We are a diverse group of scientists, producers, and public and private sector professionals dedicated to finding sustainable agricultural solutions.
Grassland 2.0 is a collaborative group of scientists, educators, farmers, agencies, policymakers, processors, retailers, and consumers working to develop pathways for increased farmer profitability, yield stability and nutrient and water efficiency, while improving water quality, soil health, biodiversity, and climate resilience through grassland-based agriculture.
Meet our team
Grassland 2.0 is more than a team, it’s a movement, and hundreds of people across the state and beyond have engaged with the project. Outlined below are our project leaders and their areas of expertise.
Jessica Mehre
Grassland ecology and learning hubs
Jessica is a PhD student in the Environment & Resources program at UW-Madison. Following a MSc at the University of Guelph studying soil carbon under rotationally versus continuously grazed pastures in southwest Ontario, she returned to her home state of Wisconsin to pursue transdisciplinary grasslands research. Her work incorporates soil carbon tracing in agroecosystems, themes of place and place-making in southeast Wisconsin, and a quantification of the social costs of agriculture. Jessica draws inspiration and perspective from a dairy farm upbringing, as well as a variety of roles in private industry working with farmers across the country.
Sarah Lloyd
Grass-fed supply chains
Sarah farms with her husband Nels Nelson and his family on the 400-cow Nelson dairy farm in Columbia County, WI. She works off-farm as a Food Systems Scientist for the UW-Madison Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems and a Supply Chain Specialist for the University of Minnesota Forever Green Initiative, working on the Grassland 2.0 Project. She also works with the Wisconsin Food Hub Cooperative, the farmer-led cooperative founded in 2012 focusing on fresh local and regional produce, owned by the farmers and the Wisconsin Farmers Union. Sarah has a PhD in Rural Sociology from UW-Madison and a Masters in Rural Development from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Sarah is active in the Wisconsin Farmers Union, serving on the state Board and in her local county chapter. She is also the President of the Board of the Wormfarm Institute.
Chuck Anderas
Grassland Policy and Governance
Chuck is the associate policy director at the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute. Chuck is a key organizer of Grassland 2.0’s Driftless Learning Hub. In addition, Chuck works with the Uplands Watershed Group in southwest Wisconsin. He is organizing Wisconsin’s Grazing Coalition, and he uses GrazeScape and SmartScape as tools in conversations shaping state and federal policy. Chuck grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and he got curious about water quality as a child wondering what could have been for the Fox River and the Bay.
Claudio Gratton
Grassland modeling & biodiversity
Claudio has been on the faculty in the Entomology department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison since 2003. His research group works broadly on the landscape ecology of arthropods in managed and natural environments. His group has been involved in research understanding landscapes and management interact to affect the conservation of beneficial insects in agricultural landscapes. They have examined the role of unmanaged “non-crop” lands in the agricultural matrix and their effects on the abundance and diversity of beneficial insects such as predators and pollinators. His group’s work on insect conservation has partnered them with Wisconsin potato, soybean, cranberry, apple, and vegetable growers as well as rotational graziers. In addition, Claudio’s group has partnered with state, federal, and non-governmental conservation organizations on research and initiatives aimed at pollinator conservation in agricultural landscapes.
Eric Booth
Grassland modeling & ecohydrology
Eric is an Associate Scientist and Lecturer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the Departments of Agronomy and Civil & Environmental Engineering as well as the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies. Generally, he studies the interactions between water, land, climate, and humans primarily using biophysical computer models and field monitoring. He works at multiple scales: from a continental look at impacts of corn ethanol production to a stream-reach investigation of different restoration techniques. He also works across multiple disciplines including hydrology, ecology, geology, agronomy, history, and social science. His research involves a strong public outreach component not only to communicate relevant findings but to better understand local knowledge, experiences, and perspectives related to water and land. He holds a BS in Environmental Engineering from UW-Madison (2004), MS in Hydrologic Science from UC-Davis (2006), and PhD in Limnology from UW-Madison (2011).
Ashley Becker Steele
Grassland ecology
Ashley is an Environment and Resources PhD candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research explores relationships between agricultural practices and soil health, particularly soil carbon storage, as well as opportunities for more sustainable agriculture through conversations with farmers. She grew up on a farm in eastern Iowa, so when she envisions agricultural change, she grounds herself in thinking of her family’s farming operation and rural community. Ashley finds joy in doing research that connects her to her home while providing opportunities to learn from farmers in Wisconsin and beyond.
Adena Rissman
Grassland policy and governance
Adena is a Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor in the Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She leads the PIE lab: People, Institutions and Ecosystems. Her interdisciplinary research examines society, policy, and natural resources including the ownership and governance of natural and agricultural lands. Adena collaborates with social and ecological scientists, practitioners, and stakeholders on projects funded by the US Department of Agriculture and National Science Foundation. She received her PhD from the University of California at Berkeley on research about grazed oak woodland conservation and management.
Lexi Schank
Grassland modeling and learning hubs
Lexi is a research specialist in the department of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences at UW-Madison where she oversees the daily operations of the Wisconsin Integrated Cropping Systems Trial (WICST). Lexi grew up on her family’s fourth generation dairy farm in Trempealeau County where her deep-seeded passion for a sustainable agricultural future was first cultivated. She holds a B.S. in Plant Biology and Life Sciences Communication with a certificate in Food Systems from UW-Madison. Lexi’s role with Grassland 2.0 is to train producers, service providers, and community members on the suite of decision support tools and to empower communities to work collaboratively on a plan for the future that builds resilience, allowing agricultural communities to thrive.
Jim Munsch
Grassland modeling
Jim provides financial planning expertise and training, specifically on how to use our Heifer Grazing and Beef Grazing Compasses. He works with specialty crop and livestock farms, helping operators to make data-driven decisions to improve profitability. He also raises his own grass-fed beef in the Driftless area of Wisconsin and has used managed grazing on perennial pasture for 35 years. Jim provides pasture management consulting for beef, dairy, and other ruminant producers. He is a graduate of Purdue University with a BS in Agricultural Engineering and an MS in Industrial Management.
Randy Jackson
Grassland ecology
Randy is a professor of Grassland Ecology in the Department of Agronomy at UW-Madison. Most of our agriculture happens in the grassland biome, which has provided for our caloric needs, but undermined our drinking water, climate, and biodiversity. Most of the research in Randy’s lab seeks to understand how the management of agroecosystems influences their productivity, carbon storage, nutrient retention, and habitat.
John Hendrickson
Grassland modeling
John is a farm viability specialist with the Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He and other Grassland 2.0 collaborators designed and built the Heifer Grazing Compass and the Beef Grazing Compass, and he has helped deliver trainings on these tools across Wisconsin. He manages the Compass Program, a suite of spreadsheets designed to help farmers understand the cost of production of their various farm enterprises and market channels. John continues to create new compasses, empowering farmers to make informed decisions.
Anna Cates
Learning Hubs
As Minnesota’s first State Soil Health Specialist in the MN Office for Soil Health, Anna supports the Pine River Learning Hub. She is dedicated to improving soil health in Minnesota by working with farmers and conservation professionals. Anna’s research focuses on soil organic matter cycling and storage in a variety of cropping systems. She received a PhD in Agronomy and an MS in Soil Science and Agroecology from University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Erin Meier
Learning Hubs
Erin is the Director of Green Lands Blue Waters (GLBW), a collaborative initiative focused on shifting the agricultural landscape of the Upper Mississippi River Basin to more acres of marketable continuous living cover (CLC) to improve water quality, soil health, agricultural and community resilience, and the long-term stability of the Basin to the Gulf of Mexico. GLBW is housed at the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture at the University of Minnesota. Erin has over 20 years of experience and training in sustainable agriculture, local food systems, food access, natural resource conservation, clean energy, community engagement and development, and facilitating cross-sector work groups and networks. Erin holds an MS in Sustainable Agriculture from Iowa State University and is a geographer at heart with a BS in Geography from the University of Illinois and past experience as a cartographer and GIS analyst.
Michael Bell
Grassland education
Mike is a professor of Community and Environmental Sociology at UW-Madison. Mike’s research and teaching focuses on a wide range of topics, including issues of agroecology, community, culture, development, economy, environment, gender, participation, place, and social justice, with an eye toward both the practical and theoretical issues of how we might do a better job with all of these matters.
Nick Jordan
Grass-fed Supply Chains
Nick is a Professor of Agronomy & Plant Genetics, at the University of Minnesota. He is an agricultural ecologist, and a Resident Fellow of the University’s Institute on the Environment. He does collaborative research and public engagement to advance diversification in agriculture, using a wide range of research methods. He co-directs the Forever Green Initiative, a cross-sector collaborative network working to advance crops that provide continuous living cover for Midwest agriculture.
Margaret Krome
Grassland Policy and Governance
Margaret is Policy Program Director for the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute in East Troy, Wisconsin. She helps develop state and local programs and policies supporting environmentally sound, profitable, and socially responsible agriculture. Margaret also helps coordinate a farmer-led watershed group in southwest Wisconsin.
Chris Kucharik
Grassland Modeling
Chris is Professor and Chair in the Department of Agronomy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is also affiliated with the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, and the Wisconsin Energy Institute. He is a member of the Working Groups Council for the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts (WICCI), and serves as co-chair for the WICCI Agriculture Working Group. His interdisciplinary research program combines ecosystem modeling with field work on plant physiology, eco-hydrology, and biogeochemical cycling to better understand the impacts of land management decision-making and a changing climate on the food-energy-water nexus. More specifically, the overall mission of his research group is to find ways to enhance the resiliency of ecosystems – and the services they provide – to drivers of global change.
David LeZaks
Grassland Economics and Finance
David is an environmental scientist and financial activist whose work is centered on developing innovative mechanisms for financing the transition to agroecological farming and food systems. Currently, he is a Senior Fellow at the Croatan Institute. Previously, he led the Regenerative Food Systems initiative at Delta Institute in Chicago, where he managed a portfolio of projects that focused on the design and deployment of disruptive mechanisms to unlock substantial capital flows into regenerative agriculture. He serves in advisory roles to Mad Agriculture, the Savanna Institute, Nourishn, Council of Development Finance Agencies’ Food Systems Finance Advisory Council, and the Transformational Investing in Food Systems Initiative, an allied initiative of the Global Alliance for the Future of Food.
We also have a diverse team of meta-stakeholders who serve as project advisors and lend their knowledge, perspectives and expertise to the project as we continually evolve. Those meta-stakeholders include:
- Eric Cates, Cates Family Farm
- Martin Griffin, Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District
- Jordan Mathews, Rosy Lane Dairy
- Scott Mericka, Grass Dairy and Uplands Cheese
- Rod Ofte, Willow Creek Ranch and Wisconsin Meadows Beef Cooperative
- Brian Pillsbury, previously of Wisconsin Natural Resources Conservation Service
- Marie Raboin, Dane County Land and Water Division
- Bryce and Jen Reimer, Reimer Farm
- Rachel Rushmann, Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
- Bob Wills, Cedar Grove Cheese and Clock Shadow Creamery
Our collaborators
In addition to our team and meta-stakeholders, we collaborate with diverse partners from across the state and beyond including:
Cedar Grove Cheese and Clock Shadow Creamery
Dane County Land and Water Division
Grass Dairy and Uplands Cheese
Natural Resources Conservation Service
Organic Valley Farmer Cooperative
Paris Farm
River Country Resource Conservation and Development Council, Inc.
University of Minnesota College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences
University of Minnesota Extension
University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems
University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Agricultural & Life Sciences
University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension
US Dairy Forage Research Center
Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection