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attendees listen to a session at the 3rd annual expanding markets conference in billings montana about regenerative agriculture

Expanding Markets Conference: A one-of-a-kind event in the regenerative space

October 11, 2024

Nearly two hundred people attended this year’s Expanding Markets Conference in some capacity, with attendees tuning in from across Montana, Idaho, Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, Tennessee, Illinois, Minnesota, Georgia, and Florida!

Ranchers transitioning their land to regenerative management are taking significant financial risks to improve their land, create a better quality of life, and entice the next generation to come home. As an organization, WSE understand this and has vowed to continue to give them the knowledge, tools, and connections to make sound financial decisions for their unique operations.

We heard so many words of wisdom and experience from producers, marketers, and buyers during the three-day event and WSE is working to get recordings of the sessions ready to share! Below are a few tidbits from two of our keynote presenters:

“The non-GMO and organic movements have been talked about as values-based movements because the consumer purchases with their dollars, and it’s an emotional plea that’s made on those packages to get them to do that. Those movements were incorrectly termed values-based movements when they’re actually scientific-based movements. And now that same thing is starting to happen with the regenerative movement where people are saying it’s this emotional plea and it’s that heartfelt pull. But never forget that at the base of this is a science-based movement based on what happens in your soil, with your animals, and with your health. All of those things are part and parcel of the system. These are scientific-based movements and there is absolutely proof for what those outcomes are if you care to look.”

—Tina Owens during the “Why EVERYONE Needs to Market” panel

“What does a paradigm shift in the food supply and agriculture look like? To us, the picture appears in the eyes of the farmer and rancher when they look at us intensely and tell us over and over they are fed up with our system today. They tell us convincingly that they are ready to give up goals like yield and commodity pricing and work toward outcomes like health, nutrition, and community. And that’s why they are interested in the regenerative movement—its outcomes are the ones they find most satisfying to attach to their work on the farm or ranch… … When [producers] meet allies in the supply chain who want to help them, things start to happen.”

—Ryan Slabaugh of Think Regeneration, post-conference via LinkedIn

Whether outcomes or science, producers and consumers alike are ready for change and are finding their personal WHY. WSE is excited to continue this conversation, to meet producers where they are at, and to support them on their journey toward a better future!

Stay tuned as we share more snippets from the conference via social media in the coming months! Recordings will be made available to both in-person and virtual conference attendees for FREE and will be available for purchase for $25 each starting November 1st for those unable to attend. Examples of some of the most popular sessions include: Carbon Company Comparison, Food Is Medicine, Marketing 101, Innovative Rancher Panel, and What Consumers Want.

View the full agenda here. If you have questions about purchasing a recording, please contact hstoltz@wsestaff.org

speakers of the regenerative expanding markets conference at dinner in Billings montana

Pictured: Speakers at the 3rd annual Expanding Markets Conference meet over dinner to explore ways to collaborate across the supply chain.

Recent Posts

Gabriele Haughian is the WSE Communications and Education Specialist

Gabriele Haughian is our new Communications and Marketing Specialist at WSE. Gabriele is a fourth-generation agriculturalist with a passion that runs deep for all things agriculture. The past five years, she has had the privilege of teaching agriculture, shop classes and advising FFA students. Gab thrives on engaging with people from diverse backgrounds and considers herself a lifelong learner. Born and raised in Montana, she has a profound appreciation for the diversity and agricultural significance of our Big Sky state. Gabriele and her husband Evan farm and ranch in Eastern MT, where they raise Black Angus cattle and grow irrigated hay. We are excited for Gab to be a part of our WSE team!

jessica harvey lilley farmers market assistant

Jessica Harvey Lilley was raised in Park County and attended MSU Billings. She began her career in finance and lending. She is passionate about making a positive impact on the community where she is raising her children. This led her to get involved with several local nonprofits, where she gained knowledge and experience in nonprofit accounting and programs. She looks forward to continuing to support the community through the Livingston Farmers Market.⁠
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Jessica is helping with Shannan with all things Livingston Farmers Market! From setting up and manning the booth to helping with planning and administration, volunteer recruitment, and more, Jessica is Shannan’s very important right-hand gal! 

Chelsea Phipps Grazing Outreach

Chelsea Phipps is an Eastern Montana native and ranches with her husband and two children just outside of Jordan, MT. Chelsea is passionate about the connection between the health of the land, animals, and humans.⁠

Chelsea is joining us as a Rancher Recruiter where her primary focus will be to educate and assist with onboarding eligible operations for the carbon program in partnership with Native.⁠ Chelsea will be traveling around the eastern part of Montana, working with ranchers on grazing plans toward this effort!

adele stenson Rancher Coordinator

Adele Stenson and her husband Kip ranch with her parents just west of Wibaux, Montana. They raise commercial cattle and irrigated hay, and their three adult daughters come home to help out when they can. 



Adele works as a Rancher Coordinator where she assists ranchers with the Native grassland carbon program, grazing planning and programming, and communications.

The Stenson’s were first introduced to WSE a few years ago when they began to explore the Native carbon program. The first WSE workshop they attended turned out to be their first step toward learning all they could about regenerative agriculture. Since then they have signed a contract with Native which is helping them improve their grazing program through a little fencing and a lot of water development; started raising worms for vermicast; and implemented several changes that they hope will lead to healthier land, wildlife, livestock, and bank accounts.

Tara Povalish native grazing analyst
Tara Povalish earned a B.S. in Animal Science, Livestock Management and Industry from Montana State University. Before joining Native, she worked in the Montana agriculture industry and is excited to combine her agriculture background and passion for sustainability for the Northern Great Plains Improved Grazing Carbon Project.
 
As an Analyst for Native’s Northern Great Plains Grasslands Program, Tara helps develop, maintain, and manage grazing plans, maps, reports, and other key project data. She works directly with participating ranchers in Montana, in collaboration with WSE, to collect and manage reporting data, supports and facilitates access to improved ranching management resources, and oversees adherence to program objectives.
 
In her free time she enjoys riding her horse, fly fishing, hiking, and home decor.
Holly Fretwell conservation econoimist in Montana

Holly Fretwell is president of Montana Connections, LLC where she does economic conservation consulting and hospitality management, is co-owner of the Jammin Jackalope camping and cabins, and is a research fellow at PERC, the Property and Environment Research Center. For nearly three decades Fretwell’s research has focused on public lands policy, private conservation, property rights, and markets. Her passion is helping others understand how free markets and trade can help enhance conservation and environmental quality.

Fretwell holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in resource economics from Montana State University. An educator at heart, Fretwell taught economics at Montana State University for 15 years, provided tools and curriculum for high school teachers to motivate economic thinkers, and has authored two books.

Joel Henry, Lawyer headshot

Dr. Joel Henry enjoys the complexity at the intersection of law, business, and technology, given he earned two computer science degrees from Montana State University, a Ph.D. in computer science from Virginia Tech, a J.D. at the University of Montana, and started his own software company.

Joel is one of a handful of people in the US with both a PhD in computer science and a JD. He is one of the leading experts in Montana, and nationwide, on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology law. A significant area of his practice also includes complex, cutting-edge legal matters around new technologies, including artificial intelligence, GDPR, and other data privacy laws, IT security, and data breaches. He also serves as an expert witness on litigation matters involving technology issues, electronic discovery, and digital forensics.

In his free time, Joel enjoys brewing beer, casting flies, tracking elk, floating rivers, backpacking, and hiking, but only when he isn’t spending time with his family.

Lauren Dillon received her B.S. in Visual Communications from the University of California, Davis. Lauren became passionate about working with missional companies that dared to challenge the status quo after a few years spent working for Patagonia. In 2012 Lauren seized an opportunity to move to Wyoming and consequently spent eight years working seasonally across the West as a photographer–each year becoming more interested in the intersection of ranching and conservation. Lauren made her way to Montana in 2017 to manage the guest program at J Bar L Ranch–a regenerative, grass-fed beef operation and one of WSE’s partners–where she quickly became fascinated by learning about soil health ranch’s land management and conservation projects. Lauren is excited to continue supporting land stewardship and regenerative producers through her work on the Communications and Farmers’ Market teams.

Matt Skoglund of North Bridger Bison, WSE board

Matt Skoglund is the founder and owner of North Bridger Bison, a bison ranch rooted in Regenerative Agriculture principles located in Montana’s Shields Valley. Prior to starting North Bridger Bison, Matt was the Director of the Northern Rockies Office for the Natural Resources Defense Council, where he worked on various conservation issues in Montana and the Northern Rockies for a decade. Matt is a graduate of Middlebury College and the University of Illinois College of Law. He is passionate about food and ranching, and he loves to hunt, garden, cook, and forage for morel mushrooms in the spring. Matt and his wife, Sarah, have two young kids, Otto and Greta.

Mark Ledger, former banker and WSE board member

Mark Ledger has been a member of the board since 2005, having served as Chair twice during that time.  Professionally, Mark’s career has involved  international finance,  business counseling and private equity.  Having spent all of his high school summers as a hand on a family cattle ranch in Big Timber, he has long standing ties in the area and retains a personal interest in agricultural and environmental sustainability.   Mark serves on the boards of multiple non-profits, including land trusts, inner-city homelessness, urban micro-finance and a foundation dedicated to underserved populations.  He and his wife, Ann, live in Pennsylvania and have two children and four grandsons.

Alex Blake is a regenerative rancher from Big Timber and a producer coordinator
for WSE. He lives and works on the ranch and tree nursery his parents started in 1973 on a foundation of deep appreciation for the natural environment. Alex holds a Master’s in Agribusiness from Texas A&M University but has gotten most of his agrarian education from hands-on experience on farms and ranches in places as diverse as Kenya and Argentina. He enjoys being a part of the progressive rancher support network in south-central Montana and draws inspiration from those who are constantly challenging old ranching paradigms. He was an artillery Captain in the United States Marine Corps and is a proud husband and father to a two-year-old daughter.

Chris Mehus the executive director of regenerative agriculture non-profit, western sustainability exchange

Chris Mehus, born, raised, and educated in Montana, has always maintained a joint passion for agriculture and the outdoors. He has applied his degrees in Wildlife Biology and Range Science to assist and advocate for ranchers who have a strong conservation ethic. After 10 years of direct ranching in Southern Montana putting his education to practice in numerous areas of grazing management and planning, Chris spent many years working in rural business, economic, and financial planning giving him unique insight into the workings of a ranch business to understand economic drivers and incentives that make ranching with nature a more profitable operating model than typical conventional practices. He is an outspoken advocate for the Ranching For Profit, Integrity Soils, Holistic Management International, and related schools of thought and how they can be applied to create a thriving ranch business while creating healthy, functioning ecological systems with rich soil and diverse wildlife populations.

WSE livingston farmers market manager Shannan Mascari

Shannan Mascari joined the Western Sustainability Exchange (WSE) team in 2019 as Office Administrator and Farmers Market Manager. Mascari attended Chico State University in Chico, California prior to moving to Montana in 1996. Upon moving here, she became a certified nursing assistant, caring for the elderly, before moving on to an administrative position with a wetlands restoration company. There, her hard work and dedication earned her the title of Vice President of Operations. She has over 18 years of administrative and managerial experience.

Mascari’s passion for taking care of the planet and the people who inhabit it is a perfect fit for WSE and the Farmers Market program. She and her husband, Jason, have three children and can often be found at soccer games, enjoying the great outdoors, or simply relaxing at their home on the Yellowstone River.

Lauren Dillon received her B.S. in Visual Communications from the University of California, Davis. Lauren became passionate about working with missional companies that dared to challenge the status quo after a few years spent working for Patagonia. In 2012 Lauren seized an opportunity to move to Wyoming and consequently spent eight years working seasonally across the West as a photographer–each year becoming more interested in the intersection of ranching and conservation. Lauren made her way to Montana in 2017 to manage the guest program at J Bar L Ranch–a regenerative, grass-fed beef operation and one of WSE’s partners–where she quickly became fascinated by learning about soil health ranch’s land management and conservation projects. Lauren is excited to continue supporting land stewardship and regenerative producers through her work on the Communications and Farmers’ Market teams.

Lill Erickson, the ecosystem services program director of Western Sustainability Exchanage

Lill Erickson has deep conviction to protect the incomparable landscape, wildlife, and way of life of the rural West, especially Montana. In 1994 Lill founded Western Sustainability Exchange to do just that.  Leading up to it’s conception,  Lill was an organizer for conservation nonprofits throughout the west, caretaker of a cattle ranch bordering Yellowstone National Park, and an advisor to a national committee to craft a strategy to promote agricultural sustainability. 

These experiences gave her the prowess to implement regenerative agriculture practices and develop market-based conservation strategies to ensure a healthy, long standing, and profitable relationship between nature and innovative land stewards. 

Lill loves her community of Livingston, spending as much time as work allows adventuring with friends in nature, and caring for and cavorting with her two dogs and two cats.

Rebecca Kurnick of Montana Aleworks

Rebecca Kurnick is a research scientist at Edaphix where she works to support healthy landscapes by mitigating undesirable species from a soil health lens. She has a background in local food systems and degrees in Soil Science and Agricultural Education from MSU. Rebecca discovered her passion for healthy soil and working landscapes through her work on farms and ranches in Maine and Montana. She enjoys helping people understand why it’s important to support the farmers and ranchers who contribute to functioning ecosystems. Rebecca and her husband Ryan enjoy hauling their two young children around the mountains on rafts, bikes, and skis teaching them about the places they love.

Malou Anderson-Ramierz resides on her family ranch in Tom Miner Basin, Montana, where she and her husband Dre live and work while raising their two daughters, Esme and Hasell. Aside from working on the ranch and learning about holistic management systems, she has psychology, social work, and equine-assisted therapies background. Malou enjoys working in community-building and land-based practices. Helping people and communities reconnect to themselves through restoring landscapes, coexisting with wildlife, and creating strong and thriving communities for both human and the more-than-human. When she’s not on the ranch or tending to kiddos, animals, or listening to lands, she loves exploring newfound communities- both urban and rural, reading, riding her horse, and sitting next to the ocean.

Carrie Balkcom is the Executive Director of the American Grassfed Association. AGA is the National multi-species entity organized to protect and promote Grassfed and pasture-based farmers and ranchers.

AGA is the leader in pasture-based production and the oldest grass-fed certification in the United States. AGA certifies ruminants and dairy.
Carrie grew up on a Florida cattle ranch and has stayed connected to the agriculture and livestock industry. She has spoken, presented, or coordinated numerous regional and national conferences; and is well known in agricultural, culinary, and sustainable agricultural circles.

Andrew Anderson, manager of J Bar L Ranch in Montana

Andrew Anderson is originally from Tom Miner Basin, where his family ranch is located. Currently, he manages J Bar L Ranches in the Centennial Valley and Melville, MT. His wife Hilary and four children have worked on the J Bar L for 13 years, helping to manage cow/calf, yearling, and grass-fed beef enterprises. They feel incredibly fortunate to ranch in wild and complex ecosystems and continually strive to learn how to preserve these unique places’ health, diversity, and integrity.

Dylan Hoffman is the Director of Sustainability for Yellowstone National Park Lodges. He oversees park-wide environmental efforts, compliance issues, and programs to curb the park’s contribution to climate change. In addition to his passion for helping to protect our environment, Dylan enjoys recreating in the greater Yellowstone ecosystem – including floating our local rivers, Nordic and backcountry skiing, hunting, or waving around a fly rod. Dylan lives in Gardiner, MT, with his partner, Erin, and their two little girls, Steely and Merrick.

Brittany Masters is the co-founder of Go Roam Free, a regenerative bison ranch and food business. As a first-generation rancher, Brittany brings her brand marketing and strong business sense to the world of sustainable animal agriculture. Brittany is passionate about developing brands and premium health products. Brittany spent 9 years as a Marketing Director at the Boeing Company, where she focused on reviving the Boeing brand and serving as a brand consultant to airline customers. During that time, she launched a startup food brand in the Middle East and finished her MBA at Seattle Pacific University. As WSE’s Secretary, Brittany hopes to help family-scale ranches transition to regenerative agriculture while improving their profitability in order to preserve the best of the west.

Roger Indreland, together with his wife Betsy, own and manages Indreland Angus, north of Big Timber, Montana. Roger is a third-generation rancher with a Farm & Ranch Management degree from Montana State University and forty-four years in the registered Angus business. Roger has found his niche in the grass-fed bull business, hosting an annual bull sale each December.

For over thirty years, Roger and Betsy have regenerated the landscape by placing value in building soil health and increasing biodiversity to complement Mother Nature’s system. As Roger says, “Our soil is the key to our success, so decisions are made with that in mind.”

In 2020, the Sweet Grass Chamber of Commerce honored them as “Ag Persons of the Year” and were nominated in 2021 as “Tow Rope Heroes” by the Northern Ag Network

WSE logo

TBD

Colin McClure is a proud Bobcat Fan and a 3rd generation graduate from Montana State University in Soil and Water Science. As a 4th generation Montana descendant with ties to active farming and ranching operations in the Flathead as well as central Montana, Colin was raised in and around agriculture. Colin is strongly rooted in both traditional and regenerative agricultural practices focusing on improving the livelihood of all Montanans.

Holly Stoltz, Communications Manager

Holly Stoltz’s greatest passion has always been helping people in the agricultural community. Throughout her career, she has revitalized a small-town newspaper, promoted businesses and organizations with her screen printing and embroidery business, actively mentored area business start-ups, and supported the 4-H program as club organization leader and activist.

Montana ranch-raised and marrying into a family ranch, agriculture has always been a part of her life.  Because of this, her degree in marketing, writing experience, and seeing the need to shift away from traditional ag practices, Holly has become a vocal supporter of regenerative agriculture as the only way to secure this legacy for future generations.

Tyrrell Hibbard enjoyed an upbringing in agriculture and conservation and today serves as a producer coordinator and senior advisor for WSE. Tyrrell is a rancher by day and distiller by night. He manages a seasonal custom grazing operation on his family’s multi-generational ranchland on the Continental Divide west of Helena. He also owns and operates Gulch Distillers in downtown Helena, producing award-winning spirits from Montana grains and fruits. When not actively engaged in agriculture or adding value to agricultural products, Tyrrell pursues conservation goals through WSE and Prickly Pear Land Trust. He serves on the board of directors. Tyrrell earned his bachelor’s degree in English from Duke University. He lives in Helena with his wife and two daughters.