About Farm Advisors

Farm Advisors is a mentoring program designed and led by Indiana farmers, with the goal of flattening the learning curve for regenerative agriculture practices.

Back in the farm shop at the Cheesewright farm

Farmers Mentoring Farmers

What we areA farmer-designed and farmer-led mentoring program based in Indiana
What we doProvide coaching to farmers who want to adopt practices like cover crops, no-till, rotational grazing - and more.
What you getMentees, get a flattened learning curve thanks to farmers who have been there and done that. Mentors and mentees both have access to a wide network of other farmers.
Program tiesBecause Farm Advisors is not directly tied to a cost-share package, participants are free to enroll in the wide variety of available programs.

What farmers gain

Through farmer-led education, peer mentoring, and hands-on collaboration, we deliver outcomes that matter to small and large-scale producers:

Faster, lower-risk adoption of proven soil health practices that fit real-world row crop operations
Practical, data-driven tools that flatten the learning curve and reduce trial-and-error costs
Greater return on every conservation dollar invested through smarter implementation strategies
Sustained profitability and practice retention long after financial assistance programs end
Stronger peer networks built by farmers, for farmers — sharing strategies that work at scale
Tangible environmental and operational results, including improved water quality, reduced input losses, and long-term protection of productive soils

Governance and Administration Committee

Farm Advisors is farmer initiated & farmer led, supported by top Indiana agricultural institutions.

About the Board

A 5-person board of farmers consisting of 3 regional representatives from Indiana (North, Central, and South) + 2 at-large representatives. The board directs the overall program, including financial and governance decisions.

Northern Region: Jamie Scott
Central Region: Rodney RulonChair of the Farm Advisors Board of Directors
Southern Region: Mike Brocksmith
At-Large Members: Cameron Mills and Dan DeSutter

Non-Voting Members

Jim Moseley, former USDA Deputy Secretary of Agriculture
Lisa Holscher, Director, Conservation Cropping Systems Initiative

Rodney Rulon and Austin Conrad talk face to face in a harvested cornfield. — Rodney Rulon, chair of the board, with his mentee Austin Conrad in Hamilton County

Mentor Vetting Committee

A three-person committee of farmers appointed by the board to vet conservation farming mentors & farmer mentees who desire to adopt successful soil health and conservation practices on their own farms.

Staff

Elise Koning

Program Manager

koning@ctic.org
Avery Williams

Communications Intern

Supported by agricultural institutions across Indiana

Financial support for Farm Advisors comes from Indiana Soybean Alliance, The Nature Conservancy in Indiana, STEP Up for Ag, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and donations from farmer-members, and non-operating landowners of the group. Our fiscal sponsor is Conservation Technology Information Center.

In the News

AgriNews, August 3, 2025 Farm Advisors want to share experience with those curious about conservation
Geswein Farm & Land, December 30, 2024 Advice for a farmer by a farmer: Farm Advisors brings mentorship to the field
Indiana Corn and Soybean, September 18, 2024 New conservation mentor program ready to help farmers succeed
Brownfield Ag News, August 14, 2024 Farm Advisors officially launches new farmer mentorship program

Hands hold a clump of soil and roots cut from a cover crop field with a pocketknife. — Checking the soil under a cover crop before planting, Evansville, May 2021 Photo: USDA NRCS / Brandon O’Connor

Connect with a Farm Advisor today.

If you would like to be a mentor or mentee, fill out our contact form.

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