Speakers

Menoken Farm

Jay Fuhrer is the lead educator at Menoken Farm near Bismarck, N.D. He has boots on the ground the last 38 years working with cropping systems, grazing systems, cover crops and gardens. Jay also has an extensive background working with groups and entities such as soil and water conservation districts; national and international no-till organizations; watersheds; farm organizations; urban groups; and more. Recently, Jay spends his time at the Menoken Farm minimizing soil disturbance, adding soil armor, maximizing plant diversity, maintaining living roots in the soil and integrating livestock.

Lee Briese received his Doctor of Plant Health from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He also has Masters in Soil Science and a bachelor’s in agriculture from North Dakota State University. Dr. Briese has been a crop consultant for Centrol Crop Consulting for 21 years. He provides agronomic advice directly to farmers to help manage crops. Lee focuses on helping farmers develop whole farm systems to manage crops, pests and soils. He has experience with several cash and cover crops as well as no-till, min-till, strip-till and conventional till systems. He has done a lot of work with strategies to manage saline soils and understanding herbicide and cover crop interactions.

Dr. Thomas Dykstra is the Laboratory Director of his own lab, Dykstra Laboratories in Gainesville, Florida. For 28 years, he has studied bioelectromagnetics (how electromagnetic fields affect life), especially as it relates to insects. He holds entomology degrees from Cornell University as well as the University of Florida and has been awarded eight patents. Dr. Dykstra consults for farmers, agricultural companies, tech firms, attorneys, international governments, and insurance agencies. He has visited three continents and presents lectures on diverse topics covering entomology, olfactory physiology, biophysics, paramagnetism, neurobiology, and biological antennae. In terms of active research, Dr. Dykstra deciphered the insect olfactory code back in 2016 and characterizes chemoreceptors for various medical and agricultural insect pests. He teaches both farmers and agricultural consultants how to raise healthy crops for their families and for profit.

Dr. Randy Jackson is professor of Grassland Ecology in the Department of Plant & Agroecosystem Sciences at University of Wisconsin-Madison. Research in Randy’s lab seeks to understand how the management of agroecosystems influences their productivity, carbon storage, nutrient retention, and ability to support biodiversity.