CHAMPION
We demonstrate and advocate for conservation agriculture from the field to the halls of government.
CTIC Staff
Crystal Hatfield
Operations Director
Crystal is responsible for the overall administration. Crystal also handles memberships, sponsorships, and tour registrations. Crystal assists the executive director with all other day to day operations. Crystal joined CTIC in the fall of 2014.
Sue Tull
Project Director
Sue joined CTIC in 2013. She works with multiple projects and partners and also assists CTIC staff with events, communications and administration. Sue spent most of her career in plant breeding research as a soybean technician and plant pathology lab manager. She has also worked with two Soil and Water Conservation Districts in Indiana, as a district technician and urban conservationist.
Julia Gerlach
SD Soil Health Specialist
Julia joined CTIC in July of 2023 to lead the organization’s Farmers for Soil Health program in South Dakota. Fueled by interests in gardening and mycology, the longtime writer and editor developed a passion for conservation agriculture when she worked for Lessiter Media, where she was Executive Editor of No-Till Farmer magazine, Strip-Till Farmer and Cover Crop Strategies. Working with farmers who have implemented soil health practices has helped her see that soil is essential for life itself. To quote soil scientist, Charles E. Kellogg, “There can be no life without soil and no soil without life; they have evolved together.”
Dan Coffman
MN Soil Health Specialist
Dan was born and raised in West Concord, MN on a hobby farm. He attended North Dakota State University majoring in Agricultural Systems Management with a minor in Soil Science
Worked for several co-op's in ND, a seed dealership and local farmer in MN gaining experience in precision agriculture and cover crops. He received the inspiration for conservation from his Dad, Tom Coffman who was a District Conservationist for the NRCS in Rice County, MN. He started his farm operation in 2019 while driving truck part time. He utilizes many soil health practices on his farm including no-till, strip-till, cover crops and livestock integration. Additionally, he has transitioned about 50% of his acres to organic production. He currently reside in Nicollet, MN with his wife Alysha and 4 children. In his free time, he enjoys the outdoors-hunting/fishing/farming, spending time with his family and antique machinery.
Dave Gustafson, Ph.D.
Project Director
Dr. Dave Gustafson is an independent scientist, serving as a project director when needed and in various other roles on multiple CTIC projects, drawing upon his experience in predictive modeling and data analysis. He is a past CTIC Board Chair and had agribusiness experience with Monsanto, Rhone-Poulenc and Shell, as well as his current work at the Agriculture & Food Systems Institute and WSU. Educated as a chemical engineer, Dave holds a BS from Stanford and a Ph.D. from the University of Washington.
Steve Werblow
Communications Consultant
Steve Werblow has worked with CTIC since the early ‘90s, helping promote conservation practices across the country. A graduate of Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Steve is a four-time American Agricultural Editors Association Writer of the Year, award-winning photographer, and self-described "soil hugger.” He is based in Ashland, Oregon, and has covered agricultural stories on six continents for a wide range of farm magazines.
