Michael O’Donnell serves as an Organic & Diversified Agriculture Educator for Purdue Extension. In this role, Michael works with farm operations of all scales and enterprises looking to shift acres into certified organic production. He works closely with Indiana grain farmers transitioning acreage into organic grain production, and offers educational programs on organic field crop/grain production for farmers and other agricultural professionals. He is passionate about the application of regenerative agriculture principles in all types of farming systems.

Originally from West Lafayette, IN, he earned B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. Michael is based out of the Purdue Extension-Delaware County office in Muncie, IN where he previously served as the Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator.

Dr. Joel Gruver is an Associate Professor of Soil Science in the School of Agriculture at Western Illinois University. In addition to teaching soil science and conservation classes, he is the Director of the WIU Organic Research Program. His research and outreach activities focus on organic grain production systems with an emphasis on weed management, nutrient management and farming system strategies to enhance soil health. He grew up on a small farm in rural Maryland and has been active in farming systems research and education for over 25 years.

Michel Cavigelli is a Soil Scientist at USDA-ARS in Beltsville, Maryland. He is Lead Scientist of the Farming Systems Project, a long-term cropping systems project evaluating the sustainability of organic and conventional methods. He also conducts research to improve nutrient management in diverse cropping systems and is an expert on nitrous oxide emissions from agricultural soils. He was awarded the 2015 American Society of Agronomy Organic Management Systems Organic Research and Education Award for lifetime achievement. Michel earned a PhD in Crop and Soil Science at Michigan State University, an MS in Soil Science from Kansas State University, and a BA in Biology from Oberlin College. He has worked at Michigan State University Extension, helping to incorporate ecological concepts into Extension publications and presentations, was an intern at The Land Institute in Salina, Kansas, and worked for two years at the Kansas Rural Center, a non-profit organization supporting sustainable agriculture in Kansas.