Dr. Kristina Porter serves as a technical advisor for AgSpire, bringing deep expertise to our livestock focused programs.

She has spent most of her veterinary career focusing on reproduction to maximize performance and profitability for her clients. She has complemented this focus with low-stress animal handling to create the healthiest, most efficient animal possible.

Dr. Kristina has worked alongside members of the Beef Reproduction task force to develop synchronization protocols for the industry. This earned her their “Service to Industry Award” in 2022 for her contributions.

Dr. Kristina is from eastern South Dakota and returned to the family ranch after veterinary school. Dr. Kristina received her BS in Animal Science from Kansas State University in 2008 and her DVM from the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State in 2010. She completed the Executive Veterinary Program from the University of Illinois in 2023.

She and her husband, also a veterinarian, practice in Huron, South Dakota while raising their four daughters and working on the family ranch.

Austin grew up helping on the family century farm and now operates that farm with his uncle raising hogs, corn, and soybeans. Austin has seen the effects of incorporating conservation practices on his own farm and uses those experiences to help others incorporate practices on their operations. Previously, Austin worked as a Sustainability Agronomist working with producers across the country helping bring value to their operations through sustainable practices.

Austin holds a bachelor’s degree in Agronomy from Iowa State University. He is also a Certified Crop Advisor (CCA) and Technical Service Provider (TSP) through NRCS, covering multiple practices and states.

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Derek is passionate about conservation and natural ecosystems – a passion he uses to guide his work as Senior Conservation Agronomist at AgSpire. He has a deep respect for mother nature and the symbiosis organisms have with one another in the environment. In his work, Derek seeks to harness these natural relationships for crop production so that environmental impacts can be mitigated while still producing high quality commodities for the growing world’s population.

Prior to joining AgSpire, Derek spent more than 15 years working with landowners and corporations to design, manage, and validate research trials, maximizing short- and long-term crop outputs. Always eager to learn, he is continuously expanding his knowledge of soil health, chemistry, biology, technical advancements in crop production and integrated pest management (IPM).

Derek holds a bachelor’s degree in Biology from South Dakota State University and a master’s degree in Agronomy from Iowa State University. He is a Certified Crop Advisor (CCA), Technical Service Provider (TSP) for the NRCS, and is also a small business owner.

In his spare time, Derek enjoys the outdoors, coaching youth sports, and spending time with his family.

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Jake’s passion lies in working with farmers which began on the family farm in northeast South Dakota. His pursuit has led him to work in research and development, seed sales, market development, and – more recently – soil health and sustainable agriculture. He enjoys sharing his knowledge with farmers to help them gain a better understanding of what the soil health principles can offer and how to manage expectations.

Jake holds a B.A. in Crop and Weed Sciences from North Dakota State University and a M.S. in Plant and Soil Sciences from Oklahoma State University. He is a sUAV licensed pilot and a board member for the Payne County Conservation District. Additionally, Jake serves as a crop consultant

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With extensive experience utilizing diverse regenerative practices, Jared assists AgSpire’s clients to impact their supply chains through strategy, program design, and on-the-ground implementation.

Jared has 25 years of experience on the land as a part-owner of a diversified livestock and crop farm in Eastern South Dakota that focuses on cow/calf production. Through the lessons learned on his own land, Jared is passionate about equipping fellow farmers and ranchers to enable greater resilience and functionality through positive land management and grazing practices.

Jared’s expertise has been further honed through his background in livestock genetics, seed sales, business development, and as co-host of the Roots + Ruminants Podcast. Jared has a degree in Animal Science from South Dakota State University.

Courtney brings a wealth of knowledge to her role as a Producer Advisor at AgSpire. With a passion rooted in agronomy, she looks forward to making a difference in the industry by helping farmers and ranchers reach their operational goals.

Courtney ranched in Oregon, giving her a taste of the industry and led her to purse a Bachelor’s degree in Animal Sciences and later a Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Business Management at Oregon State University.

Courtney has previously worked as an agronomy sales representative for CHS and an agronomy coach for 406 Agronomy. She currently resides in Northeast Montana where she hopes to share her knowledge of conservation practices and regenerative agriculture with producers across the United States.