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.

Daniel Magalsky, his wife, Jenna, and their children are finding success in Montana using meat goats as their main ranching enterprise. Their profitability, soil health and lives are seeing the great benefits of looking through a different set of glasses/paradigms than mainstream ranching does.

They want to meld being good stewards of their land with capitalizing on opportunities as they arise. This takes a certain amount of principled flexibility. Insert meat goats, two wire poly electric fencing and an ever-learning eye for animal contentment.

In 2021 Daniel and Jenna moved to Eastern Montana to take over his parents’ small ranch after spending 11 years in Saskatchewan. While in Saskatchewan they were introduced to holistic management, the soil heath principles, cover crops and ranching with meat goats. Daniel loves to share their story of this journey and what God is teaching them along the way.

Candy Thomas recently retired from NRCS as a Regional Soil health Specialist. She worked for NRCS for 31 years. She currently is working as a consultant for soil health with her business Soil Caretaker Services and works part time with the Kansas Association of Conservation Districts as a soil health specialist working with producers on improving soil health management systems on wheat production acres and grazing lands. She and her husband farm and have raised cattle chickens and kids in Iowa and Missouri.

Logan Vandermark earned his B.A. in Ecology and Conservation from Franklin College in 2021, followed by an M.S. in Animal Science from South Dakota State University in 2023. As the South Dakota State University Extension precision livestock technologies field specialist, he concentrates on exploring ways for livestock producers to integrate technology into their operations, aiming to enhance profitability, sustainability, and management efficiency. Over the past 5 years, Vandermark has focused primarily on the applications of virtual fencing into various production systems and has helped implement virtual fencing research projects at the SDSU Cottonwood Field Station.

Tyler Zimmerman is a 3rd generation farmer in SE North Dakota on the edge of the Red River Valley consisting of 3000 cropland acres. He transitioned all his acres to No-till and cover crops in 2015. The farm has adopted a complex crop rotation with over 10 different crops including polycropping. Tyler is continuing his soil health journey by finding ways to keep reducing synthetic inputs by building better biological environments in the soil. Tyler is learning how to regenerate the soil today for the future generations.

Shane Jordan grew up in the Loess Hills of West Central Iowa on a 3,000-acre row crop family farm. They grew corn, soybeans, alfalfa, raised cattle, sheep, chickens, turkeys, and geese. In addition, his father had a side business of raising spaded trees and Christmas trees, which is where he spent the majority of his time.

He attended South Dakota State University where he received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Range Management and most importantly met his wife, Heather, of 30 years. Together they have 3 kids, Zach, Brady, and Kayla.

He started his career with the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Faulkton, SD, as a Range Conservationist. Soon after that he became the District Conservationist in Redfield, SD (Spink County), where he served in that role for 23 years, 8 of those years he was the District Conservationist in both Spink and Clark counties.

Currently he is a member of the Brookings Area Ecological Staff serving as an Area Resource Conservationist, based out of the Clark Field Office. They serve producers and internal employees throughout the eastern third of South Dakota.

Also, he and his wife own and operate Thunder Mountain Gardens, which is a small backyard garden located in Clark, SD. Their goal is to be a regenerative garden system that takes an ecosystem approach to food production. They do their best to implement the five-core principles of soil health that regenerate soils to grow healthy and vibrant plants that produce nutrient-dense fruits and vegetables.

Dennis Clemens and his wife Traci operate Lillows Acres, along with their two daughters, Lilli and Willow. Dennis has been with the Spink Conservation District since 2001. Along with conservation they focus on soil health and have put on numerous workshops and tours for large scale farming as well as gardeners. Dennis and Traci purchased their place in Frankfort in 2017. There was an existing garden there which they expanded. In the fall of 2018, they planted a cover crop in the garden, and it has not been tilled since. They continue to use cover crops and rotation in the garden as well as adding pollinator plots and numerous fruit trees. In 2024 they put up a high tunnel which they used for the first time in the 2025 season. They also use no-till, cover crops and crop rotation in the high tunnel to promote soil health.

Alan Hojer is the manager and legacy consultant of Keep Farmers Farming, a division of the SD Ag Foundation. After 11 years, the Keep Farmers Farming program has recently transitioned to the SD Ag Foundation. With the transition to the SD Ag Foundation, the program will continue to be completely focused on the estate planning and generation transition challenges that are facing our farmers and ranchers across South Dakota. Alan is certified as a certified estate planner. Other areas of focus, because of the generational transition, are also the education of marketing and risk management, farm labor development and recruitment, and best financial business practices.

After graduation from SDSU in 1981, Alan joined Land O’ Lakes as a sales manager for milk procurement for SD, NW Iowa and SW Minnesota until his chance to come back to the family farm presented itself in 1989. In 1994, a decision was made by Alan and his wife Pam to start Hojer Gelbvieh Ranch. Starting with 10 cows and $25,000, they have survived the tests of Mother Nature, a catastrophic fire and many other similar challenges that all first generation family operations experience.

Today, Hojer Ranch LLC consists of 450 registered Gelbvieh, Balancer and Angus females, a 1,000 head feedlot with base operations at Lake Preston and Miller, SD. The operation is run by Blake, Alan and Pam’s son. Other family include their daughter Nikki Kroupa (Micheal) from Kimball, Christian (Jessica) of Miller SD and Blake’s (Jennifer) of DeSmet. They are also blessed with nine grandsons and five granddaughters.

Alan contributes their first generation success not just to hard work but to thinking non-traditionally when times were tough to find solutions. This has been the most challenging and rewarding experience of his professional career but he feels blessed to be part of this great effort.

Alan is a proud alumnus of SDARL Class VII.

Some of his hobbies are hunting, being actively involved in the local community, but most of all his newest hobby is whatever the grandchildren wish to do!

Kevin Sedivec is the State Extension Rangeland Management Specialist and Range Science Professor in the School of Natural Resource Sciences at North Dakota State University, starting his career in 1989. He is also the Director of the NDSU Central Grasslands Research Extension Center since 2016.

He has led a team of researchers, Extension specialist and graduate students conducting research on virtual fencing. They have assessed patch grazing on rangeland, efficacy of virtual fencing, livestock and wildlife responses to patch grazing using virtual fence, and virtual grazing cover crops using a strip grazing approach to enhance soil health. These projects started in 2022 and have been studied at numerous research centers, including private ranches in North Dakota.

Victor Tuschen is currently the state agricultural economist for South Dakota NRCS-USDA. He attended South Dakota State University from 2012-2018 majoring in wildlife and fisheries science, agriculture business, and minoring in accounting. He started with NRCS in 2018 as a soil conservationist, and since then he has worked as district conservationist in both South Dakota and Maine. The experience of district conservationist and his background in economics lead him to this current role as an economist.

Tim Meagher serves as chief operating officer of Sioux Falls-based Vanguard Hospitality, overseeing all facets of operational management for its properties Grille 26, Minervas in downtown Sioux Falls and Morrie’s Steakhouse.

An Aberdeen native, Tim began his restaurant career in the mid-1990s as a 16-year-old doing whatever needed to be done in a local pizzeria. He began his management career at a Pizza Hut in Aberdeen and joined WR Hospitality in 2002. He worked first at Minervas in Aberdeen and then as a regional manager up until 2016, when he and business partners formed Vanguard Hospitality.

Tim is happiest in the thick of restaurant operations, thriving on managing the busiest of days while always making time to make each guest feel appreciated. He prides himself on visionary leadership for his 200 person team and the broader restaurant operation, bringing people together to solve common challenges and excelling in difficult situations.

With a passion for the natural environment, sustainability and all things locally produced, Tim is the driving force behind a growing number of partnerships between Vanguard Hospitality and environmentally-conscious farming and ranching operations. Working with producers who use regenerative practices that benefit the environment, his restaurants are supporting the long-term viability of these operations by providing them reliable end markets that help connect their locally produced foods directly with diners.

A current board member for Friends of the Big Sioux River, Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce and co-chair for branding committee for SD Local Foods Coalition. Also, a member of Dakota Rural Action and Northern Plains Sustainable Ag which includes a focus on Farm to School. Curated a program to teach kids how to cook with the Boys and Girls Club to empower independence through knowledge and skill.

Tim enjoys being outdoors in his spare time, hiking, immersing himself in art and music and traveling to gain inspiration for his next dining innovation.

Tim attended Northern State University. He and his wife, Megan, have three children.

As the South Dakota NRCS state soil health specialist, Kent Vlieger works to help producers and landowners across the state improve the health of their soil and the resiliency of their operations. Kent also helped organize a no-till community garden in Huron that incorporates cover crops.

Justin Thompson got his start with ranch managing on his own in July 1998 after moving off his family ranch near Akaska, South Dakota.

He was hired by an absentee owner to develop a bison and quarter horse ranch, but a poor bison market and bad 2002 drought eventually forced its sale.

Thompson, who was eager to continue ranching, was able to purchase his own land with the help of the absentee owner who gave him his first shot. Thompson, his wife, Micki, and their kids are living the dream, working together on the ranch. Within the sprawling acres of the Thompson Ranch near McLaughlin, South Dakota, are dramatic differences in soil, plants, and water. Taking care of the grass is both a privilege and a responsibility to Thompson.

Austin Carlson is a soil health technician for the South Dakota Soil Health Coalition. He holds a bachelor’s degree in agriculture systems technology and a minor in ag business from South Dakota State University. He actively participates in his family’s diversified crop and livestock operation that incorporates all five principles of soil health. He conducts the Coalition’s field work, including planting Soil Health School plots and assisting other producers with on-farm research and implementation of soil health practices. He also plans educational events, gives presentations to students in schools, and represents the Coalition at industry events.

Robert Fouberg began his professional career in 1995, practicing law for two years with the firm of Bantz, Gosch & Cremer in Aberdeen. In 1997, he moved to Washington, DC where he served as legislative counsel to US Representative John Thune, advising him on agriculture, banking, small business and taxation issues. In 1999, Robert left Capitol Hill to serve as the manager of agriculture and conservation policy for Ducks Unlimited, Inc. and in 2000 joined the American Bankers Association as senior counsel. At the American Bankers Association, Robert worked closely with the Center for Agricultural and Rural Banking and lobbied Congress and the Administration on all association issues with an emphasis on those issues of greatest importance to its agricultural and rural bank members. In 2003, Robert returned to South Dakota to begin his career at Dacotah Bank and today serves as chairman and chief executive officer of the bank and its parent company, Dacotah Banks, Inc. Dacotah Bank is based in Aberdeen and has 33 locations throughout Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.

Robert serves on the Board of Trustees of the Aberdeen Area Community Foundation; and the Boards of Directors of American Bankers Association Foundation, Avera Health, and Enterprise 605, Inc.; and was elected to serve on the Board of Directors of South Dakota Community Foundation beginning January 1, 2026. In addition, Robert has been active at the local, state and national levels with service to the Aberdeen Area Boys and Girls Club, Aberdeen Family Y, Augustana University, Children’s Home Society, Graduate School of Banking, Junior Achievement, Northern State University and United Way.

Robert is married to Dr. Erin Hogan Fouberg, associate provost, associate vice president of academic affairs and director of graduate studies at Northern State University. Robert and Erin have two adult children: Margaret and Henry.