Ben Thompson joined his Dad Keith and Uncle Doug in the Osage City, Kansas farming operation in 1998. The Thompson's have been in no-till system long enught that Ben doesn't have any tillage experiences. Following his Dad and Uncle's lead, Ben pushed the farm to reintroduce livestock onto the farm, believing the diverisfication would help financially and agronomically. Ben was right, now the farm has a thriving cattle herd and their soils conitinue to improve.
Keith Thompson's first farming experience was helping his dad, while setting on the seat of a modified horse draw planter at night with a flashlight to watch for when seed ran out or that something hadn’t stopped planter from dropping seeds. After attending Kansas State University studying production ag he became a partners with his dad. His brother joined the partnership in the mid 70's. After their dad retired, the two brothers and Keith's son Ben formed a Limited Liability Corporation in 1998.
Josh Svaty owns and operates Free State Farms, a diversified cow/calf and grain operation in Ellsworth County, Kansas. Josh was born and raised on a farm in Ellsworth County and returned home to run for the Kansas House of Representatives when he was 22 years old. He served three and a half terms before becoming Secretary of Agriculture of Kansas during the Parkinson Administration. Following his time as Agriculture Secretary he served as a Senior Adviser in the Environmental Protection Agency, and then served as Vice President at The Land Institute in Salina. Josh and his wife Kimberly
Daniel King is third-generation owner/manager of Jako Farm, a grass-based, multi-species, seasonal farm near Hutchinson, KS. Jako Farm direct-markets over 100 products to over 2,000 local customers looking for non-GMO, chemical-free food that surpasses organic standards. Daniel and his wife, Robyn, have one son, Luke.
Josh has been using No-till Systems to regenerate soil on his farm in North Central Kansas for over 15 years. His crop rotation is Wheat-Wheat-Double Crop or Cover Crop-Corn or Milo-Soybean-Soybean. A Cow-Calf operation was integrated back into the operation 2 years ago as a way to provide short-term income from cover crops. Josh is Ex-Officio of No-till on the Plains.
Jill Clapperton (PhD) is the Principal Scientist and Co-founder of Rhizoterra Inc. She is a well-known researcher, international lecturer and advocate for practices that promote soil health. In 2013, she was the Syngenta No Till Innovator for Research and Education, other awards include the Environment Canada Patricia Roberts-Pichette Award for enthusiastic leadership and commitment to furthering ecological monitoring and assessment in Canada.
