Soil Health Academy Presents
Regenerate Your Pocketbook With Stacked Enterprises

Ray Archuleta is a Certified Professional Soil Scientist with the Soil Science Society of America and has over 30 years experience as a Soil Conservationist, Water Quality Specialist, and Conservation Agronomist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). During his tenure with the NRCS Ray served in New Mexico, Missouri, Oregon, and North Carolina.

Ray received his AS degree in Livestock Science from Northern New Mexico College and a BS degree in Agricultural Biology plus 30 hours of graduate work in soil related courses from New Mexico State University. He served in the Peace Corps for two years in Guatemala as a Livestock Specialist.

After his retirement from the NRCS in 2017, Ray founded Understanding Ag, LLC, and Soil Health Academy, LLC, to teach Biomimicry strategies and Agroecology principles for improving soil function on a national scale. Ray also owns and operates a 150-acre farm near Seymour, Missouri that he operates along with his wife and family.

Gabe Brown is one of the pioneers of the current soil health movement which focuses on the regeneration of our resources. Gabe, along with his wife Shelly, and son Paul, own and operate Brown's Ranch, a diversified 5,000 acre farm and ranch near Bismarck, North Dakota. The ranch consists of several thousand acres of native perennial rangeland along with perennial pastureland and cropland. Their ranch focuses on farming and ranching in nature's image. The Browns holistically integrate their grazing and no-till cropping systems, which include a wide variety of cash crops, multi-species cover crops along with all natural grass finished beef and lamb. They also raise pastured laying hens, broilers and swine. This diversity and integration has regenerated the natural resources on the ranch without the use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and fungicides. The Browns are part owners of a state inspected abattoir which allows them to direct market their products. They believe that healthy soil leads to clean air, clean water, healthy plants, animals, and people. Over 2,000 people visit the Brown's Ranch annually to see this unique operation. They have had visitors from all fifty states and twenty-four foreign countries. Gabe and Brown's Ranch have received many forms of recognition for their work, including a Growing Green award from the Natural Resource Defense Council, an Environmental Stewardship Award from the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, and a Zero-Till Producer of the Year Award, to name a few. Gabe has also been named one of the twenty- five most influential agricultural leaders in the United States. Gabe recently authored the book, “Dirt to Soil, One Family’s Journey Into Regenerative Agriculture.” He is a partner, along with Ray Archuleta and Dr. Allen Williams, in Understanding Ag LLC. He is also an instructor for Soil Health Academy, which focuses on teaching others the power and importance of healthy functioning ecosystems.

Shane New, from Holton, Kansas, is a stockman, entrepreneur, and partner with Understanding Ag, LLC. He is a graduate of Kansas State University. Shane was a civil contractor and sod producer for 20 years prior to completely focusing on regenerative agriculture. Despite doing various things, he has been doing soil health practices for many years. Some of these practices include no-tilling, cover crops, rotational grazing, and adaptive grazing.

Shane and his wife Kelli have three children. They own and operate New Family Farms located in Holton, Kansas. The farm consists of cover crops, cattle, and free range chickens. They currently market their meat and eggs.

Shane and New Family Farms received the Soil Health Award in 2017 by the Jackson County Conservation District. This was awarded for outstanding accomplishments in the management of soil health and related sources. Shane also completed Dr. Elaine Ingham’s Life in the Soils courses. His passion is production agriculture and believes that the future for agriculture and human health has to come from regenerative agricultural practices.

Allen Williams is a 6th generation family farmer and founding partner of Grass Fed Insights, LLC, Understanding Ag, LLC and the Soil Health Academy. He is also a partner in Joyce Farms, Inc. He has consulted with more than 4000 farmers and ranchers in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, South America, and other countries, on operations ranging from a few acres to over 1 million acres.

Allen pioneered many of the early regenerative grazing protocols and forage finishing techniques and now teaches those practices and principles to farmers globally. He is a “recovering academic”, having served 15 years on the faculty at Louisiana Tech University and Mississippi State University. He holds a B.S. and M.S. in Animal Science from Clemson University and a Ph.D. in Livestock Genetics from LSU. He has authored more than 400 scientific and popular press articles, and is an invited speaker at regional, national, and international conferences and symposia. Major areas of research and business focus include soil health, cover crop/livestock integration, adaptive forage & grazing management, high attribute pasture-based meat production, and alternative marketing systems.

Allen and his colleagues specialize in whole farm & ranch planning based on the concept of regenerative agriculture. Their approach creates significant “value add” and prepares the landowner for multiple enterprise/revenue stream opportunities that stack enterprises and acres. This approach allows for enhanced profitability and/or investment value. They routinely conduct workshops and seminars across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

He has been featured in several of the Carbon Nation film series, “Soil Carbon Cowboys” (www.soilcarboncowboys.com), on the Dr. Oz show, ABC Food Forecast News, and in Kiss The Ground, A Regenerative Secret, The Farmer’s Footprint film series and the Sacred Cow film series. He co-authored a book with Teddy Gentry, “Before You Have A Cow”. Allen is a regular contributor to “GRAZE” and “Stockman GrassFarmer” and has written articles for the “Organic Broadcaster” and many other publications. Several of his presentations and webinars can be found on the Pasture Project website at www.pastureproject.org.
He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Grass Fed Exchange and the Mississippi Sustainable Agriculture Network, is a Core Team Member of the Pasture Project, and Co-Investigator for Team SoilCarbon. He also serves as an officer in the Starkville Civitan Club, the Central Oktibbeha Fire Department BOD, and is active in his local church.