He attended Joliet Junior College for two years before graduating from Iowa State University in December 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural studies and a minor in agronomy. After college, he managed a corn and soybean operation with a custom cattle feeding business in Ottawa. He then spent five years in agricultural retail sales, primarily with Helena Agri-Enterprises, serving customers in northern LaSalle, Lee, Ogle, and DeKalb counties.

Wiley is currently a farm manager and crop insurance agent for Babson Farms Inc. in DeKalb, Illinois. Babson Farms is a fourth-generation, family-owned landholding company with farmland in five northern Illinois counties, as well as a crop insurance agency and a farm drainage division. Most of the land under Babson Farms’ management is on crop-share agreements with multiple tenants. Wiley works closely with tenants to develop cropping plans, make fertility decisions, and manage input costs.

His passion has always been row crop production, and he is committed to finding ways to improve yields efficiently, economically, and consistently. He enjoys strategizing different management practices to maximize potential and minimize risk. Wiley is a member of the LaSalle County Farm Bureau Young Leaders group.

In his free time, he enjoys working on the farm, snowmobiling, and riding side-by-sides in the off-season. He also enjoys spending time with friends and embracing his role as the “fun uncle” to their growing families.