Brian began his growing career on the sidelines helping and learning from his wife Dawn in 2015 as she began Green Junction Farmstead. After two seasons of weekend warrior work in the field, he began working full time as the farm grew in size and production. While attending CMU, Brian developed a love of the soil and learning how to maximize its performance through regenerative practices which focus on promoting life. Now on their 3rd farm built from scratch, the benefits of a bio intensive approach to growing are becoming abundant after 5 years on the same land. One goal that Brian has for the farm is to be a demonstrable thriving version of a small farm making a big impact in the community by means of less traditional growing techniques that are being adapted to the changing world in which we live.

Jerry Allen was an Ag Education Teacher at Delta High School for 30 years and was Regional Ag Science FFA Teacher of the Year in 1995. He coached 26 State Winning teams or individual FFA members in more than nine contest areas. He then served as NRCS Irrigation Water Management Specialist and Shavano Conservation District Soil Health. He holds BS and ME degrees from Colorado State University.

Lesli is a founding member and chief executive of the Western Landowners Alliance. She was also a founding member of the Chama Peak Land Alliance. For the past three decades, Lesli has worked extensively with private landowners and multiple stakeholders to advance conservation, sustain working lands and support rural communities.

Prior to Western Landowners Alliance, Lesli managed a large ranch the southern San Juan Mountains of Colorado. During her 16-year tenure, she implemented progressive conservation management through award-winning programs in restoration forestry, prescribed fire, grazing, stream restoration, hunting and wildlife management, and scientific research and monitoring. Lesli holds a B.A. from Columbia University and an M.A. from St. John’s College, Santa Fe.

Dwayne L. Beck was the former Research Manager at Dakota Lakes Research Farm in Pierre, South Dakota. He filled that role since its inception in 1990. He was a professor in the Plant Science Department at South Dakota State University. He received his B.S. in Chemistry from Northern State University in 1975 and Ph.D. in Agronomy from South Dakota State University in 1983. Before beginning his current position in 1990, he was the Research Manager at James Valley Research Center at Redfield, SD. He continues to advise the current DLRF manager.

Dr. Beck's emphasis has been on developing no-till systems for irrigated and dryland areas in central South Dakota. His primary achievements deal with development of programs that have allowed producers to profitably adopt no-till techniques in a large portion of central South Dakota. Identification of the extremely important role played by crop rotation in minimizing weed, disease, and insect problems while increasing potential profitability was the key contribution of this project.

Ruth Beck spent 17 years working as an Agronomy Field Specialist for SDSU Extension. Her focus and area of expertise has been in wheat, field peas, sunflowers, no-till, soil health and cover crop management practices in the semi-arid region of central South Dakota. She holds a Bachelor of Science in agronomy from the University of Manitoba and a Master of Science in agriculture from South Dakota State University. Ms. Beck has also served in an advisory capacity with the South Dakota No-Till Association and the South Dakota Pulse Growers for more than 20 years.

Retta Bruegger is the regional specialist in range management for CSU Extension in Western Colorado. She has been in this position since 2016, based out of Grand Junction, CO. Prior to working for CSU Extension, she worked for CSU’s Forest and Rangeland Stewardship Department in northwestern Colorado, and in Mongolia, researching community-based adaptation to climate change. Her specialties include rangeland monitoring and assessment, collaboration on rangelands management, and drought planning on rangelands. She has a MS in Rangeland Ecology and Management from the University of Arizona, a BA from Colorado College, and is originally from the Roaring Fork Valley of Colorado.

Clifford Chiles owns/operates Rimrocker Ranch (located near Nucla on the Rimrocker Trail) with wife, Rosella. Together they raise custom beef based on the Regenerative Agriculture principles that were learned through the Star + program and mentoring from the Shavano Conservation District. Cliff now enjoys sharing his trials and successes with other ranchers, as he demonstrates -with boots on the ground- the positive difference soil health practices can make.

Aaron Clay was raised in Hotchkiss, Colo. He graduated from the University of Colorado in 1975 (Boettcher Scholar, BA in Physics/Education) and the University of Colorado School of Law in 1979 (Order of the Coif.) He practiced law in Delta from 1980 to 2018. His practice was a general practice, with emphasis on real estate, water, business planning, and estate planning. He was the Water Referee for Colorado Water Court, Division 4 (Gunnison, Uncompahgre, and San Miguel River Basins) from 1982 to 2008. Among his clients were Tri-County, Grand Mesa, and North Fork Water Conservancy Districts, Grand Mesa Water Users Association, and numerous other ditch companies and water users.

Aaron has taught a course titled Water Law in a Nutshell for several years, for realtors, closers, attorneys, and others. This course has been approved by Western State College for three units of college credit. It has been accredited by the Colorado Division of Real Estate and The Colorado Supreme Court for continuing education credits.

The Produce Safety Collaborative is a partnership of Colorado organizations focused on helping all produce growers enhance the safety of produce grown on their farms. We provide training and education to growers throughout the state.

Hunter is an agronomist, conservationist, and passionate Colorado native. A recent graduate of Colorado State University, Hunter completed his master's degree in soil and crop sciences while conducting research at the CSU Grand Valley Research Station located in Fruita, CO. with research focusing on forages. Although early in his career, his dedication to improving agriculture, educating others, and creating a better future is nearly unparalleled. He is thrilled to continue working in agriculture in Colorado and helping conduct alterative forage research with a variety of stakeholders as Intermountain West Agronomy Specialist for The Land Institute. Hunter has lived in Grand Junction since 2016, in which he has developed a deep appreciation and passion for land in western Colorado and spends his free times exploring and enjoying the land and nature.

Jessica Davis is committed to using science to solve real-world problems. With a PhD in soils from Texas A&M, she has been at CSU since 1995. Her current focus is on grain legumes, also known as pulse crops. She and her graduate student team are working to identify niches in crop rotations where grain legumes would fit, optimize N fixation and P solubilization by grain legumes, maximize the benefits of grain legumes on soil health, select salt-tolerant grain legumes to grow in areas with saline soil and/or water, and explore new markets for grain legumes. To learn more, see https://agsci.colostate.edu/pulseagronomy/

Jesus is the farm manager at Rio Grande Farm Park. He is a lifelong farmer and farmworker. Jesus brings great love and knowledge of agriculture to the farm park. He is skilled in vegetable production, irrigation, soil health, and caring for bees.

Philip Frank was born and raised in Colorado and had a fascination with agriculture from a very young age. Over time his fascination developed into a passion for all aspects of crop and livestock agriculture. He graduated from Colorado Mesa University with an associate’s degree in agriculture science and a bachelor’s degree in business/entrepreneurship. He is slowly building a small farm and herd of cattle using no-till and cover cropping practices, along with adaptive grazing methods. Together with Lowell King, he manages Lifetime Ag LLC, where they sell covercrop and perennial seed, sell/rent out no-till drills and other no-till equipment, and promote regenerative agriculture practices.

Melissa Franklin has worked for Colorado State University for more than 20 years as an entomology technician. Many years of field work have taught her the importance of agriculture to our economy and our society, helping to keep it strong is something she is passionate about. The first 10 years she assisted with researching insect control in some of the more common agricultural crops on the Western Slope. In the last 15 years, while partnering with the Colorado Department of Agriculture, her focus shifted to surveying for exotic insects and diseases that could potentially cause economic hardship to the various crops in Delta, Mesa and Montrose counties. Absence of many of these exotic pest has allowed Colorado growers to export goods to other states. Melissa devotes a lot of her time to her work, but still manages to find some time to spend with her two sons, husband and many farm animals. Horses are a major part of her life and she also enjoys hiking, riding ATVs and snowmobiling.

Patrick Freeze serves as the Director of Research and Development - Soil/Soil Health Testing at Ward Laboratories (Kearney, NE), where he specializes in soil and plant testing methods, research, education, and grower support. Previously with Matrix Sciences in central Washington, he devised soil, soil health, and apple testing methods for large consulting groups. During his doctoral studies in Soil Chemistry at Washington State University, he explored ways to reduce heavy metal risks in orchard soils and received advanced training in soil carbon testing techniques in Italy, courtesy of a USDA NIFA Needs Fellowship. As a U.S. Fulbright scholar, he investigated minimizing cadmium uptake in contaminated Thai rice paddies for one year. Patrick earned a B.S. in Environmental Science from the University of Nevada – Reno, with a focus on forest soil science, environmental quality and policy, and green chemistry.

Sarah Gleason is a first-generation bison rancher based in Hesperus, CO. She entered ranching after building a career first in consumer marketing and later in advocacy for regenerative agriculture and conservation, working with companies such as Whole Foods Market and the Savory Institute. She began her bison operation in 2016, when she purchased her first 15 bred bison. Gleason Bison has grown to operate both as a cow-calf operation as well as a locally and nationally sold meat company.

Sarah's deep appreciation for the environment, cultivated through her upbringing in the mountains of Colorado, continues to fuel her dedication to being a champion for regenerative agriculture. As a first-generation bison rancher, Sarah embodies the principles she advocates for, demonstrating the remarkable synergy between regenerative outcomes on the land and successful ranching. With her combined expertise in marketing, operations, and ranching, Sarah is a dynamic force in the field of regenerative agriculture, committed to driving positive change for the industry, the environment, and the community she serves.

When not working on her ranch, you can find Sarah mountain biking, skiing, rafting, or just enjoying life with her Rhodesian Ridgeback sidekick, Zebby.

Lauren Hall Ruddell holds a Ph.D. from the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism at the University of Utah. Academic interests and research specialties include the benefits of time spent interacting with the natural world, from wilderness to farms and gardens. Lauren also holds a Masters in Conservation of Environmental Quality from San Diego State University.

Lauren has dedicated her life to walking the walk of conservation and sustainable agriculture. San Diego Zoo keeper, park ranger, former owner and operator of an organic CSA enterprise, an agritourism business (barn weddings), a children's farm summer camp, and environmental analyst are some of the professional endeavors that inform her speaking and writing expertise. She spends her free time gardening, hiking, and raising, training, and enjoying her pack goats.

Stefanie has worked in the events and floral industry for the past 20 years in all different capacities. Starting in catering sales and wedding coordinating, to retail floral, banquet managing and event design, before finally landing on a flower farm just outside of Denver, Colorado. With a business degree in Hospitality Administration, she's always looking to maximize efficiency while maintaining a service mindset. This passion led her to start the Colorado Flower Collective in 2019 with the goal of streamlining the connection between local florists and local flowers. Today CFC is a bustling flower hub, connecting 30 local flower farms to over 200 area florists.

Harper Kaufman is the owner of Two Roots Farm in Emma, CO. Two Roots Farm is a 5 acre vegetable, herb, and flower farm that grows for the local community through a vegetable CSA, on-site farmstand, and local restaurants. They grow using minimum tillage and organic principles, without the use of chemicals. Two Roots Farm was launched in 2015 on leased land in Missouri Heights. In 2018, Two Roots secured a long term lease with Pitkin County on Emma Open Space, where she is based now. Every farming season has offered new lessons and challenges. Harper is still learning how to grow in a high altitude climate, but proud of the success Two Roots Farm has had through the years. Each year, she is supported by a hard working and dedicated crew that learn along side her and make this farm dream possible. She believes strongly that small scale regenerative agriculture is a key piece to building a brighter future for our planet.

Ken has been involved in production agriculture nearly all of his life. He and his family run a farming, cattle, and processed beef operation in Delta County. They have been working at using no till and cover crop methods now for about 7 years.

Byron Kominek is the owner, manager, and developer of Jack's Solar Garden in Boulder County, Colorado - a premier site for agrivoltaics in the U.S. He is the Executive Director of the nonprofit, the Colorado Agrivoltaic Learning Center, showcasing agrivoltaics through educational opportunities for students, community members, and policymakers about how vegetation, livestock, and people can work within solar arrays. Byron served as a U.S. diplomat for five years between Zambia and Mozambique with the U.S. Agency for International Development where he focused on forestry and wildlife conservation. He previously served in the Peace Corps in Cameroon, with Doctors Without Borders in Ethiopia and Haiti, and more recently as an international environmental consultant. Byron has a M.Sc. in Environmental Engineering.

Nina Louden has lived in the city of Grand Junction for more than fifteen years. Throughout her time there, she's worked at the Colorado Department of Agriculture, Palisade Insectary. Originally from rural Nevada, she earned a Bachelor’s in Conservation Biology at UNR and a master’s in Entomology at Utah State. Working at the Insectary has allowed her to develop a strong base of knowledge on the role of biocontrol among other integrated pest management tools. Besides rearing, collecting, and monitoring beneficial insects, Nina and her husband are rearing a nine year old.

Simon Martinez started in 1991 as the construction superintendent for the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Farm and Ranch Enterprise and is currently the General Manager of the Enterprise and Bow & Arrow Brand, LLC.

The Enterprise consists of 110 center pivot sprinklers ranging from 45 acres/145 acres which irrigate 7,700 acres of farmland. They grow and harvest alfalfa hay, non- GMO corn products and range feed for a 650 cow/calf operation. Bow & Arrow launched in 2014 to mill and package non-GMO corn products.

Simon holds a bachelor’s in business administration and a minor in human resource management. He currently serves on the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Water Resource Committee and State Agricultural Commission.

Simon along with his wife reside in Dolores, Colorado. They have 5 children and 10 grandchildren. Simon enjoys spending time with his family and auto racing.

John led the Delta Conservation District's Irrigation Water Management Program for over a decade where he learned to design and troubleshoot various types of irrigation systems and gained expertise that he uses to promote efficient water usage and sustainable agricultural practices. Throughout his career, Mr. Miller has been an advocate for implementing healthy soil practices on farms and ranches. In his current role as the Soil Health Program Manager for the Colorado Dept. of Agriculture, John is enthusiastic about guiding the expansion of the State Soil Health Program, ensuring it continues to offer maximum education and assistance to Colorado's valued agriculture community.

Bill and his family have been operating a profitable grazing business for 16 years in the Gunnison Valley. They work with multiple landowners and organizations to improve landscapes, generate wealth from the land and build community. Providing the highest quality GrassFinishedBeef from regenerating landscapes is the mission that grows every year!

Aldo Parra is managing a new program that will focus on supporting agricultural employers and workers with employee safety, working conditions, labor rights, and resources to strengthen the local agricultural workforce. Before becoming program manager, Aldo was with Adams County’s Migrant & Seasonal Farmworker Outreach Coordinator for almost a decade and was responsible for assisting agricultural employers and workers regarding farmworker rights, Labor exchange services, Migrant Seasonal Protection Act, H2A housing inspections, unemployment insurance, counseling and community resources. Aldo comes from a long line of farmers and ranchers and his grandparents were part of the Bracero Program for multiple decades until the program ended. Early in his childhood he recalls helping his parents and spending countless hours in apple orchards and on the ranch pruning, irrigating, picking apples, weeding and tending to the animals. He recalls that eating apples was his favorite part of the job and drinking a cold glass of fresh milk.

Chuck has been a Soil Scientist with NRCS for almost 28 years and mapping, measuring and monitoring soil properties has been his life's work. He's been a part of the Western Colorado Soil Health grass-roots group since it's inception. Through the past decade he has bolstered his soil health experience with instruction and study in Soil Food Web classes and most recently, Cornell University's Advanced Soil Health Course. Mapping soils in such varied environments has honed his ability to read landscape ecological contexts and understand the effects of management practices on soils. Recently Chuck has embarked on a private enterprise journey with the development of Soil Health Metrics LLC as he prepares for life after NRCS and work that is more in line with his personal interests. Chuck is native of Western Colorado, born and raised in Delta County (Paonia), baling hay, bucking bales, building fence, and picking fruit. He currently resides in Grand Junction, Colorado. He holds a B.S. in Agronomy-Soil Science from Colorado State University and an M.S. in Soil Genesis & Morphology also from CSU.

Tessa Peters currently lives in Laramie, Wyoming with her family. She has lived in many different places in the world, including onboard various seafaring vessels. However, she has always considered herself a Westerner, and Wyoming is where she grew up and feels most at home. Tessa studied Physics at Colorado State University, Agroecology at University of Wyoming, and a Plant Breeding and Plant Genetics at University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is interested in how perennial agroecosystems may influence human relationships to land, ownership, food, and economic systems. She has worked as a geophysicist, plant breeder, and now leads a team of researchers at The Land Institute who pay attention to the ways in which humans value perennial grain food crops and tries to find methods to bring those crops to the consciousness (and plates!) of people who eat them. She likes horny toads, hiking, and reading.

Tony is owner/operator of Sunshine Beef and XK Bar Ranch in Crawford Colorado, making a living raising and direct marketing grassf-ed beef. He has been using electric fencing extensively for 25 years on owned and leased land, both to deal with crumbling hard wire fences as well as to manage his rotational grazing program. He considers temporary electric fencing to be the primary tool to accomplish his regenerative ranching goals. In his past work as a Wilderness Ranger and hunting outfitter he also used electric fencing to manage herds of horses and mules in back country camps.

Jeremy Silva's passion for organic farming sparked a significant life change when he moved to Montrose, Colorado in 2009. Swapping Southern California's beaches for Montrose's open spaces, he delved deep into soil testing and compost building. Jeremy founded BuildASoil from his garage in 2013, driven by a challenge to find quality organic gardening supplies. Today, he's an influential figure in sustainable agriculture, known for his YouTube channel and podcast appearances. A family man with hobbies like Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and snowboarding, Jeremy is set to inspire at the Food and Farm Forum, focusing on transforming backyard dirt into fertile soil.

Al Stone aka our "Mycelium Architect" is a transplant from Georgia, whose world was sparked by a philosophy of food class during college. After graduation she trekked west on the Amtrak train & WWOOF-ed in Eugene, OR for five months. She volunteered with Farm2School programs, school gardens, and eventually made her way to the San Luis Valley through AmeriCorps. Before joining Valley Roots she spent a summer as the assistant director with Valley Educational Gardens Initiative. She was vegan/vegetarian for nearly a decade, and after an experience with butchering a deer, she is now an avid eater and believer in meat raised with integrity. Just as mycelia are an underground web of connection, as Markets Manager at Valley Roots, she enjoys the relationships cultivated between our producer and customer network. In her spare time, you can find her deep in a good book, performing poetry or oral stories, thrifting, creating collages, turning two wheels on some pavement or hiking with her pup Elio.

Julie Sullivan, founding mentor of the Quivira Coalition’s New Agrarian Program in 2008, currently serves as Mentor Training and Support for the program. She and her husband, George Whitten have been mentors with the program for 15 years, and own and manage their 3rd-generation, certified organic, cow/calf-to-finish cattle ranch in the San Luis Valley of Colorado. The ranch is committed to restorative practices that result in soil health, functioning grassland ecosystems, and viable small scale ranching. For a decade, Julie was faculty for the field-based Audubon Expedition Institute at Lesley University Environmental Studies and Environmental Education program. She has taught workshops for Colorado State University, Colorado College, Adams State University, Fort Lewis College, Quivira Coalition, Western Colorado Food and Farm Forum, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, among others. She is fiercely dedicated to the next generation of agrarians, fully functioning ecosystems and creative solutions to the interaction of humans with their planet.

Sara founded Highwater Farm based in Silt, Colorado in 2020. Building on her foundation in small farm management and alternative youth education, Sara started the farm to meet local need for increased access to healthy food and provide job opportunities for teens. She has worked in organic vegetable farming in Utah, Colorado, and Massachusetts, and has always strived to better connect communities to their farmers and food. Outside of work, Sara enjoys biking, skiing and rafting with her husband.

Laura is the Lead Soil Ecologist with The Land Institute. Laura completed her PhD in Soil Ecology at Colorado State University. She studies how perennial grains interact with the soil with implications for nutrient cycling, greenhouse gas emissions, and management. She specializes in studying soil organic matter dynamics in agroecosystems with a focus on developing pathways to sustainable food systems. Prior to immersing herself in earth, she taught high school science, studied plants in the arctic, and served on the high seas as an Officer in the U.S. Coast Guard.

Ricardo is Assistant Professor of Environment and Sustainability at the Clark Family School of Environment and Sustainability. His research and teaching include climate action, community resilience, regenerative agriculture, composting and biochar, renewable energies, Life Cycle Assessment, and Systems Thinking. He teaches Environmental Politics and Policy courses, The Science and Action of Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation, and the Nexus between Food, Water, and Climate Systems.

Some projects he has led and mentored include food systems, regenerative agriculture, renewable energies, sustainable technologies, composting and biochar, community water and sanitation, and Climate Action plans for cities and regions. He did undergrad studies in Physics Engineering, a Master's in Regional Development Planning, and a Ph.D. in Renewable Energies. He has collaborated with organizations in North and Latin America, Europe, and West Africa and embraces living in the Rocky Mountains in the Gunnison Valley.

Joe grew up on a cattle ranch west of Teddy Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota and went to Colorado State University where he got his degree in Animal Science. Jenn grew up on the James Ranch in Durango, CO and went to Colorado State where she got her degree in Construction Management. They met there, married and after a few years, Joe got his MBA in Finance from the Wharton School. They lived in six cities before returning to Durango to raise their two children and participate in the regenerative activities going on at James Ranch. As the CEO of Red Roof Inns, Joe was exposed to corporate systems of team building and innovative management which, when he retired, he brought to the James Ranch. These ideas have been adapted to the families' holistic goal and regenerative agriculture as well as the family culture. Jenn homeschooled their daughters, started the chemical-free Gardens at James Ranch and is now partners with Joe in James Ranch Beef. In her "spare" time, she writes Western historical fiction stories.

Ryan White brings 20+ years in natural resources management strategies and nature-based impact accounting. In 2017, he founded SnapLands LLC to consult on restorative strategies backed by applied land management feedback with certified reports. Ryan holds a Master's in Greenhouse Gas Management from Colorado State University and a Bachelor's in Environmental Studies from Principia College. His career stems from a love of family, ranching, plein-air artwork, and learning about conservation with young children to adults. Today, Ryan lives with his wife, Bethany, and four children in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Sue Wyman is a recovering engineer who farms regeneratively in Gunnison, CO. Her 4-acre farm, Gunnison Gardens, is located in a frost pocket in one of coldest cities in the nation. The farm produces vegetables, cold-hardy fruits, eggs, and meat chickens for local farmers markets and CSAs. Sue is passionate about soil health and teaches cold-climate gardening at Western Colorado University. Together with fellow farmers in the Gunnison Valley Producers’ Guild, she’s prepared to feed the valley when the trucks stop running.

Keegan is a long-time farmer, river guide, and desert rat. With more than ten years of experience in organic agriculture, she has pulled calves, carrots, muscles, and weeds on farms and ranches throughout the Mountain West. She’s delighted to be supporting fellow farmers through her work as the Certification Specialist and Outreach Coordinator for Certified Naturally Grown. After years of running CNG farms in Idaho and a few more years growing and studying organic vegetables at a university research station, she’s onto the next project: Down Valley Flowers, a small flower farm in Montrose, Colorado. She spends her free time running rivers, trails, and heavy equipment with her husband, Andy.

Cindy grew up on a small farm in Minnesota and holds a degree in Soil Science and Natural Resources Management. She established Whole New Concepts LLC in 1996 and has been a Certified Educator with Holistic Management International since 1997. Cindy is also a management consultant with the SW Colorado Small Business Development Center and an Accredited Professional with the Savory Institute. She is enthusiastic about conserving endangered breeds of livestock and currently serves on the BOD for The Livestock Conservancy. She and husband Mike established Arriola Sunshine farm near Cortez, CO in 1986 where they raised a successful market garden for 25 years and now raise a flock of 35 registered Navajo-Churro sheep. Managing holistically, they have doubled the organic matter content and productivity of their pastures.

For many years, Bart Eller was the director of Paonia.com Inc, bringing Internet service to under-served communities globally. Ten years ago he launched the Paonia Soil Co. As the Executive Director, Bart gets to combine his expertise in business and infrastructure with his love of horticulture, resulting in the joy of building organic soil mixes to share with you. Bart and his amazing team apply the work of soil science pioneers like Dr. William A. Albrecht, Dr. Kristen Nichols, and Dr. Elaine Ingham, combined with his own research, to help growers achieve the best yields with the least cost and effort. Bart is known for combining natural and organic farming disciplines including permaculture, no-till, keyline, and other regenerative practices into a simple methodology that both novice gardeners and professional farmers can understand and apply for a healthier farming.

Dave has been a Soil Health Technical Provider and passionate advocate for Soil Health for the past 12 years. Dave’s experience includes more than 30 years as a soil scientist for NRCS in several areas in the states of Colorado, Florida, and Maine. Since retiring from NRCS in December of 2014, Dave has continued to work in the soils field for the Shavano Conservation District, a National Resource Inventory specialist in the states of Colorado, New Mexico, and Nebraska, a soil scientist on a Burn Area Emergency Response team for public land agencies, and as a Soil Health consultant. Dave has been actively involved with the Western Slope Soil Health conference since inception in 2012, serving as Soil Health team moderator, conference emcee, and presenter. Dave is an avid gardener, teaching a local gardening series and helping other gardening enthusiasts learn about gardening and soil health.

Philip Frank was born and raised in Colorado and had a fascination with agriculture from a very young age. Over time his fascination developed into a passion for all aspects of crop and livestock agriculture. He graduated from Colorado Mesa University with an associate’s degree in agriculture science and a bachelor’s degree in business/entrepreneurship. He is slowly building a small farm and herd of cattle using no-till and cover cropping practices, along with adaptive grazing methods. Together with Lowell King, he manages Lifetime Ag LLC, where they sell covercrop and perennial seed, sell/rent out no-till drills and other no-till equipment, and promote regenerative agriculture practices.

Zach has spent the whole of his working career in the US brewing and distilling supply chain, with roles in in barley research, variety development, brewing and most recently in small grain malt sourcing. One of the most exciting parts of his procurement role with Proximity Malt is working as part of a team developing a new regenerative malt market segment, which has been an ongoing project for the past year. He is excited to learn more about how regenerative practices can help impact soil health in Western Colorado.

Tyler is the Director of Government Relations for Rocky Mountain Farmers Union. Tyler developed a love and appreciation for agriculture at a young age when spending time with his grandparents on their small farm in Oklahoma. His appreciation for agriculture grew through his time working on his aunt and uncle’s cattle and poultry farm from elementary school through college. He earned a bachelor's degree in Political Science and a master’s degree in Public Administration and Nonprofit Studies from the University of Arkansas. He also has a master's degree in Political Science from the University of Colorado Boulder.

Lynn, owner of The Living Farm, has been growing organically for 37 years on her family's 210-acre farm near Paonia. The Living Farm has an integrated business model that includes the farm, livestock, value added products, a CSA, and well developed educational and apprenticeship programs. Lynn is the author of How to Grow All the Vegetables Your Family Can Eat, Cinder Block Gardens, and High Performance Gardening. Lynn has created 6 online gardening and greenhouse courses that you can find them at thelivingfarm.org

Kate Greenberg was appointed to serve as Colorado’s first woman Commissioner of Agriculture by Governor Jared Polis in December 2018. As Commissioner, Greenberg provides leadership and direction to the Colorado Department of Agriculture, which serves producers operating more than 38,700 farms and ranches in the state. She is a member of numerous state boards and commissions, current board president of the Western U.S. Agricultural Trade Association, and vice chair of the Western Association of State Departments of Agriculture. Commissioner Greenberg is the recipient of the Emerging Conservation Leader Award from Western Resource Advocates and a 2019 Who’s Who In Agriculture honoree. She has worked in and advocated for agriculture for more than 14 years.

A native of Montrose, Steve operates his family’s fourth- generation Colorado Centennial farm and ranch. He graduated from CSU with a Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Business and for the past 11 years has specialized in reclamation and surface management as an Environmental Specialist for oil and gas operations in Northwest Colorado and Utah. Currently Steve is a Business Development Specialist for Triton Environmental, representing a wide range of environmental products for industry, agriculture, and construction. Steve served on the Shavano Conservation District Board from 1999-2008, and recently returned as a Supervisor. He also represented Gunnison and Colorado River Districts on the Colorado State Conservation Board from 2001 to 2005. Steve is a member of Society for Range Management, serving on the Reclamation and Restoration Committee.

Sue was raised in a military family and graduated from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches Texas with a BA in Psychology and a minor in Spanish. Sue and a partner started their own mobile imaging business in 1992. Sue sold her business in 1998 and parlayed her experience with her first business into a speaking, training and consulting company. The primary focus of her business is on leadership development, team dynamics, communication and organizational growth. Sue relocated permanently to Montrose in 2000 is now Montrose County Commissioner.

David Harold of Tuxedo Corn Co. grew up in Olathe, before leaving to attend college. In 2007, he joined the family farm full-time and purchased ground himself. He now manages the farming operation, which includes 700 acres of row crops and a 200 head cow/calf operation. The Harolds have turned their focus to improving soil health through reduced tillage, cover cropping, controlled animal integration into the farming system and putting 350 acres in permanent subsurface drip irrigation. Their main vegetable crops are onions, squash, and sweet corn grown in rotation with grain corn, pasture and pinto beans. Approximately 200 acres are certified organic. They also coordinate planting, growing, harvest and sales of 1,500 acres of “Olathe Sweet” sweet corn.

Dan Hobbs has thirty years agricultural and rural development experience in the United States and South America. He works with the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union as a rural cooperative development specialist and grows certified organic heritage grains, open pollinated seeds, varietal garlic and Pueblo chile on 35 irrigated acres in McElmo Canyon. He and his wife Nanna and two full time workers operate a vertically integrated farm store and grain processing facility in downtown Cortez, Colorado. Their business is Pueblo Seed and Food Company.

Ken is an Ecologist with the Bureau of Land Management in Montrose, Colorado. He has 21 years of experience working for the BLM in fire ecology, botany, rangeland ecology, and wildlife biology. Projects he is most frequently involved in are threatened and endangered species recovery, post fire stabilization and restoration, rangeland health evaluations, rangeland restoration, Assessment Inventory and Monitoring implementation and analysis.

Jim’s life and career have centered on ecologically regenerative and economically profitable livestock ranching. He is passionate about the intersection of wilderness, wildlife, domestic livestock, food and fiber production, and land-based human cultures—all of which overlap and can harmoniously coexist in the space of grassland agriculture. In addition to managing his family’s own ranch in western Colorado for 17 years, he has managed and consulted for large landscape working ranches, mostly in native rangeland environments, across the American West and Northern Great Plains, and on other continents. Much of his lessons are captured in his book, For the Love of Land—Global Case Studies of Grazing in Nature’s Image. He co-founded Grasslands, LLC in 2010, and has served since then as its CEO.

Reed began gardening in the 1950s, selling his produce from a basket on his bike and working in a commercial greenhouse growing hothouse tomatoes and bedding plants. Gardening continued as he lived in Ohio, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Utah and Colorado. He applies what he learned in geology and soil & crop science graduate programs in different gardening situations. He especially enjoys growing different types of plants in unconventional ways that improve soil health and challenge conventional wisdom.

David is a molecular biologist conducting research at New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM. He works with growers and researchers from Arizona State University, Texas A&M, University of North Texas, Colorado State University, USDA’s NRCS, the Globetrotter Foundation, the Thornburg Foundation, the Laird Foundation, and the Mighty-Arrow Family Foundation exploring paths to improve food security, reduce atmospheric CO2 concentrations, and increase farm and rangeland productivity and profitability through the development of beneficial soil microbial communities.

Hannah is a third generation cattle rancher in Gunnison, Colorado. She grew up on a cow/calf operation, and she and her husband, Lane, started a herd of registered seedstock Charolais cattle and sell bulls and replacement heifers. Recently they have also started focusing on wholesale beef sales, raising high quality grain finished cattle. She has been active in agriculture advocacy her whole life, and is passionate about helping the next generation understand agriculture. She is currently serving as the Gunnison County Stockgrowers’ President and is proud to represent agriculture in Gunnison County.

Lowell grew up on a dairy farm in Pennsylvania and moved to Western Colorado in 2005. He farms with his wife and 4 girls in the Grand Valley and is passionate about being a good steward of the land and water. He is also active in educating other farmers and ranchers about more efficient use of irrigation water, improved grazing management, and no till farming. He is a partner with Philip Frank in Lifetime Ag selling cover crop seed and no till farm equipment.

Amanda has served next generation farmers and ranchers throughout Colorado for 10+ years, providing education and support for agriculture businesses. Since early 2020, she has served as the Colorado Land Link Director within Guidestone Colorado managing programmatic operations, planning, and funding. Her work includes outreach and education, specifically focusing on the delivery of land access training to producers and landowners. Amanda has educated and provided resources for beginning farmers and ranchers, aspiring urban and rural farmers, BIPOC producers and landowners, military veterans, immigrant and non english speaking farmers, and retiring farmers/ranchers through one-on-one consultations, targeted resource support, and group workshops.

Mike Nolan has been farming for close to 20 years with the majority of that time in SW Colorado. He runs a diversified vegetable and flower operation with his partner Mindy Perkovich called Mountain Roots Produce as well as being a founding member of The Grasshopper Collective, a Garlic seed cooperative formed in 2021. He had the privilege of being the first 'trial incubator' at the Old Fort in Hesperus in 2011 and has continued to provide mentorship, teaching, and leadership to the program over the past decade.

Cloe Parker is regenerative rancher and business owner living in the pristine mountains of Colorado on her family’s ranch along with hundreds of cattle, an abundance of grass, a few good horses. She, at 19, completely took over her family's meat company and now helps hundreds of families enjoy peace of mind with Colorado’s Finest Meats and is a leading example as a thriving, profitable, and regenerative business and ranch.

Laura Parker is a self proclaimed seed freak who owns and operates High Desert Seed and Gardens near Paonia, CO. Raised on a ranch in Western Colorado that practiced Holistic Management, Laura became fascinated with seed in the family’s vegetable garden at an early age. Her love of the land drew her toward completing a biology degree at Colorado College. She eventually traveled to India to work with fellow activist and seed saver, Vendana Shiva. As Executive Director of the Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association, she worked with seed growers across the US until she returned to Montrose to help on the family’s ranch while working with Buckhorn Gardens. In 2013 she realized her dream of starting her own seed farm with the goal of providing varieties adapted to growing conditions in the Southwest.

Todd Parker is the Director of Product Development at Vence Corp. He has more than 25 years experience in wireless and remote sensing technologies with companies including TRW, IBM, Texas Instruments, and On-Ramp Wireless. At Vence, he is applying this experience to help bring new technologies and capabilities to the ranching industry. Todd earned his masters degree from University of Southern California and bachelor’s degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute both in Electrical Engineering.

George is a freelance writer who has lived in the Upper Gunnison River valley since the mid-1960s. From 1988 through 2007 he taught environmental journalism at Western Colorado University, and organized Special Projects there, including the Colorado Water Workshop. He has a longstanding interest in Colorado River issues, and from 2007 to 2019 served on the board of the Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District. His major written work to date is Water Wranglers, a history of the development of Colorado’s share of the Colorado River; he currently posts articles on western water issues at sibleysrivers.com. His work has appeared in national and regional publications including Harper’s Magazine, High Country News, Colorado Central and Mountain Gazette. He also appears in several western anthologies.

Rick has been the NRCS New Mexico State Soil Scientist for the past 11 years. While earning his BS in Agronomy, Rick began his professional career monitoring soil fertility and water quality for the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service. At Texas Tech, Rick earned his MS in Soil Physics with an emphasis on soil-plant-atmosphere relations and community ecology. Rick started his career with NRCS mapping soils in the Grand Canyon, the Mojave Desert and across the Navajo Nation. After more than ten years in Arizona, Rick moved to Alaska to develop soil and vegetation databases for NRCS while learning about permafrost (and catching lots of salmon). Rick is passionate about creating practical tools to aid producers with meeting complex natural resource challenges.

Dr. Lucinda Stuenkel owns and manages Sunny Day Farms Grass-Fed Grass-Finished Beef and Stuenkel Farms Cow/Calf in North Central Kansas. She custom grazes and custom calves for seven different owners. Her cattle's diet includes native prairie grasses, cool season perennial pasture, spring, summer and fall annual mixes, and winter stockpiled mixes. Rotational grazing, a diverse diet (including weeds), and no insecticides have not only improved soil health and biology (livestock under the ground), but dramatically improved the health of her calves and breed-back statistics for her cows.

Julie, a native of western Washington, was raised growing and preserving "everything known to man," which sparked a lifelong passion for gardening. Vermicomposting and gardening remained hobbies during her 31 year career at Boeing, culminating in training and volunteering as a master gardener. Her husband is a native of Montrose, and their early retirement opened the doors for a move back to the area. They have two acres where she experiments applying soil health principles on a small scale and growing nutritious produce to share with those less fortunate. The soil couldn't be more different here but this chaos gardener has found her fellow soil heath "herd" and loves to network and share.

Candy J. Thomas is the Regional Soil Health Specialist in Salina, KS and covers the states of Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma and Nebraska. She got her start in 1994 working for the NRCS in Missouri as a Soil Conservationist and later holding the titles of Resource Conservationist and District Conservationist. She worked as a national trainer for NRCS from 2010-13, when she transferred to KS as the state agronomist, and in 2015 became the regional soil health specialist for KS and NE stationed in Salina. She also served as the library content manager for the NRCS Science and Training library which houses more than 1000 webinars. Her husband has a cow/calf farm in Iowa where they also follow with chickens in a high-density stocking rotation for the last 25 years.

Brad Tonnessen is from Paonia, CO, and serves as the Research Scientist at the CSU Organic Agriculture Research Station at Rogers Mesa. He is working to sustain and build the community presence of this research station and produce ground-breaking research to benefit farmers. Brad focuses on bridging the communication gap between the public and the university, emphasizing applied research to solve immediate issues. You’ll find Brad outside the research station either biking, fishing, dancing, or starting new projects like brewing hard cider from his surplus apples. He grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and earned his PhD in plant pathology with CSU. Before ending up in western CO, he was an organic farmer and teacher at a non-profit in Sacramento, CA, as well as a chile pepper breeder for New Mexico State University.

Elicia began her farming journey at Green Gulch Farm Zen Center in California more than 10 years ago and has been working at the Old Fort since 2015. She lives in Mancos, Colorado. She farms because she loves the sense of power in doing physical tasks together. She believes that, in a world where so much work happens digitally, it’s important to help people experience the power of their own bodies transforming the ground and coaxing food from the fields. Elicia holds a bachelor’s in Environmental Analysis from Pomona College and a master’s in Geography from the University of Minnesota.

Zach is an agricultural activist for clean soil. His experience over the past 21 years has him working on everything from backyard gardens to tens of thousands of acres of land and many systems in between. Growers and producers alike contact him for Compost and Biological-Dense Brewing consultation, lab testing services and un-conventional agronomy. His experience in production agriculture has demonstrated that a multi-dimensional approach can not only boost tonnage and profits, but also promote soil health that is crucial to sustaining a future crop. Zach holds a Bachelors of Science in both Art Education and Sustainability with an emphasis on Soil Ecology. His base is in the Northern Great Plains of the United States with his wife and two children. Few things bring him greater joy than the conversation of soil with anyone of any age.