with her husband and two sons.