2019 Conference

Stephany Wilkes is the author of Raw Material: Working Wool in the West. She is a member of the Fibershed, that supports farmers in carbon farming and connects end-users to farms and ranches. By expanding opportunities to implement carbon farming and forming catalytic foundations to rebuild regional supply chains, Fibershed envisions the emergence of an international system of regional textile communities that enliven connection and ownership of ‘soil-to-soil’ textile processes.

Ariel Greenwood grew up in the rural wilds of North Carolina and began farming at 16. In college, she studied agroecology and psychology while working with community gardens and private farms. Ariel managed livestock in Northern California for 4 1/2 years, primarily at Pepperwood Preserve and Freestone Ranch in the North Bay region while also working at Occidental Arts and Ecology Center, and is now working in the Southwest with Triangle P Cattle Company. She is also co-owner of Grass Nomads LLC, a holistic grazing company based in New Mexico and Montana she formed with her partner. Holistic management first inspired Ariel to shift from vegetable farming to livestock production, and has become essential to her work in the West. 

Takota Coen was born and raised on the Coen Farm where his family has managed their land according to organic agricultural principles for 26 years. With the help of community supported agriculture, they have began transitioning their land into a perennial based agricultural system. By facilitating connections between a variety of livestock, fruit and nut trees and the patterns of the land itself they hope to mimic the health and diversity of a natural ecosystem. In addition to farming, Takota is a permaculture and holistic land consultant where, through his experience and love for the land, he works to empower others with the tools and resources to design and implement resilient living systems that are earth restorative.

Garry Richards, his wife Lynn, and their three children Rebekah, Evan, and Caroline have a mixed grain and cattle farm near Bangor, southeast of Melville. Garry and Lynn came back to Garry’s family’s farm in 2000. At that time Garry was a pharmacist, Lynn was a nurse, and it was their goal in the first few years to determine whether or not the farm would be viable without long-term subsidies from off-farm income. The farm was a straight grain operation in 2000, but beef cattle were added in 2002. In 2003 Garry and Lynn took a Holistic Management course and their first child, Rebekah, was born. In 2009 they started growing cover crop cocktails in an effort to become more sustainable. They strive to integrate the cattle and grain enterprises on their farm to achieve healthy land, healthy people, and healthy profits.

“The Soil and Human Health: Why it matters to me & my family”

Kalie Rider is a Dietitian and has her Master’s in food systems and sustainable agriculture. She is passionate about food as it relates to the land and is a complete nerd when it comes to how food nourishes the body. She is a mentor for the North Dakota Grazing Lands Coalition.

“Pursuing Regenerative Agriculture – The Evolution of our Farm”

Ryan Boyd operates a mixed farm just north of Forrest, Manitoba with his wife Sarah, daughter Piper, son Bingham, and parents Jim and Joanne Boyd. The farm focuses on integrating cattle and grain crops to capitalize on the many synergies that exist between the two. The farm consists of a commercial herd of black Angus beef cows, calving in June and a diverse crop rotation. Ryan was recently awarded a 2019 Nuffield Farming Scholarship.

“Healing Land and Building Markets: A Needs Assessment for Holistic Management Verification“

Kalynn Spain was raised in Winnipeg but has been immersed in the sustainable agricultural community since 2012. She visited 80 direct-marketing farms in 2013 to create an online marketing platform and initiated a provincial conference and peer network shortly thereafter. These producers are now represented by the policy association Direct Farm Manitoba. Kalynn has worked for St. Norbert Farmer’s Market and Keystone Agricultural Producers and recently started a position with the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences in recruitment and cooperative education. Kalynn purchased an acreage near Homewood, Manitoba, last spring and plans to raise livestock on it this upcoming year.