First Mid Staff - Kankakee, IL
Joe Richie
Kankakee Regional Office Manager
Phone: (815) 936-8973
Email: Joe Richie
Joseph M Richie joined First Mid Ag Services in May 2019 as an Assistant Vice President/Farm Manager in the Kankakee, IL office. Joe graduated from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale with a BS in Agribusiness Economics. Joe was born and raised in rural Livingston County and grew up working in the family owned fertilizer business. For the past 15 years he has been working as an Ag/Commercial Lender, the last three with First Mid Bank. Joe also graduated from the Community Bankers School in July 2011 and the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin in August 2016. He is a licensed Illinois Real Estate Broker. Joe enjoys deer hunting, fishing, water skiing, and snow skiing. Joe and his wife Kristy live in rural Chebanse, Illinois with their children Ella & Blake.
John Tammen
Real Estate Brokerage - Kankakee
Phone: (815) 936-8976
Email: John Tammen
John is the Managing Real Estate Broker for our Bourbonnais, Illinois office. After serving as the Kankakee Area Farm Management Office Manager, John is now solely focused on Farmland Real Estate. He is licensed in the states of Illinois and Indiana as a Real Estate Managing Broker. John is experienced in providing real estate broker fair market value opinions and farmland market analysis. John graduated from the University of Illinois in 1975 with a degree in Agriculture Economics. John has his AFM designation from the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers. Before joining this organization’s predecessor bank in 1986, John farmed and ran “Strawberry Fields”, a U-pick produce operation. Prior to that experience he was a vocational agriculture teacher. John also has work experience in the production of blueberries and Christmas trees, which provided him with real-life experience in valuations and property analysis.
Michael Bernhard
Farm Management and Brokerage – Kankakee
Phone: (815) 936-8978
Email: Michael Bernhard
Michael D. Bernhard joined First Mid Ag Services in April 2019 as an Assistant Vice President/Farm Manager in the Kankakee, IL office. He is a 2019 graduate of Illinois State University with a degree in Agronomy Management. Michael grew up on a grain farm near Mazon in Grundy County. He operates the farm with his family. Michael was involved in 4H and FFA growing up and is an active member of the Kendall-Grundy Farm Bureau Young Leaders. Prior to First Mid Ag Services, Michael worked summers in seed corn production in Utica, IL. He is a Licensed Illinois Real Estate Broker. He enjoys farming, shooting sports, and model farming and railroading in his free time.
Ashten Masching
Farm Management and Brokerage – Kankakee
Phone: (815) 936-8975
Email: Ashten Masching
Ashten Masching is an Assistant Vice President and Farm Manager with First Mid Ag Services in the Kankakee Office where she is a licensed Real Estate Broker. Ashten was born and raised in Livingston County and grew up on her family’s row crop farm. Ashten graduated from Illinois State University in 2019 where she received her bachelor’s in Agribusiness and Agronomy Management. Her prior experience includes working as a Grain Originator for FS Grain in Kankakee, IL where she assisted customers on making grain plans and sales throughout the year.
