Dr. Thomas Dykstra is the Laboratory Director of his own lab, Dykstra Laboratories in Gainesville, Florida.  For over 30 years, he has studied bioelectromagnetics (how electromagnetic fields affect life), especially as it relates to insects.  He holds entomology degrees from Cornell University as well as the University of Florida and has been awarded eight patents.  Dr. Dykstra consults for farmers, agricultural companies, tech firms, attorneys, international governments, and insurance agencies.  He has visited three continents and presents lectures on diverse topics covering entomology, olfactory physiology, biophysics, paramagnetism, neurobiology, and biological antennae.  In terms of active research, Dr. Dykstra deciphered the insect olfactory code back in 2016 and characterizes chemoreceptors for various medical and agricultural insect pests.  He teaches both farmers and agricultural consultants how to raise healthy crops for their families and for profit. 

Rion Naus is a Stewardship Ambassador, Certified Public Health Educator, and the founder of We Grow With, LLC. His work focuses on helping farmers, agronomists, and agricultural organizations better understand the full system of soil health by integrating biology, mineral balance, plant function, and environmental influence.

With a background in Wilderness Therapy and Experiential Education, Rion brings a unique, real-world approach to agriculture that blends science, observation, and application. He translates complex soil biology and regenerative principles into practical, usable strategies that farmers can implement across diverse farming systems.

Through his Soil CPR™ framework, Rion teaches growers how to assess, understand, and respond to what’s happening in their soil—bridging the gap between data, observation, and decision-making in the field. His work emphasizes restoring microbial function, improving nutrient cycling, and building resilient systems that perform under real-world conditions.

Rion works with producers and organizations across the country, contributing to field days, educational programs, and on-farm development. His role is not to sell products, but to serve as a trusted resource helping growers connect the dots between practices, inputs, and outcomes.

He also developed Foundational Fungi®, a biologically driven input designed to support microbial diversity and soil function, and remains actively involved in collaborative projects, research, and education within the regenerative agriculture space.

“Proven at scale to improve yours.”

Being innovative in farming has become a required skill to navigate extreme weather, funding restrictions or losses, and building a business that can thrive.
Roy Pfaltzgraff is a third generation dryland farmer in northeast Colorado. With its fair share of drought, Roy has learned how diversity and a focus on soil health has been the cornerstone of building an operation that can sustain itself.
Roy believes in soil stewardship, which goes well beyond planning the next crop. Ecology of the land, and raising food for all forms of life, requires understanding of diversity, biology, and astute observation.
Like may farmers, Roy wants a viable operation where you can hear the birds sing, insects buzzing, see antelope grazing, and the rain, raining…gently. And to do that, we all need to be soil stewards so that life can beget more life.

Residue: A Little goes a Long Way in Semi-Arid Agriculture

Maintaining soil moisture and surface protection is critical for crop production in semi-arid systems. Since 2024, we have conducted intensive measurements of surface energy balance, carbon fluxes, and soil gas exchange at Pfaltzgraff Farms.

Experimental fields have included camelina, millet, and sorghum with varying levels of residue cover.

These measurements have enabled quantification of how residue influences the surface energy balance. Even low levels of residue significantly modify energy partitioning, reducing soil evaporation rates and improving conditions for crop establishment.

In fall 2025, camelina was planted following black-eyed peas in a field with minimal residue cover. Compared to a field with sorghum residue, this site experienced a substantially harsher surface microclimate over the fall and winter period.

These observations highlight the importance of residue management in mediating microclimate and water conservation, with significant implications for crop productivity in water-limited environments.

Shelterbelts are vital in windblown areas to protect crops, but living shelterbelts require water and nutrients which compete with crops for these limited resources. Join Tibor Hegedus, designer of the one-of-a-kind dynamic agrivoltaic shelterbelt that produces renewable energy, protects crops, promotes soil moisture retention, and enhances plant water use efficiency. This presentation is for anyone interested in solutions to help conserve groundwater resources and increase crop production, data center representatives looking for off-grid options for data storage, and utility companies or co-ops looking for additional options for renewable energy.
To learn more about Longboard Power and Tibor’s research visit Longboardpower.com or https://www.linkedin.com/in/tibor-hegedus-5a9527122/recent-activity/all/

Ian arrived at Pfaltzgraff Farms as part of soil health research thru Colorado State University. After a misdirected combine left no residue in part of one of our fields, Ian has helped the farm see how much impact residue has on soil moisture and crop performance in the subsequent years.

Ian Aksland is President and Co-Founder of SoilSignal, an applied environmental sensing company focused on practical soil moisture monitoring, irrigation decision support, and field-based environmental sensing. He works with growers and project partners to use sensor systems and data tools in ways that are practical, useful, and grounded in real-world conditions.

Trent is a Grasslands Habitat Coordinator for the Colorado Parks and Wildlife. What makes him great for Easter Colorado is having grown up on a small farming and ranching operation in south central Colorado where he developed a passion for wildlife, habitat, and working lands.

He’s worked at CPW for over 26 years, all of it on the eastern plains of Colorado. A majority of that time has been delivering wildlife and habitat conservation on private lands as well as on State Wildlife Areas. His coordination and management of grassland habitat programs; predominately on private lands, have impacted over 125,000 acres of projects. He co-developed the Corners for Conservation initiative in northeast Colorado, which has delivered over $4 million in habitat projects in the past 11 years.

He has also authored two State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement Continuous Conservation Reserve Program proposals, covering core areas of Eastern Colorado, resulting in large scale conversion of actively farmed lands into diverse grassland habitats. He is a subject matter expert on grassland and wetland habitat establishment, enhancement, and management. We feel lucky to have him share the impacts of the Corners project at Pfaltzgraff Farms on June 17th!