In-Person, On-Farm

Soil & Climate Alliance

Summer Network Meeting

Minneapolis, MN | June 11-13

The 2024 Network Meeting Theme was Building Scale.

On behalf of the entire Soil & Climate Alliance team, THANK YOU for attending the Summer Network meeting. Your interest and passion are inspiring and help us advance our collective and individual work to transition 90% of food and agricultural acres to the regenerative pathway by the end of 2030. Together, we focused on:

  • the role of brands in developing their systems to use large scale crops, small grains, and other rotational crops

  • advances in financial solutions to support the transition to regenerative and the gaps that still exist

  • farmers leading the way with regenerative practices to build soil health

  • innovation in the middle of the supply chain and what we need to scale

  • updates and progress on the initiatives created by this Network including regenerative verification, nutrient density, policy, and so much more

Regenerative Field Day - Tuesday, June 11

We kicked off the 2024 meeting with a full day of exploration — visiting some of the most innovative regenerative farms in Southern Minnesota. Picture this: soaking up insights from Tom Cotter at Cotter Farms, where 800 acres are teeming with sunflowers, corn, soybeans, oats, hemp, and happy cattle, all managed regeneratively.

Then, we headed to Tree-Range Farms & Salvatierra Farms to meet with Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin, Farmer and CEO. We witnessed a Poultry Centered Regenerative Agriculture System in action, where the focus is on creating a lush "jungle-like" habitat that's perfect for our feathered friends. We rounded out this amazing day with a farm-to-table dinner on Regi’s farm.

Recordings and Slides

DAY ONE — Tuesday, June 11:

  • Farm Visits: • Cotter Farms with Tom Cotter and support from Liz Haney of Soil Regen and Mark Gutierrez of MN Soil Health Coalition • Salvatierra Farm of Tree Range Farms with Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin

DAY TWO — Wednesday, June 12:

  • Opening Meditation with Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin, CEO, Tree-Range Farms

  • In Service to American Agriculture: Farm Service Agency Debrief • Zach Ducheneaux, Administrator, USDA Farm Service Agency

  • Financing Regenerative Agriculture to Scale • Zach Ducheneaux, Administrator, USDA Farm Service Agency • Dr. Kathryn Milun, Founder, The Solar Commons Project • Tina Owens, Vice President, Agriculture Transition, Intrinsic Exchange Group • Moderator: Julie Davenson, Farm Finance Specialist, Soil & Climate Initiative

  • Network in Action: Soil & Climate Alliance Initiatives & Best Next Steps • Soil & Climate Initiative: Adam Kotin, Managing Director, Soil & Climate Initiative • Nutrient Density Alliance: Mary Purdy, Managing Director, Nutrient Density Alliance • Kansas Regen Wheat: Sarah Andrysiak, Sr. Director Climate & Agriculture • Regenerate America: Jessica Hulse Dillon, Sr. Director, Soil & Climate Alliance • Plant-Based Sustainable Sourcing Initiative CoP: Carl Jorgensen, Ag Consultant, PBFI

  • From Crop to Shelf: Scaling Regenerative Ingredients Into Market Products • Stacy Cushenbery, Food System Program Manager, Oatly • Shelly Mikel, Land and Animal Stewardship Manager, Applegate • Rachel Klataske, Director of Business Development, Nu Life Market • Sophia Weiss, Sustainability Manager, Grain Millers • Moderator: Jessica Hulse Dillon, Senior Director, Soil & Climate Alliance

  • Field & Market Intelligence

  • Building the Market for Buckwheat: John Strohfus, CEO, Field Theory Foods

DAY THREE — Thursday, June 13:

  • Building Scale for Regenerative Processing • Nicole Atchison, CEO, Puris • Alex Heilman, Director, Mad Markets • Adam Chappell, Owner, Chappell Farms • Moderator: Jessica Hulse Dillon, Senior Director, Soil & Climate Alliance

  • Grass Grazed Regenerative Farming • Derrick and Paige Jackson, Owners, Grass Grazed Farm • Candace Spencer, Mediator and Program Manager, Meridian Institute

  • From Production to Stewardship: Rewilding the Land • Seth Watkins, Owner, Pinhook Farm

  • Poetic Wrap • Jeff Bos, Senior Director, Innovation & Design, Soil & Climate Initiative

Meeting Resources

Farm Bill Update & Action Meeting in partnership with Kiss the Ground

Tree-Range Farms Links:

Support Salvatierra Farms by buying Regi’s book; In The Shadow of Green Man

Support Tree-Range Farms by following on social media and buying chicken

Support Regenerative Agriculture Alliance with a tax deductible donation

Summer 2024 Meeting Speakers

  • Sarah Andrysiak

    Senior Director of Climate & Agriculture, Soil & Climate Alliance

  • Nicole Atchison

    CEO, Puris​

  • Adam Chappell

    Owner/Operator, Chappell Farm

  • Graham Christensen

    Founder and President, GC Resolve

  • Meredith Cochran

    Director of Marketing, Pasturebird

  • Stacy Cushenbery

    Food System Program Manager, Oatly

  • Zach Ducheneaux

    Administrator, USDA Farm Service Agency

  • Carolyn Gahn​

    Senior Director, Mission & Advocacy, Applegate

  • Alex Heilman

    Director, Mad Markets ​

  • Matt Helgeson

    Agronomy, Research, & Sales, Albert Lea Seed

  • Jessica Hulse Dillon

    Senior Director, Soil & Climate Alliance

  • Derrick Jackson

    Owner, Grass Grazed LLC

  • Paige Jackson

    Owner, Grass Grazed LLC

  • Melanie Levine

    Manager, Food and Agriculture, World Business Council for Sustainable Development

  • Carl Jorgensen

    Ag Consultant, Plant Based Foods Institute

  • Brad Jordahl Redlin

    Manager, Minnesota Department of Agriculture

  • Rachel Klataske

    Director of Business Development, Nu Life Market

  • Jim Kleinschmit

    CEO/Founder, Other Half Processing

  • Adam Kotin

    Managing Director, Soil & Climate Initiative

  • Shelly Mikel

    Land and Animal Stewardship Manager, Applegate

  • Cameron Miller

    Chief Executive of Business Strategy, Non-GMO Project

  • Dr. Kathryn Milun

    Founder, The Solar Commons Project

  • Ken Roseboro

    Editor/Publisher, The Organic & Non-GMO Report

  • Tina Owens

    Vice President, Agriculture Transition, Intrinsic Exchange Group

  • Candace Spencer

    Program Manager & Mediator, Meridian Institute

  • John Strohfus

    CEO, Field Theory Foods

  • Seth Watkins

    Owner, Pinhook Farm

  • Sophia Weiss

    Sustainability Manager, Grain Millers​

Meeting Hotel: Elliot Park Hotel Minneapolis

Located in one of the oldest neighborhoods in Minneapolis right between East and West downtown, we stayed at the Elliot Park Hotel

Meeting Venue: Mosaic Venue

Meeting sessions on Wednesday and Thursday were held in the Mosaic Venue in downtown Minneapolis.

Thank you to our 2024 meeting supporters:

For any meeting questions, contact our team:

Jessica Hulse Dillon, Senior Director: jhulsedillon@soilclimatealliance.org

Justine Ghai, Program Manager: jghai@soilclimatealliance.org

Lindsey Johnson, Program Coordinator: ljohnson@soilclimatealliance.org