Dr. Elaine Ingham, B.A., M.S., Ph.D.
Founder and President, Soil Foodweb Inc.
Director, Soil Food Web School
Dr. Ingham has pioneered research in the field of Soil Biology over the last 4 decades and is widely recognized as the world's foremost soil biologist.
Behind Dr. Ingham’s user-friendly approach to soil biology lies a wealth of knowledge and research on the different groups of microorganisms that make up the Soil Food Web.
Her goal is to empower people to bring the soils in their communities back to life using the science of the Soil Food Web. Dr. Ingham's revolutionary approach has been used to restore the ecological functions of living-soils all over the world, ensuring healthy, strong plants and super-nutritious food, whilst eliminating soil erosion and the need for chemical inputs.
Behind Dr. Ingham’s user-friendly approach to soil biology lies a wealth of knowledge and research on the different groups of microorganisms that make up the Soil Food Web.
Her goal is to empower people to bring the soils in their communities back to life using the science of the Soil Food Web. Dr. Ingham's revolutionary approach has been used to restore the ecological functions of living-soils all over the world, ensuring healthy, strong plants and super-nutritious food, whilst eliminating soil erosion and the need for chemical inputs.
Chuck Peacock Soil Scientist, NRCS
Chuck Peacock is a Soil Scientist with NRCS based in Grand Junction, Colorado. He is currently the MLRA (Major Land Resource Area) Office Leader and supervises a small crew of 2 Soil Scientists and one Ecological Site Specialist. The office is responsible for soil surveys and ecological sites in the majority of Western Colorado and good chunk of Eastern Utah. His work primarily entails mapping soils for publication in soil surveys (Web Soil Survey) and assisting the public in using those surveys and educating people about the nature and properties of soils – and specifically “biologically active” healthy soil. He has been mapping soils and delivering these services in Colorado, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Wyoming for over 25 years. Prior to NRCS he was a "lab rat" performing various soil, water, & tissue analysis at the CSU soil testing lab. Chuck is native of the North Fork Valley in Western Colorado. He has a Master's degree in Soil Genesis & Morphology from Colorado State University (CSU) and a Bachelor's degree in Agronomy/Soil Science also from CSU.
Dave Dearstyne Soil Scientist, Retired
Dave has been a soil scientist for over 35 years, and a Soil Health Technical Provider and passionate advocate for Soil Health for the past 12 years. Dave’s experience includes over 30 years as a soil scientist for NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service) and includes 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 as a Soil Health Technical Advisor for the Shavano Conservation District, a National Resource Inventory specialist in the states of Colorado, New Mexico, and Nebraska, a soil scientist on a BAER team (Burn Area Emergency Response) for public land agencies, and as a Soil/Soil Health consultant. Dave has been actively involved with the Western Slope Soil Health conference for the past 10 years (since inception), serving in the capacity 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.
Helen Silver Silver Sustainable Strategies, LLC.
Helen D. Silver is the principal of Silver Sustainable Strategies, LLC. Using her 15 years of experience in environmental law and policy, Helen works with nonprofits, agricultural organizations, and academic institutions to advance sustainable policies and programs. She is a member of the Coordination Team of the Colorado Collaborative for Healthy Soils, representing CSU Agriculture Experiment Stations, and has facilitated the development of proposed legislation for a Colorado Soil Health Program and works in close partnership with Colorado Department of Agriculture, conservation districts, producers, and other partners to develop critical parts of the soil health initiative, such as Colorado specific soil health test and adapting practice-based soil health assessments.
Jerry Allen Irrigation Water Management Specialist, SCD
Jerry is Irrigation Water management Specialist for the Shavano Conservation District and soil health team member. He is a retired agriculture education teacher and current recorder for the Uncompahgre Soil Health Team. Jerry is instrumental to the planning of the Food and Farm Forum and the Western Colorado Soil Health Conference.
Jimmy Emmons 3rd Generation Farmer/Rancher
Regional Coordinator for the Southern Plains Region FPAC (Oklahoma)
Jimmy and his family own and manage 2,000 cropland acres and 5,000 rangeland acres in Dewey County, Oklahoma. The farm was converted to no-till in 1995, and Jimmy later went a few steps further and adopted crop rotations, cover crops, and planned grazing management to Jimmy uses specialized soil and plant tissue testing to monitor soil fertility. This helps him adjust fertilizer application rates by crediting the system for nutrients supplied by soil organic matter. In 2017, Jimmy’s farm received the inaugural Oklahoma Leopold Conservation Award. The Leopold Conservation Award recognizes extraordinary achievement in voluntary stewardship and management of natural resources. Jimmy serves as president of the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts and is on the board of the Dewey County Conservation District. As FPAC regional coordinator for the southern plains region, he serves Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado and Kansas.
Lowell King Grand Valley Farmer - cover crops, no-till, & livestock integration
Lowell grew up on a dairy farm in Pennsylvania. So as long as he can remember he has been involved in farming. Lowell and his brother moved to Colorado in 2004 and began farming in the Grand Valley. With his brother and brother-in-law, they farm 950 acres with a focus on horse hay production. Along with growing alfalfa and grass hay, Lowell rotates in corn, wheat and cover crops. Livestock, cattle and sheep, are integral to their farming operation.
Lowell has been planting cover crops for the past 6 years and implementing no till practices for 4 years. In addition to farming, he is a seed dealer for Green Cover Seed, and Esch no-till drills. Lowell is very willing to help other land owners by sharing what he has learned over the years no till farming and incorporating cover crops.
Lowell has been planting cover crops for the past 6 years and implementing no till practices for 4 years. In addition to farming, he is a seed dealer for Green Cover Seed, and Esch no-till drills. Lowell is very willing to help other land owners by sharing what he has learned over the years no till farming and incorporating cover crops.
Matt Darling Curator and Published Railroad Historian
Matt Darling Curator of Cross Orchards Historic Site and a published Railroad historian. Matt was born in Boulder, CO, raised in Grand Junction and has been a railfan since he was a child. Matt Graduated from Mesa State College in 2003 with a degree in History. He also completed an automotive apprenticeship at his father’s repair shop. Matt has worked for the Museums of Western Colorado for over three years working hard to make Cross Orchards a vibrant part of the Grand Valley.
Max Neumeyer Principal, Ground Up Consulting LLC
Max Neumeyer is the principal of Ground Up Consulting LLC and helps to coordinate the Colorado Collaborative for Healthy Soils (CCHS) and the Colorado Coalition to Enhance Working Lands (CO-CEWL). CCHS and CO-CEWL are bottom-up, big tent organizations working to bring the agricultural community together around soil health and good land management. Max comes to this work after a career as a science teacher and a graduate degree in public policy focused on soil health policy for Colorado. After graduation, he worked with Mad Agriculture and several other partners to launch the Collaborative in order to explore a new direction for soil health. He is now working in close partnership with the Colorado Department of Agriculture, conservation and conservancy districts, Colorado State University, and other entities to design, launch and fund a soil health program.
Phillip Cunningham Environmental Scientist
Phillip Cunningham is an environmental scientist at Ruby Canyon Environmental with experience in technical research, data collection and analysis, and report writing to qualify greenhouse gas (GHG) emission inventories and reduction projects. To date, he has completed over 200 verifications as a lead validator/verifier. His recent activities include verifying an energy efficiency project from technical energy dispatch at a downstream oil and gas refinery and avoided emissions through beneficial use of annular gas- both located in Colombia. Phillip has also been involved with auditing data from oil and gas entities reporting to The Climate Registry and el Registro Nacional de Emisiones (RENE) in Mexico. In the fall of 2019, Phillip was a peer reviewer for several sections of the U.S. EPA’s Global Non-CO2 Greenhouse Gas Emission Projections and Mitigation report.
During his career at RCE, Phillip has visited a variety of facilities including power plants, landfills, wastewater treatment plants, steam distribution plants, sawmills, underground coal and Trona mines, refrigerant reclaiming facilities, hazardous waste combustion facilities, dairy and hog farms, vegetable greenhouses, nitric acid plants, a quick lime plant, composting facilities, a petrochemical and hydrogen cyanide production facility, and other general manufacturing facilities.
He is an approved Lead Verifier for Landfill, Livestock, Ozone Depleting Substances, Coal Mine Methane, Nitric Acid Production, Organic Waste Digestion, Organic Waste Composting, Nitrogen Management and Grasslands Project types under the Climate Action Reserve; an Air Resources Board (ARB) accredited Lead Verifier for Livestock, Ozone Depleting Substances and Coal Mine Methane project verifications; has worked as Lead Verifier under The Climate Registry (TCR) verifying greenhouse gas (GHG) emission inventories for local governments, universities, a transportation company, utility companies and a variety of other industrial sectors. In Canada, he has acted as a Lead Verifier for carbon offset projects and emissions inventories under the British Columbia Climate Investment Branch and British Columbia Reporting Regulation, verified carbon offset projects under Alberta’s carbon registry, and verified several facilities under Ontario’s mandatory reporting regulation. He has also verified power plants and a variety of manufacturing and industrial facilities reporting under RENE in Mexico as well as manufacturing facilities reporting voluntarily under Mexico’s Programma GEI.
During his career at RCE, Phillip has visited a variety of facilities including power plants, landfills, wastewater treatment plants, steam distribution plants, sawmills, underground coal and Trona mines, refrigerant reclaiming facilities, hazardous waste combustion facilities, dairy and hog farms, vegetable greenhouses, nitric acid plants, a quick lime plant, composting facilities, a petrochemical and hydrogen cyanide production facility, and other general manufacturing facilities.
He is an approved Lead Verifier for Landfill, Livestock, Ozone Depleting Substances, Coal Mine Methane, Nitric Acid Production, Organic Waste Digestion, Organic Waste Composting, Nitrogen Management and Grasslands Project types under the Climate Action Reserve; an Air Resources Board (ARB) accredited Lead Verifier for Livestock, Ozone Depleting Substances and Coal Mine Methane project verifications; has worked as Lead Verifier under The Climate Registry (TCR) verifying greenhouse gas (GHG) emission inventories for local governments, universities, a transportation company, utility companies and a variety of other industrial sectors. In Canada, he has acted as a Lead Verifier for carbon offset projects and emissions inventories under the British Columbia Climate Investment Branch and British Columbia Reporting Regulation, verified carbon offset projects under Alberta’s carbon registry, and verified several facilities under Ontario’s mandatory reporting regulation. He has also verified power plants and a variety of manufacturing and industrial facilities reporting under RENE in Mexico as well as manufacturing facilities reporting voluntarily under Mexico’s Programma GEI.
Reed Irwin
Reed has been growing plants commercially and in his home garden for more than 50 years. His special interest is growing plants in different ways using unconventional methods. This includes applying soil health principles in the backyard vegetable garden. He uses 15 different cover crops and several techniques which are not usable by large-scale commercial producers.
Steve Woodis Wildlife Biologist, Retired
Steve worked for the Natural Resources Conservation Service for 30 years. For a short period of time as a Soil Conservationist in eastern Colorado (Cheyenne Wells) and for the majority of his career in the Montrose Field office as a Wildlife Biologist. Steve received his Bachelors degree from Colorado State University (CSU) in Wildlife Biology and his Master's degree in Range Science also from CSU. Steve and his wife own a small farm west of Montrose.
Steve is currently working as a private consultant under the name of Down to Earth Natural Resource Solutions, LLC.
Steve is currently working as a private consultant under the name of Down to Earth Natural Resource Solutions, LLC.