WICHITA, Kan. – Longtime Cargill veteran Ruth Kimmelshue was named president and business unit leader for Cargill Value Added Meats Retail in on June 1. She is responsible for Cargill’s turkey operations and cooked meats businesses. Before joining CVAM-Retail, she was president of Cargill Salt.

Kimmelshue’s Cargill career began in 1986, coming through the Continental Grain acquisition after working for Continental for 13 years. Her Cargill experience includes being vice president of Cargill AgHorizons, which is Cargill’s oldest business, where she helped deliver grain marketing, grain handling and crop inputs solutions to America’s farmers. Kimmelshue also managed Supply Chain Solutions, an internal consulting organization that brings supply chain capabilities and support to Cargill's global businesses.


Most of career was spent in the grain and oilseed businesses – trading, managing elevators, managing domestic and international product lines (corn, wheat and soy meal), analyzing markets, and exploring opportunities in value-added marketing at various locations in the US and in Europe.

Kimmelshue earned both a BA in International Relations and an MA in Agricultural Economics from Stanford Univ. She was raised on an almond and bean farm in Northern California.

She and her husband, Gary Reding, along with their three children live in Wichita.