Julie Mettenburg grew up on a family farm in eastern Kansas. Like many children of the Farm Crisis, she was discouraged from entering farming. After working as a journalist in New York, she returned to Kansas to raise a family and helped implement sustainable and direct-marketing practices on the farm. In 2011 she became Executive Director of the Kansas Rural Center, where she led the Community Food Solutions program that resulted in publication of Feeding Kansas: Statewide Farm & Food System Assessment with a Plan for Public Action and subsequent public policy and farm to fork initiatives.
In 2014 she left to transition into farm management and to launch the Tallgrass Network as part of the global Savory Institute initiative to heal the world’s grasslands through Holistic Management. She is a Field Professional in the global Savory Network and is excited to offer education and support in Holistic Management throughout our region.