Brian Wehlburg

Brian Wehlburg

An introductory Holistic Management course in 1995 inspired Brian to implement his new understanding and knowledge, using grazing as a tool to improve the environment with resultant increased stocking rates, significant pasture improvement and regeneration of water seeps. In 2001 he completed his Holistic Management Certified Educator’s course. As a director of Inside Outside Management, he has worked throughout Australia and New Zealand providing Holistic Management training and consultation to a wide variety of people, businesses and environmental groups. This has included the delivery of full Holistic Management courses, short grazing management courses and the 18-month TAFE Holistic Management diploma.

Brian has much experience working in a team with people from different cultures and backgrounds. This, together with his passion for Holistic Management allows him to create an atmosphere of trust within a group, enabling the diverse participants to actively contribute towards positive outcomes. He is motivated by seeing the positive change that Holistic Management can bring to people’s lives and livelihoods.

Brian is a certified Educator with Holistic Management International and a certified Field Professional with the Savory Institute and a board member of Holistic Management International and is also on the board of the Australian Holistic Management Co-operative. He is also a proud member of HMENZA, Holistic Management Educators of Australia and New Zealand.

2024 Roundtable Facilitator

Regenerative & Conservation Grazing / Grazing for Soil Health

 

2023 Plenary Panel

Resilience Through Catastrophe: Preparation for and Recovery from Climate Disasters

Hear from panelists about how producers and technical service providers can prepare for and recover from climate disasters like wildfire through building soil health, holistic management, and unique partnerships and collaborations. We’ll hear perspectives from New Mexico, California and Australia, including challenges and success stories, as we address local climate and natural disaster catastrophes via local and global perspectives.

Kelly Sidoryk

Kelly Sidoryk

Kelly Sidoryk

John Liu

Kelly Sidoryk ranches with her family west of Lloydminster, Alberta, Canada with an additional location near Debden, Sask. Over 30 years ago they were introduced to Holistic Resource Management (as it was known at the time), a decision making/planning process that focusses on finances, land and people. The process had a significant impact on their operation as it transitioned to be a forage based, livestock enterprise. They run a mix of cow-calf, yearling- both owned and custom enterprises.
She completed the degree program through HRM with a focus on the people side. In addition to running their family business, she has worked with many farm families as they work on transitioning to the next generation. She also teaches Holistic Management Whole/Farm Ranch Planning courses and is a certified educator with Holistic Management International(HMI) and sits on the HMI board. Kelly is also a member of the local ALUS (Alternative Land Use) council and serves on the CRSB(Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef) Communications and Marketing committee. She was recently recognized by AFSC as a Community Builder at the Advancing Women in Ag Conference.

Roundtable Facilitator

Evanne Caviness

Evanne Caviness

Evanne Caviness

John Liu

Evanne Caviness is a proud rancher, business owner, and mother of 6th-generation Coloradoans who has been immersed in agriculture in the Southwestern U.S. since childhood. She works as the Western Organizing Manager for the National Young Farmers Coalition while co-managing Caviness Farms–her regenerative grassfed beef business–alongside her high school sweetheart and husband, Tyson Caviness.

Evanne is trilingual and holds degrees in English, Spanish, and Special Education from Northern Arizona University and Pima Community College. She spent four years as a high school special education teacher before having her two beautiful children. Evanne is passionate about inclusion and equity in agriculture, especially in supporting the needs of beginning farmers and ranchers from historically underserved communities. She currently serves on the state and federal policy committees for the Colorado Blueprint to End Hunger, the Nourish Colorado Farm Bill Action Committee, and the Farmer Equity Office Coalition in Colorado. Evanne is also a 2023 Rocky Mountain Farmers Union Fellow and a member of Poudre Valley Community Farms.

Roundtable Facilitator

Land and Water Access – Challenges and Leadership in the Farming Community

Farming and ranching in the West present producers with an array of unique challenges, particularly when it comes to accessing affordable land with the necessary water resources to sustain production. Join us for an interactive roundtable facilitated by farmers and ranchers from Colorado and New Mexico who have stepped into positions of leadership in their communities to implement creative solutions to address their own struggles to attain land and water. Participants will be encouraged to share their own journeys in farming in the drought-ridden West, and can expect to learn how others facing similar challenges have become advocates for innovative land and water access solutions.

Seth Wilner

Seth Wilner

Seth Wilner

John Liu

Seth grew up in Connecticut where he forged a love of horseback riding . In addition to Connecticut, Seth has lived, studied and worked in several states across the U.S. as well as in Kenya and Senegal. It was in Senegal, where he served in the Peace Corps, that Seth developed his love for farmers and agriculture.

Seth graduated with his Masters in Soil Science but several years into his career he discovered his true passion which is farm business management.

Seth became a Holistic Management Certified Educator in 2003 and uses this system as a foundation in his work.

Recently Seth became a Certified International Mediator, which compliments his work in farm transfer, farm succession planning, whole farm planning, and farm financial analysis.

A recently developed passion is “effective adult education.” Having utilized lecture-based approaches for decades only to continuously discover they fail to build skills, Seth began a quest to discover educational methods that actually could help people change behaviors and adopt new practices.

When not working Seth enjoys time with his wife and daughter, his dogs and his close friends. He likes to travel, garden, work on farms, and laugh.

Workshop Presenter, Succession Planning Workshop

Roundtable Facilitator

Alicia Thompson

Alicia Thompson

National Young Farmers Coalition

We believe we have one generation to transform agriculture in service to our communities and the land.

We are that generation

We are farmers and ranchers who steward the struggle to transform agriculture. We are an intersectional coalition that works for justice and collective liberation of our food and farm systems. We champion policies that resource connections to the land and foster our health in the face of climate crisis. We advocate for policies that recognize farming as a public service. We work in partnership with social justice movements for a future in which people, land, and relationships are respected. We aspire to stand in ever greater solidarity with global movements that advance human rights – especially the right to food and place.

THEORY OF CHANGE
Young farmers, when resourced and trained to share their stories with lawmakers, can remake the food system to be more equitable, just, and in service to our communities and the land.

Mission
We shift power and change policy to equitably resource our new generation of working farmers.

Vision
We envision a just future where farming is free of racial violence, accessible to communities, oriented towards environmental well-being, and concerned with health over profit.I identify as a Navajo woman – my maternal clan is Towering House. Currently located near the base of the sacred Mount Taylor, in the Pueblo of Laguna in New Mexico. I am a landless farmer with chickens, honeybees, and a native plants and foods nursery. My current work includes building a food forest demonstration garden using Indigenous permaculture and traditional knowledge. I am also an Indigenous consultant who provides guidance on working with tribal partners, and guidance for tribes in native nation building strategies. I completed my graduate education from Northern Arizona University, with my studies focused around Indigenous food ways and integrating that into Indigenous environmental management. I am grateful for my mentors in the Applied Indigenous Studies department, School of Forestry and those working directly in Indigenous communities to strengthen Indigenous food sovereignty and food security.

2024 Roundtable Facilitator

2023 Plenary

Southwest Agroforestry from an Indigenous Perspective

This presentation will provide examples of ancestral and current Indigenous farming practices that have sustained communities and cultures in the Southwest for thousands of years. These agricultural practices can revitalize a local landscape into an edible landscape that is reflective of our bioregion and our diets.

Zach Ducheneaux

Zach Ducheneaux

Zach Ducheneaux

John Liu

Zach Ducheneaux was appointed Administrator for USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) on February 22, 2021. In this role, Ducheneaux provides leadership and direction on agricultural policy, including the administration of FSA’s farm loan, conservation, commodity, disaster, and farm marketing programs, through a national network of offices.

Before joining the Biden-Harris Administration at USDA, Ducheneaux previously served as the Executive Director of the Intertribal Agriculture Council (IAC). He served the IAC in other roles starting in the 1990s. He has also previously served as tribal council representative for the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. He has spent his career educating people about the critical role of improved food systems and value-added agriculture, all through the lens of finding ways to address enduring economic and social challenges facing Native Americans and reservations.

Ducheneaux continues to serve on the board of directors for Project H3LP!, a nonprofit founded by his family to benefit their local community by providing life lessons through horsemanship. His family still operates the 4th generation ranch on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation.

Plenary Speaker

A Conversation with Your Administrator About Filling the Gaps

An open conversation about the broad ranging work of the Biden-Harris Administration under the leadership of Secretary Vilsack, to more equitably serve all producers across all divisions and programs at the Farm Service Agency.