Elena Miller-ter Kuile

by Lynne Whitbeck | Jun 14, 2023 | 2023 Conference Speakers

Elena Miller-ter Kuile

Elena Miller-ter Kuile is a 6th generation farmer working on the original lands of her Hispano ancestors. Her farm Cactus Hill Farm still uses some of the oldest water rights in Colorado established in 1867. Elena raises sheep for grass fed meat as well as value-added wool products such as yarn and other products for fiber artists. She sells both online and in person. Her farm also produces organic grains, and hay. Elena studied interdisciplinary studies in Agriculture from Cornell University and graduated with honors.

Elena served as the vice-chair of the San Luis Valley Local Foods Coalition and currently serves on Rural Women-Led Business Fund at the First Southwest Bank of Colorado. She recently worked for Adams State University supporting students from a migrant agricultural background to achieve their education. She has also been involved in many water rights battles for her community over the years. She is recently nominated to the Colorado Agriculture Commission.

Plenary

Sustainable Sheep: Honoring the Animal, Healing the Planet

Come hear from regenerative sheep producers Elena Miller-ter Kuile from Cactus Hill Farm near La Jara, Colorado and Jeanne Carver of Imperial Stock Ranch / Shaniko Wool Company near Shaniko, Oregon on how they have developed their agricultural practices to regenerate the land and improve soil health as well as honor the animals they raise but maximizing the value of those animals in their marketing. These two women have been involved in a variety of direct marketing and value-added products, including carbon markets, and will also share about the markets they have created and how they have engaged their communities in that effort. Whether you raise sheep or not, this split plenary will provide food for thought on how human creativity and community building are critical to regenerative agriculture.

Enrique Guerrero

by Lynne Whitbeck | May 25, 2023 | 2023 Conference Speakers

Enrique Guerrero

I am a professional manager passionate about livestock, always seeking to innovate and improve all the important aspects to be a productive business in the livestock industry, concerned about the three most important aspects such as people, land, and livestock.

Video

Plenary

The Potential of Regenerating Soils and Increasing Productivity and Profitability with Livestock

I am passionate about land regeneration, always looking for a reconciliation between environmental stewardship and profitability of the cattle business on any amount of land. Observing the natural processes of the land and the different species of either livestock or wildlife is how to gather a wealth of information, allowing you to maximize land and animal potential. I am currently working on an ambitious project: regenerating a 350,000-acre cattle ranch in West Texas while running a 2,500-head grass-fed operation. I have also used these techniques to reclaim a mine tailing site and on my own ranch.

Joe and Jenn Wheeling

by Lynne Whitbeck | May 5, 2023 | 2023 Conference Speakers, 2024 Speakers

Joe and Jenn Wheeling

Joe and Jenn Wheeling are the owners of James Ranch Beef and The Gardens at James Ranch in Durango, Colorado. As part of the James Ranch team, they have worked to create the brand of James Ranch since their return to the ranch in 1995. They are eager community collaborators in conservation, bio-controls, soil development, water management systems and regenerative practices. As practitioners of the Delegated Meeting Process, Joe and Jenn have helped to create organizational systems with in the family and facilitate family management processes and succession planning.

Married for 38 years, they have two daughters who were raised on the ranch and have gone on to professional careers in law and accounting. Both Joe and Jenn graduated from Colorado State University, Joe got his MBA in Finance and Strategic Planning from The Wharton School of Business while Jenn got her advanced degree from the University of Life.

To learn more about how the James family is running multiple businesses effectively, read their recent blog post with HMI.

2024 Roundtable Facilitators

Helping families with succession through our own experience and creative systems we have put into practice.

2023 Plenary

Adapting and Innovating through the Lumps and Bumps of a Complex Family Business

We will share the adaptations and innovations we have employed on the James Ranch to allow several generations to live and work together on the same piece of land while sharing the common goal of responsible stewardship. We will talk about how we updated our 30 year old Holistic goal to reflect the second and third generation’s involvement in the ranch as well as our creation of a governing body for the ranch. In the midst of all of this, we will be highlighting the importance of family meetings and the Delegated Meeting Process which is designed to achieve a maximally effective meeting while empowering the participant’s individual growth and confidence.

Jeanne Carver

by Lynne Whitbeck | May 5, 2023 | 2023 Conference Speakers

Jeanne Carver

Jeanne and her late husband Dan, have owned and operated the Imperial Stock Ranch (1871) since the late 1980s. Their focus was stewardship of natural resources. In 1999, they faced a new challenge. With a collapsing wool market due to offshoring, Jeanne led them from commodity wool sales in a new direction. She pioneered taking their wool direct to market at scale, and built fiber supply chain relationships as close to home as possible. Connecting their ranch’s heritage and mindful stewardship of land and animals to the products, she built a growing customer base for textiles with an attachment to place. Her efforts eventually took her to the world stage as a partner to well-known fashion brands. Known as the “Farmer’s Market of Textiles,” she is recognized across multiple segments of the U.S. fashion industry and beyond. She has been the voice and source of American wool for Ralph Lauren’s Team USA Olympic uniforms since 2012.

In 2016, Imperial Stock Ranch became the first ranch in the world certified to the leading global standard for sheep and wool production, called the Responsible Wool Standard (RWS). With demand increasing, Jeanne established Shaniko Wool Company in 2018 to scale the supply of U.S. wool meeting RWS certification. Shaniko Wool is now 10 ranches grazing 2.6 million acres. In early 2020, she launched a Carbon Initiative to measure the ecosystem and climate impacts of their ranching practices. Today, Shaniko is also NATIVA Regen certified.

Book: Stories of Fashion, Textiles and Place — Evolving Sustainable Supply Chains by Leslie Davis Burns and Jeanne Carver

Plenary Panel

Sustainable Sheep: Honoring the Animal, Healing the Planet

Come hear from regenerative sheep producers Elena Miller-ter Kuile from Cactus Hill Farm near La Jara, Colorado and Jeanne Carver of Imperial Stock Ranch / Shaniko Wool Company near Shaniko, Oregon on how they have developed their agricultural practices to regenerate the land and improve soil health as well as honor the animals they raise but maximizing the value of those animals in their marketing. These two women have been involved in a variety of direct marketing and value-added products, including carbon markets, and will also share about the markets they have created and how they have engaged their communities in that effort. Whether you raise sheep or not, this split plenary will provide food for thought on how human creativity and community building are critical to regenerative agriculture.

Dave Carter

by Lynne Whitbeck | May 5, 2023 | 2023 Conference Speakers

Dave Carter

Dave Carter serves as a Director of Regional Technical Assistance Coordination for the Flower Hill Institute, an indigenous-led nonprofit organization coordinating the technical assistance network USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service has established to support producers seeking to create a more resilient, diversified, and equitable meat and poultry processing system in the United States.

From 2001 through March 2022, Carter served as executive director of the 1,200-member National Bison Association, where he worked to strengthen production and marketing systems for North American bison ranchers. He was a leader in the six-year campaign that resulted in bison being designated as the National Mammal of the United States.

Carter has a deep background in natural food marketing and agricultural public policy. His marketing experience includes work in natural meat, cheese, and pet food products. He is the former Chair of USDA’s National Organic Standards Board and later helped gain regulatory approval for non-GMO labeling of meat, poultry, and dairy products sourced from animals fed diets without genetically modified ingredients.

Dave and his wife, Sue, have a herd of bison operated in partnership with two other ranching families on the West Bijou Ranch, owned by the Savory Institute, east of Denver.

Plenary Speaker

New Support to Get Grassfed Meat and Poultry to Market

The Meat and Poultry Technical Assistance Program was established in March 2022 to support people and projects in accessing USDA grants, loans and other resources to expand meat and poultry system in the United States. Coordinated by the Flower Hill Institute, the MPPTA network is assisting producers ranging from Puerto Rico to the Northern Mariana Islands. This no cost program is designed to work with projects from inception to implementation.