Ryan Dierking was raised on a Red Angus cattle operation in Missouri and still manages the operation with his family. He received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. from the University of Missouri, where he studied agronomy with a focus on pasturelands. Currently, Ryan is the Director of Northern Rangelands at Earth Optics. Here, Ryan works directly with ranchers and cattlemen, project developers, non-profit organizations, and companies looking to participate in sustainability/carbon markets as off-sets or in-sets both domestically and internationally.

Race King was raised on a cow-calf and row-crop operation in eastern Utah. His professional background began with internships at Deseret Land & Livestock and Gardiner Angus Ranch. Race has served as Herd Manager for Sitz Angus, VP of Operations for Riverbend Ranch, and 15+ years as Manager of La Cense Montana LLC. Race developed his passion for resource management and became a strong advocate of grazing management strategies that use high stocking densities for short durations.

Pam Lyford grew up on a 3rd generation farming operation in Northern Illinois. She earned degrees in Agriculture Education and Business. Lyford moved to Kansas and worked for Koch Industries for 30 years, with the last 20+ years working specifically with the ranching operations. Pam is now the Compliance Manager for Matador Ranch and Cattle, focusing on the health and safety of the Matador team and managing natural capital and wildlife projects.

Nick Hammett serves as the Key Accounts Manager for Commercial Beef and Dairy at Neogen, where he oversees the company’s largest domestic and international clients. He specializes in delivering customized genomic testing solutions that maximize return on investment for each unique operation. Before Neogen, he spent the majority of his career at Circle A Angus, a prominent 8,000-head cattle operation in Missouri, where he managed bull and bred heifer sales and feeder calf procurement. His career also includes roles at the American Shorthorn Association, Crystal River Ranch, Future Beef Operations, and the American Gelbvieh Association.

Mike Espy is the 25th United States Secretary of Agriculture, having been nominated by President Bill Clinton and confirmed by the United States Senate in January of 1993. Before his appointment to the cabinet, Mike Espy served for six years as a Member of the United States House of Representatives. Mike’s passion leans towards agricultural and financial development, helping to lift impoverished persons, communities, and countries towards more favorable economic outcomes.

Lora Soderquist is the Natural Capital Specialist for Impact Ag Partners, where she focuses on regenerative agriculture, soil health, and land management strategies that build long-term ecological, social, and economic resilience. Raised on a multi-generation agricultural operation in Southeast Idaho, Lora brings deep-rooted experience. She previously served as an Associate Professor at Montana State University, specializing in soil health, rangeland ecology, and holistic management decision-making.

Johnson provides regenerative ranching consultation and course facilitation alongside his role as product delivery manager at Noble Research Institute, where he has worked since 1999. Between 2000 and 2020, Jim consulted with over 2,000 producers, consistently adding 100 additional producers yearly. Before his work at Noble, he spent two years working for a large, diverse vegetable farm that sold directly to consumers and restaurants. At Noble, Jim focuses on soil health, cover crops, and no-till.

Hank Willemsma grew up on a small family ranch in southern New Mexico, where he developed a passion for ranching and agriculture. After graduating from New Mexico State University with a bachelor's degree in animal science, he worked on ranches across the west for ten years as a cowboy on large and small cow/calf operations, intensive grazing stocker operations, and commercial feedlots in Texas, New Mexico, Wyoming, Montana, and Utah. Hank became the ranch manager in 2019, overseeing the ranch's day-to-day operations.

Dr. Jeff Goodwin is the Thomas M. O’Connor Endowed Director of Rangeland and Wildlife Management and Director of the Center for Grazinglands and Ranch Management at Texas A&M. He also holds a faculty appointment as Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Rangeland, Wildlife, and Fisheries Management and Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension. Dr. Goodwin specializes in applied research and education to enhance the ecological and economic resilience of grazing lands and ranching operations.

As Impact Ag Partners’ founder, and CEO of our US operations, Bert leads the firm’s investment in agriculture as a nature and climate solution across North America. A pioneer of nature-positive investment, agricultural management, and asset development, Bert has secured and deployed $1 billion in global capital to transform agricultural ecosystems at scale.