Joseluis “Agua y Tierra” Ortiz y Muniz is an Indigenous, land-based native New Mexican living in the high desert of his maternal village of San Antonio Del Rio Embudo. Together with his family, they tend crops and livestock, and steward his ancestral lands within the Embudo River Basin. His roots in traditional agriculture were passed on inter-generationally and he maintains a traditional land and acequia based way of life on land his family has cared for since time immemorial. He has worked with volunteer, grassroots, community-based environmental and economic justice organizations. Working and learning in community were part of a journey of self-transformation and self-discovery. Today, he is the Community Liaison and The Project Director of the Sostenga Center for Sustainable Food, Agriculture, and Environment at Northern New Mexico College, where he works to provide land based agricultural wisdoms and demonstrates traditional farming methods. A proud father rooted in community, Agua Y Tierra is a training consultant for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and anti-racism, and is a very active community member. He is a board member of Seeds in Common an indigenous seed organization, the secretary for La Merced/Land Grant del Pueblo De Santa Cruz de La Canada, a member of La Cosecha del Norte, “a growing co-op,” and is the community elected Mayordomo for the Acequia Del Llano del Rio Embudo. 

Plenary Speaker

Hayden comes from Central Montana where she ranches with her husband and his family raising pairs on the Montana Prairie. Born and raised in rural Montana, she has both an understanding of agriculture and a passion for conserving the natural world around her. She graduated from Montana State University with an undergraduate degree in Natural Resource Management with an emphasis in Rangeland Management. Grazing management has become one of her deepest passions after spending 6 years with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and getting the opportunity to drink coffee around the kitchen table with countless producers who taught her more than the 4 years spent in a classroom. She now serves as Quivira Coalitions New Agrarian Program Northern Plains Manager where she continues to learn from the amazing producers in their mentorship program.

Roundtable Facilitator

Smarter Together: Peer-to-Peer Land Management Troubleshooting

Taylor Muglia (she/her) has proudly served as Colorado Manager at Quivira Coalition’s New Agrarian Program since 2021, supporting over 85 apprentices in their personal and professional pursuits. With her own background in small-scale production ag raising sheep, pigs, and chickens, she enjoys helping other beginning farmers and ranchers find opportunities, resources, and connections within the agricultural community. When she is not working, you can find Taylor working a little more… in a flower/vegetable field, managing weddings at the Lyons Farmette, or studying to become a soil health coach.

Follow the New Agrarian Program by listening to the Regeneration Rising podcast!

Roundtable Facilitator

Smarter Together: Peer-to-Peer Land Management Troubleshooting

Constance Wilson MACP, MSN, NP-C works as a nurse practitioner, minister, counselor, farmer and mom in pursuit of what is real and renewing in life. She seeks to help others cultivate both a practical and nourishing experience of what it means to engage one’s deep passions and values while tending to one’s deep needs. She’s collaborated with RMFU and AgWell to provide training in empathetic listening, mindfulness and wellbeing.

Roundtable Facilitator

‘How are you, really?”: Supporting rancher wellbeing for one another

As a trained soil scientist and agronomist, Patrick O’Neill advocates for soil health education and practice implementation as a consultant to farmers and ranchers and through volunteer efforts with the conservation districts in his watershed. He is the principle at Soil Health Services and is skilled in Soil Health and Soil Fertility Development, Pest Control, Environmental Awareness, Agronomy, Water Resource Management, and Plant Nutrition. Patrick has a Master of Science (MS) degree in Soil Science from Washington State University, and has served as a supervisor for the Mosca-Hooper Conservation District in Alamosa County, within the San Luis Valley of Colorado. Patrick advises row crop farmers growing potatoes, cereals and forages, to help them accomplish their goals of improved soil health. This work involves assisting in cover crop selection, seed mix ratios, utilization timing, integration of livestock grazing and microbial inoculant selection and on-farm development. He also works to identify ways to add to the farm’s resilience, specifically to carefully manage production costs through soil health principle applications. This work to create healthier soils rose from an aversion to toxins in food production along with a dedication to developing healthier farming systems for the farmers and their customers.

Roundtable Facilitator

Creative Solutions to Addressing Labor Challenges in Agriculture