à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã

Castellano is professor of agronomy at Iowa State University, where he leads the Iowa Nitrogen Initiative. He currently serves as the U.S. representative to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Soil Science.

Brandel’s significant experience, over 25 years, in watershed management is widely recognized, making him a frequently requested authority and designer on projects throughout the country. He understands the value of bringing landowning partners into the conversation early and often to build trust and consensus. Drawing from their knowledge, he works to identify solutions that address the ecological challenges facing water resources while growing our region’s most integral agricultural industry.

Hay is the owner and principal of Hay Water Solutions, a water and environmental service provider. With over three decades of experience spanning academia, consulting, government, industry and nongovernmental organizations, Hay is an expert in agricultural water management. His current work focuses on agricultural subsurface drainage and mitigating water-quality impacts from agriculture.

Christensen is chief operating officer for Ecosystem Services Exchange, a provider of technical services for water management. He joined Ecosystem Services Exchange in 2020 after retiring from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Christensen has 46 years of experience supporting efforts to assist producers with their conservation needs. His USDA experience included working for three agencies in 16 positions in four states and Washington, D.C. With Natural Resources Conservation Service alone, Christensen held seven senior executive service positions, including associate chief, regional conservationist, deputy chief for programs, director of financial assistance programs, director of conservation operations, director of à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã husbandry and clean water programs and chief information officer. He was also NRCS state conservationist for Illinois. Christensen has a B.S. in forest management from Rutgers University, an M.S. in natural resources conservation from the University of Connecticut, and attended Duke University’s Public Policy Institute through NRCS. Christensen is a recipient of a Presidential Meritorious Executive à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã for Senior Executives for Public Service.

Mitchell is an assistant professor of biology at Xavier University. He earned his Ph.D. in biology from the University of Cincinnati and his M.S. in biology from Loyola University Chicago. His expertise is in ecology and environmental sustainability and his research seeks to apply and improve vegetated systems to address environmental issues associated with food production and urbanization. His research is currently focused on understanding and implementing strategies for maximizing crop production and other benefits from agricultural systems, including carbon and nutrient sequestration and wildlife habitat; and understanding the benefits that vegetated systems such as green roofs provide in urban areas and how they can be managed and designed better to maximize these benefits.

Henning is a Ph.D. candidate in the Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Department at Iowa State University, working with the Ag Water Management research group.

Bly is currently a soils field specialist with SDSU Extension. He works with crop producers and agronomist to solve soil issues through educational activities developed from unbiased soil and crop research. Bly’s knowledge areas include soil fertility, testing and health factors related to resource management and crop productivity. Previously, Bly was employed by the SDSU Department of Plant Science as a research and extension associate from 1992 to 2011. Between 2011 and 2013, Bly provided technical expertise to launch a soil testing lab located in Sioux Falls (AgLab Express). Bly holds a B.S. (88) and M.S. (92) degrees in agronomy from SDSU. Bly is thankful for the many influential mentors he has worked with at SDSU and tries to exemplify their teachings and examples in his work and life.

Entenman is a dedicated conservationist whose passion for nature was cultivated in the varied landscapes of North America. Born in the forests of northern Idaho, he spent his early childhood exploring 16 acres of wilderness before moving to the rolling grasslands of South à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã at age 6. These formative experiences instilled in Entenman a deep connection to the environment and a strong sense of responsibility toward its preservation. With a master's degree in environmental law and policy from Vermont Law School, Entenman has channeled his expertise into leadership roles as the executive director of Friends of the Big Sioux River and the Northern Prairies Land Trust. In these positions, he focuses his efforts on conserving native prairies, cleaning watersheds and educating communities about the importance of environmental stewardship.

Weaver is the chief engineer for the Board of Water and Soil Resources and the state drainage engineer for Minnesota. She has over 20 years of experience in water resources engineering from both the private and public sectors and has been with the Board of Water and Soil Resources for five years. Weaver led the team that developed the Water Quality and Storage Program for Minnesota and is often asked to speak on the benefits of storage for the state.

Comito is an anthropologist involved in research and extension and outreach activities in water, edge-of-field practices, well water, communication, watershed-based community activities, conservation and environmental attitudes. One focus area is farmers’ understanding of water quality issues, soil health and their willingness to adopt conservation practices on their farms and how they communicate about these issues. This includes work listening to farmers in a variety of venues: field days, workshops, listening sessions and one-on-one conversations. Comito marks her 20th year with the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach program, Iowa Learning Farms, and has been the director since 2012.

Pease is an assistant professor and extension specialist in nutrient and water management with the University of Minnesota. She is stationed at the Northwest Research and Outreach Center in Crookston, where her research focuses on adapting nutrient and water best management practices for the cold climate and unique crop rotations of the Red River Valley.

Gieseke is an agricultural water management extension educator. He began this role in October 2024 and will focus on irrigation and agriculture drainage. His career prior to this role has revolved around landscape and natural resource management and agriculture's interdependent relationship with those resources. His B.S. in biology and a M.S. in environmental science prepared him for careers in local soil and water conservation, agriculture production, federal farm policy, agro-ecological consulting and natural resource management within state government. This multisector experience provided him with insights into the role governance plays in achieving the common goals of entities having different governance approaches. This applied research was the basis for his trilogy of books addressing the environmental, socioeconomic and governance aspects of landscape sustainability.

Kjaersgaard is a research scientist with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. He grew up on a family farm in Denmark and has worked on grain and livestock farms in Denmark, New Zealand, and the United States. His research and outreach activities are focused on water and nutrient management in irrigated or drained crop production systems, including documenting benefits of irrigation and drainage conservation practices such as saturated buffers. He is the current chair for the Conservation Drainage Network.

Kult is the executive director of the Agricultural Drainage Management Coalition, where he coordinates efforts to speed the implementation of water management practice delivery throughout the United States. The Agricultural Drainage Management Coalition is an industry-led organization and is recognized as a leader in the development and deployment of conservation drainage practices. Keegan has been working with agricultural water management for more than 15 years and has contributed to 80-plus edge-of-field practice installations, development of new conservation practice standards, and to the scientific literature documenting practice performance and cost effectiveness. He holds a M.S. degree from Iowa State University in environmental science emphasizing on water resources and an B.S. degree also from Iowa State University in forestry.

Gilbertson is manager of the East à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã Water Development District, a regional water conservation and water management government agency based in Brookings and covering much of the Big Sioux River basin. He is widely acknowledged as an expert in matters related to the Big Sioux River and water resources in South à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã.

Trooien helps producers manage water resources and livestock wastes for efficient crop production and enhanced environmental quality. Current research projects include measuring the water-quality impacts of manure application during the winter instead of stockpiling it. If winter application can take place without excessive loss in runoff, producer time and storage requirements can be reduced.

Helmers is the director of the Iowa Nutrient Research Center, the dean’s professor in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and a professor in the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering at Iowa State University, where he has been on the faculty since 2003. Helmers’ research areas include studies on the impact of nutrient management, cropping practices, drainage design and management, and strategic placement of buffer systems on nutrient export from agricultural landscapes. He has a regional extension program working to increase adoption of practices that have the potential to reduce downstream nutrient export.

Sands' research and extension work focuses on the enterprise of managing water on the agricultural landscape — to meet both agricultural productivity and water-quality goals. Nutrient movement from agricultural lands to downstream waters is a particular water quality issue facing Minnesota and the northern Cornbelt region, and his work seeks engineering solutions to mitigate these impacts.