Matador Ranch & Cattle Field Day

Eric Smith is CEO and Founder of Edacious, PBC, working at the intersection of agriculture, climate change, and human health. Edacious helps customers to measure and compare the nutritional quality of their food. The company's tech stack includes affordable testing and software to understand and report the nutrient density of whole foods, connecting the dots between agriculture and human health.

Cooper grew up near Helena, MT. He studied Agricultural Business, Rangeland Resources, and Spanish at Cal Poly – San Luis Obispo, and after graduating he spent four years traveling the world working on ranches.

He is President and COO of Sieben Live Stock Co., where he is the 5th generation to manage the family ranch outside Cascade, MT. Through grazing management, genetics, and infrastructure development, Cooper and the ranch team have set out to pursue a different model of ranching.

Aside from ranching, his other passions are good books, good music, and traveling with his wife and their two kids.

John Maddux is the fourth-generation manager of the family ranch operations, which includes 45,000 deeded and leased acres, 2,500 mother cows, and 6,000 yearlings.

In addition to his daily ranch duties, he is a past member of the Nebraska Grazing Lands Coalition; the Nebraska Investment Council; and served on the Board of Directors of Cattle-Fax and State Bank.

Prior to returning to the ranch, John was employed by Goldman Sachs of New York in Fixed Income Sales and Trading and worked for Elanco selling herbicides. He has an undergraduate degree in Animal Science from the University of Nebraska and an MBA in Finance from the University of Chicago.

Barb Downey is the 4th generation of her family to earn her living with cattle. Downey Ranch operates on 6,200 acres of primarily native tallgrass prairie located in the Flint Hills of northeast Kansas.

The ranch produces Angus and SimAngus seedstock, feeders, and/or finished beef marketed primarily through US Premium Beef, of which Downey Ranch is a founding member.

Downey Ranch focuses on improving carrying capacity, soil health, rotational grazing, virtual fencing, cover crops, bale grazing, and long-term transition planning for future generations.

Jillien Streit, Director at Montana Department of Agriculture, is committed to strengthening Montana’s number one economic driver and expanding opportunities for the next generation to thrive in this vital industry.

A native of Chester, Jillien and her husband operate a 5th generation family farm. In 2014, Jillien and partners founded Stricks Ag, a merchandiser of high-quality, high-demand grains that went public in 2024.

Prior to joining the department, she worked as the financial controller for Flat Acres Farm in Chester while being involved in daily operations where her family rotates up to 18 different crops along with the recent integration of cattle and sheep.

Tyler Streit is a fifth-generation farmer, rancher, entrepreneur, and community leader from Chester, Montana, whose work spans regenerative agriculture, rural business development, and real estate. Raised on a multigenerational family farm in Liberty County, he has helped continue a long legacy of stewardship while building new agricultural enterprises rooted in innovation, resilience, and service to rural communities. Tyler, Jillien and their family operate a large dryland farm focused on crop diversity, soil health, and long-term sustainability. Together, Tyler and Jillien are raising three children while carrying forward the values of family agriculture and responsible land stewardship in north-central Montana. Tyler is also the co-founder of Natural Solutions, a Chester-based business he began in 2022 and continues to lead today. His work through Natural Solutions reflects his broader commitment to creating practical opportunities in agriculture and rural enterprise while helping build stronger local and regional economies In 2014, Tyler, Jillien, and business partners launched Stricks Ag, a pulse-processing company created to expand market access for chickpeas and other legumes grown in Montana. Through this effort, Tyler helped connect regenerative farm production with food-grade processing and broader commercial markets, supporting both producers and food companies seeking high-quality, traceable ingredients. In addition to these ventures, Tyler has been associated with new agricultural business development, including Six Agro, reflecting his continued interest in expanding value-added opportunities and strengthening the future of agriculture in Montana. He also serves as supervising broker and co-owner of Bootlegger Realty in Chester, bringing practical expertise in agricultural land, rural property, and community investment. Educated in entrepreneurship through the University of Montana’s School of Technology, Tyler combines formal business training with hands-on agricultural experience. Across farming, business, and community leadership, he is known for blending innovation with a deep respect for family, land, and the next generation of Montana agriculture.

Pat Fosse grew up on a ranch in western North Dakota, where she gained a hands-on education in ranch and resource management. She received a BS degree in Range Management from the University of Montana.

Pat worked for the BLM for 35 years in Fillmore, Utah and Dillon, Montana, where she developed a reputation for getting work done on the ground in a bureaucratic setting.

Since retiring from the BLM in 2022, Pat teaches Range Management as an adjunct professor at UM-Western and has helped initiate the Flexible Grazing Project for the Southwest Montana Sagebrush Partnership.

Matt and Heather Hamilton founded Local Yocal Farm to Market in 2010 to connect local producers with urban customers demanding locally sourced foods in a traditional market format. To provide a true local, seasonal restaurant experience, they opened Local Yocal BBQ & Grill in 2018 as a casual upscale dining experience with a chef-driven menu and a craft cocktail bar. LOYO Burger opened in 2023 to offer craft burgers and beers as a more casual setting than the grill. The Hamiltons raise Murray Grey cattle that are harvested and sold through all the food locations, offered as a 100% Grass Fed/Grass Finished or All Natural Grain Finished. They also locally finish Wagyu and work with outside partner programs to source high-quality Wagyu. They have cattle located in North Texas and Southern Oklahoma on Matt's family ranch with roots tracing back to 1853. Matt has a passion for educating consumers about the food they eat and educating farmers and ranchers about Regenerative agricuture and consumer demand. He serves on the Noble Research Institute's Producer Advisory Panel and is proud to be a part of their mission to grow Regenerative Agriculture. The Hamiltons live just outside of McKinney, Texas, and have 7 children.

Doug Stanton is the Senior V.P. Sales and Business Development for IMI Global, a subsidiary of Where Food Comes From, the leading agricultural and food verification and certification company in North America. Doug has been involved from the ground up as IMI Global has grown over his 20 years with the company. He has managed the development and implementation of most of the verification product offerings under IMI Global, primarily focused in the beef industry. The array of verification programs includes Source and Age Verification, Non-Hormone Treated Cattle program for the EU, Verified Natural Beef, Feed Verified, CARE for sustainability claims, RaiseWell for animal welfare claims, and breed claims. He has also managed the identification, traceability, and chain of custody tied to product marketing claims of credence attributes.

Sara, MS, CNS, LDN, is a board-certified and licensed nutritionist with over a decade of clinical experience specializing in digestive health, the human microbiome, and root-cause functional medicine. Through her functional nutrition practice, she uses advanced diagnostic testing and personalized protocols to support patients with digestive, autoimmune, metabolic, cardiovascular, and mental health conditions. A nationally recognized speaker, Sara is passionate about bridging the gap between regenerative agriculture and healthcare. She has traveled across the United States educating farmers, ranchers, healthcare practitioners, and consumers on the critical relationship between soil health, food quality, and human health. Now based on a regenerative cattle ranch in Montana, Sara brings a rare hands-on perspective that integrates clinical nutrition, environmental science, and regenerative agriculture to support both human and planetary health.

Wyatt Donald is the CEO, Treasurer, and part owner of Cayuse Livestock Company, a 5th generation ranching operation based near Melville, in Sweet Grass County MT. Cayuse Livestock is primarily a grass-based operation running cow/calf, bred heifer and stocker enterprises on owned and leased ranches throughout Southern and Eastern Montana. With a constant focus on creating more opportunities for family, the business has expanded both the cow herd and stocker enterprises considerably over the last 20 years. More recently, Cayuse has been retaining ownership through finishing and now is a member of True West Beef. Wyatt’s ultimate responsibilities in the business are overseeing the overall strategic direction and managing and analyzing the finances. In addition to that, he is responsible for cattle procurement and marketing, risk management, identifying, securing and overseeing leased ranches and helping out wherever needed in the day-to-day operations. Wyatt currently serves on the Sweet Grass County High School Board and the County Planning Board. He is a former council member of the Melville Lutheran Church and past chairman of the Montana Stockgrowers Landowner, Recreation and Wildlife Committee. Wyatt studied Animal Science at Montana State University. Wyatt and his wife Stacy have two children, William, age 20, and Ann Marie, age 18. When not working, Wyatt enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, hiking and playing golf.

Hugh Aljoe serves as the director of ranches, outreach and partnerships at Noble Research Institute, providing oversight to Noble’s 13,500 acres of ranches while leading efforts to build strategic relationships that advance regenerative ranching and grazing land stewardship. Aljoe has been associated with Noble since 1995, when he joined as a specialist in range, pasture and grazing management. Before this, he managed a 3,000- acre, 1,500-head cattle operation in Texas. Hugh received his master’s degree in range science from Texas A&M University with an emphasis in grazing management. Aljoe currently serves on the board of directors for the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef and the National Grazing Lands Coalition. At Noble, Hugh focuses on range and pasture management, adaptive grazing and holistic ranch management.

James Kraham was born and raised in northern California, later attending UNLV in Las Vegas to study Hospitality Management. He played football for UNLV under legendary coach John Robinson. Upon graduation James worked at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas as a Butler at the famed Mansion/Skylofts. From there I went to work at Craftsteak, the Steakhouse inside the MGM Grand owned by Tom Colicchio In 2012 I met my wife, and moved to Oklahoma City area and later went back to school to get an MBA in Finance. He has diverse experience across the food sector, opening a butcher shop and then spending 12 years at US Foods as VP of Sales. He's now part of the Sugar Mountain Livestock team and enjoying every bit of working in the wagyu industry!

Race King was raised on a Cow-calf and Row-crop operation in eastern Utah. After receiving degrees in Animal Science and Beef Production Management his professional background began with internships at Deseret Land & Livestock and Gardiner Angus Ranch. As part of the Matador Team, Race looks forward to continuing his focus of improving rangeland and soil health as they blend environmental stewardship with productivity.

Pam Lyford grew up on a 3rd generation family farming operation in Northern Illinois and was involved with livestock projects as a 10-year member of her local 4-H program. She earned a Bachelor of Science from Western Illinois University in Agriculture Education and a Bachelor of Arts from Wichita State University in Business. 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.

Hank Willemsma grew up on a small family ranch in southern New Mexico, where he developed a passion for ranching and agriculture. Upon 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. He started working with the Beaverhead Ranch in May of 2017 while he was still a graduate student and was hired full-time for the ranch upon graduation in 2018. He became the ranch manager in 2019, overseeing the ranch's day-to-day 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.

Kade Ensign serves as the Centennial Valley Herd Boss for Matador Ranch & Cattle, bringing a lifelong passion for ranching and a deep respect for the land and livestock under his care.

In 2021, Kade joined the Beaverhead Division of Matador Ranch & Cattle as part of the cowboy crew. In the summer of 2025, he stepped into his current role as Centennial Valley Herd Boss, where he leads the crew and manages the herds that make the annual trek from the Beaverhead headquarters to the Centennial Valley. He also plays a key role in the ranch’s virtual fencing projects.

Kade is committed to continuous learning, mentoring the crew he leads, and upholding the traditions of ranching while passing those values on to his daughter, Kristy.