JoAnne Berkenkamp, Director, Local Food Program, Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy. jberkenkamp @ iatp.org. 612 / 870-3410. 2105 First Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55404
JoAnne Berkenkamp has joined IATP as Program Director for Local Foods. This new program reflects IATP’s commitment to local, sustainable food systems and will range in scope from local to national and international. JoAnne also works with fellow IATP staff to connect local food efforts with IATP’s activity in the health, rural development, trade and environmental arenas. For 11 years, JoAnne led an independent consulting practice working with non-profits, food businesses and foundations across the US. Her consulting work focused on market development for locally and sustainably grown food and the creation of farmer-owned businesses. She has worked extensively in the program evaluation arena, leading efforts to improve the impact and shared learning of numerous food- and agriculture-related programs. Previously, she worked for the World Wildlife Fund in Washington, DC and with Catholic Relief Services at various locations in Asia, Africa and Latin America. She started her career in the corporate finance world. JoAnne has a Masters degree in Public Policy from Harvard University, and a Bachelors degree in Finance from the University of Illinois.

DeEtta Bilek, 20415 Co. Rd. 2, Aldrich, MN 56434, ph: 218-445-5475, email: deebilek @ wcta.net
DeEtta, her husband, and four children moved back to Wadena, Minnesota in 1984 to the farm on which she was born and raised. The farm is diversified with crops and small scale livestock. The land is certified organic. In addition, DeEtta is the Program Manager for the Sustainable Farming Association (SFA) of Minnesota. DeEtta's husband Tom is Chairman of the Buckwheat Growers Assn of MN.

Emily Evans, SWROC, 23669 130th Street, Lamberton, MN 56152, ph: 507-752-7372, email: saege002 @ umn.edu
Emily is an assistant scientist conducting research on organic plots located at that Southwest Research and Outreach Center in Lamberton.

Muriel French, RR1 Box 152, Dodge Center, MN 55927, ph 507-635-5619 E-mail: dcfrench @ aol.com
Muriel has farmed since 1979 on her family's farm near Mantorville, MN. She has been away from farming only 10 years of her life. She is active in farm organization work and is currently on the American Dairy Association Board for her county. She enjoys the educational efforts associated with grazing and the transition to grazing as a farming style. She and her husband have two sons. Muriel enjoys horticulture around the home and in the garden, naming these as important connections to the earth.

Ralph Hilgendorf, 1701 Englewood Ave. W., St. Paul 55104, ph 612-644-6265 Ralph is a retired State Services for the Blind counselor and has become active as a partner in the Whole Grain Milling Company, a family business operation in Welcome, Minnesota. Whole Grain Milling is an on-farm processing business, focused on producing organic grain products. Ralph is responsible for marketing and new product development for the business.

William (Bill) Hutchison, 219 Hodson Hall, 1980 Folwell Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55108, ph:612-624-1767, fax: 612-625-5299, Email: hutch002 @ umn.edu
Bill Hutchison is a Professor and Extension Entomologist at the University of Minnesota and has been involved in conducting Integrated Pest Management (IPM) research and educational programs over the last 25 years. Bill believes that many of the foundations of IPM are quite compatible with the goals of sustainable agriculture, including the agricultural production goals for environmental integrity, social responsibility and profitability.

Dana Jackson, 2200 - 4th Street, White Bear Lake 55110, ph 612-653-0618 E-mail: danaj @ landstewardshipproject.org
Dana is Senior Program Associate at Land Stewardship Project (LSP), Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota. In addition to fund raising and administrative responsibilities, she oversees communications for LSP and serves on the policy team. Dana has worked as an advocate for sustainable agriculture with several organizations for the past 18 years. She has also been involved with the development of the graduate program in sustainable agriculture at the University of Minnesota.

Jacqueline Jacob, College of Agriculture, University of Kentucky
Jacquie was an Assistant Professor with the Department of Animal Science at the University of Minnesota and working in the area of Poultry Science until she moved on to a position at the University of Kentucky. She spent four years on a poultry project in Mozambique and more recently was the Poultry Extension Coordinator at the University of Florida. In Jacquie’s position at the University of Minnesota, one area of her applied research program involved looking at nutrition and management of pasture and organic poultry.

Gregg Johnson, Southern Experiment Station, 35838 - 120th Street, Waseca, MN 56093-4521, ph: 507-835-3620, fax: 507-835-3622. email: johns510 @ tc.umn.edu
Gregg Johnson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics at the University of Minnesota. His interests are in the area of integrated weed management with an emphasis on applied weed ecology. Gregg is also involved in research on the spatial/temporal dynamics of weed populations across variable landscapes and in the area of information acquisition and management. He is located at the Southern Research and Outreach Center in Waseca.

Richard Levins, Department of Applied Economics, 217G Classroom Office Building, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, ph 612-625-5238 E-mail: dlevins @ dept.agecon.umn.edu
Dick is a Professor and Extension Agricultural Economist with the University of Minnesota's Department of Applied Economics. Before coming to Minnesota in 1988, he served on the faculty of the University of Maryland and the University of Florida. Dick does most of his research and extension in areas relating to sustainable agriculture, especially the role of profitability and the ways farm and rural economics are related. He is currently on special assignment as Coordinator of Planning and Programming for the University's 7,500-acre property in Rosemount.

Bernadette Longo, 64 Classroom Office Bldg., 1994 Buford Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55108, ph: 612-624-9781, fax: 612-624-3617, email: blongo @ umn.edu
Bernadette is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Rhetoric at the University of Minnesota. She was a dairy and almond farmer in California, as well as a faculty member at Clemson University in South Carolina. In her current position, Bernadette is working to establish long-term collaborations with community groups and focusing on developing informational and educational materials that are effective for target audiences. She feels topics of sustainable agriculture and environmental education are vitally important for students.

Lynn Mader, 103 W. Ashmore Avenue, Montevideo, MN 56265, ph: 320-269-2943, email: LynnMader @ charter.net
Lynn Mader is a food systems consultant working with the Pride of the Prairie local food systems initiative in Western MN. She is a dietician who has worked in holistic nutrition education and complementary medicine. She has an MBA from the University of St. Thomas and has worked in contract food service and healthcare management. She seeks to foster a greater understanding, among the general public and healthcare professionals, about where our food comes from, how it is produced, and the implications for personal and community health.

Albert (Bud) H. Markhart, III, Department of Horticultural Science, U of M, St. Paul, MN 55108, ph: 612-624-7705, email: amarkhar @ umn.edu
Bud is a professor in the Department of Horticultural Science at the University of Minnesota. His interests are in environmental physiology and organic growing systems for commercial production and homeowner gardening. He teaches “Growing Plants Organically; What it Means to be Green?” and is a member of the Sustainable Agriculture Minor Faculty. Current research interests focus on the use of cover crops in organic production systems, the effect of low root zone temperature on crop growth, and hydroponics.

Dave Minar, 25816 Drexel Avenue, New Prague, MN 56071, ph: 952-758-3540, email: cedarsummit @ earthlink.net
Dave and his wife Florence run a 230-acre, 150-cow grass-based operation, using a New Zealand style milking parlor and rotationally grazing their crossed bred herd 45 paddocks. The farm has basically been chemical-free for 20 years, and recently became certified organic. Dave has also participated in a monitoring project, and hosted a field day entitled “How Can Farmers Measure Their Sustainability?” He and his family operate a to build a small creamery where they bottle milk and other assorted dairy products and wholesale to other co-ops and have a home delivery service. The Minars also operate a small retail store where they sell items from their creamery as well as their meat products. You can also find Dave and Florence at the St. Paul Farmers Market each year.

Jan O'Donnell, W4363 Cty. Hwy. A, Spooner, WI 54801. ph: 715-635-5250, email: janodon1 @ centurytel.net
Jan served as MFA’s Executive Director for twelve years and has been active in the food systems sector for the past 30 years. Jan has a strong commitment to food cooperatives and spent ten years as a manager of food cooperatives. She purchased a farm in Spooner, WI in 2001 and is busy raising chickens, lambs and beef cattle, in addition to a large garden.

Rick Olson, 30,000 17th Ave S., Lake Park, MN 56554, ph: 218-238-5594, E-mail: rpolson AT loretel.net
Rick Olson owns and operates Olson's Organic Farm in Becker County, west central Minnesota, where he direct markets his grass-fattened beef and range-fed broilers. In addition to farming, he has been a vocational agricultural teacher, chaired the School Board, worked as a regional coordinator for the Minnesota Dairy Initiative and currently works with the Environmental Quality Assurance Program.

Greg Reynolds, 5405 Calder Ave SE, Delano, MN 55328, ph: 763-972-3295, email: riverbend @ usinternet.com
Greg and his wife Mary bought an 80 acre farm just west of Delano in 1992. Greg raises about 10 acres of organic vegetables and markets them to co-ops and restaurants in the twin cities. He is currently trying to develop a crop rotation that will build organic matter, eliminate weeds, and raise enough vegetables to make a living. Greg is involved in the Crow River Chapter of the SFA of Minnesota.

Mark Ritchie, President, Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy, 2105 First Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55404, ph: 612-870-3400, fax: 612-870-4846, email: mritchie @ iatp.org
Mark has served as the president of the IATP since the founding of the organization in 1986. IATP is a non-profit and non-partisan research organization, internationally recognized as a leader in the development of innovative trade policy, especially in the fields of environment and agriculture. He has spent the last twenty years working to address a wide range of economic, social and environmental issues facing family farms and small towns. Mark is a regular columnist for farm and trade publications in the U.S., Europe, Japan and Canada, appears regularly on radio and T.V. worldwide, and has written numerous books and articles on sustainable agriculture and development.

Alvaro Rivera, Latino Economic Development Center, Economic Development Lender/Business Consultant, 1516 E. Lake St. Ste. 201, Minneapolis, MN 55407. ph: 612-729-1845, fax:  612-724-5342, email: alvaro @ ledc-mn.org.
Born and raised in Colombia, Alvaro is currently working with Latino Economic Development Center, a non profit organization that was founded by Latino leaders in all fields of community development who share the same mission: “To transform our community by creating economic opportunity for Latinos; ” and the same vision: “A thriving multicultural enriched Latino leadership, culture and economic influence.”
Alvaro completed his Master’s program at the U of MN and then worked for seven years with the Minnesota Food Association as a director for the New Immigrant Agriculture Project, where he previously served as a Latino/Hispanic Outreach worker.
The NIAP is aimed at helping farmers return to their agrarian culture by teaching them the business of sustainable farming in Minnesota in the hopes that graduates of the program will be able to participate in farm programs that are available from the USDA and other government agencies, as well as private and non-profit organizations working on behalf of underserved and minority communities.

William Rois, 13540 Sodak Road, Wilmot, SD 57279, ph: 605-939-4179, email: lazyours @ tnics.com
William is a "In home family practitioner" with Lac qui Parle county. He's managing the families 400ac. certified organic farm of 20 years. These acres are now, 300 ac. in CRP (15 species planting with wetlands and trees)and 100 ac. rented out land. He grew up on the old style multi-animal conventional style farm. After college and a metropoliten experience of ten years,Bill returned and developed and managed a1000 head cattle operation, 1000 farrow to finish hog setup,with 2000 acres supporting it. This operation was reduced to 500 acres after two years. He's now involved with the Western Mn. Workforce Council (WIA member),RDC(GIS advisory group), MOU, Ambush Environmental Learning Park and Heartland Organic Processing. None of Bill's efforts can be accomplished without his wife, Janet, seven children and families, and 47 foster children. These involvements bring together Bill's concern and interest in family and community as the future of agriculture.

Deon Stuthman, Agronomy and Plant Genetics, U of M, St. Paul 55108, ph 612-625-3709 E-mail: stuth001 @ umn.edu
Deon is a professor in the Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics at the University of Minnesota, where he leads the oat breeding and genetics research project. He has shifted some of the project emphasis to more sustainable agriculture related activities including the variety release of Pal, a semi-dwarf oat that is well-suited for companion cropping. He currently serves on the Board of the American Oat Association, and is treasurer as well. He recently served as President of the Council of Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST). Deon grew up on mixed crop and livestock farms in northeastern Nebraska.

Mary M. Tacheny, 170 Good Counsel Drive, Mankato 56001-3138, ph: 507-389-4238, email: cesrm2 @ mctcnet.net
Sister Mary has worked for the past sixteen years as resource person, educational consultant, and activity coordinator on rural concerns for the Diocesan Rural Life directors and the Catholic Bishops of Minnesota. During ten of those years she served as a lobbyist for them. In the process she got to know, work with, and become an advocate for farmers and other rural people. One of Mary's interests is the practice of a more sustainable model of farming than the industrial model. Mary has masters degrees in American Literature and Educational Administration. She has also done post-graduate work in theology and ethics.

Mark Thell, 2553 County Road 3, Wrenshall 55797, ph: 218-384-3878, email: thell @ computerpro.com
Mark and his family operate a 230-acre beef and vegetable farm in Carlton County, which they purchased in 1987. Through direct market, roadside stand, and u-pick sales they are able to market most of their beef, sweet corn, chickens, eggs, raspberries, peas and barley themselves. All of the components of their operation are tied together as much as possible. They use rotational grazing practices with their 50-head herd of cows and calves. Mark serves on the Sustainable Farming Association Northeast Chapter Board of Directors, is Vice President of Carlton County Farmers Union, is President of Lake Superior Meats Cooperative, and also works off the farm.

Bruce Vondracek, Minnesota Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, U of M, St. Paul 55108, ph: 612-624-8748, email: bcv @ fw.umn.edu
Bruce is the Assistant Unit Leader of the MN Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit and an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife. His areas of research include stream quality, fish habitats and restoration, and biological indicators in aquatic ecosystems. Bruce is a member of the Monitoring Team funded by MISA.

Bill Wilcke, Agricultural Engineering, U of M, St. Paul 55108, ph 612-625-8205 E-mail: wilck001 @ umn.edu
Bill is an Associate Professor and Extension Specialist in the Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering at the University of Minnesota. His interests are in crop drying and storage, alternative energy sources, and sustainable agriculture. He has ongoing Extension programs on crop drying and storage and on produce cooling and storage; he conducts research on grain drying and storage. Bill is Co-Chair of the Leadership Team for the Extension faculty in the Crop Systems Specialization and is the Coordinator for Extension's Sustainable Agriculture Programs.